A week before I graduated high school, I was involved in a class discussion about postgraduate plans. When I said I planned to attend our city’s university in the fall, yy teacher, an alumnus of the school, beamed at me. He asked if I planned to live on campus and I told him that I was commuting. Immediately, I saw a look of disappointment on his face.
At the time I didn’t understand why he was upset. But since then, as I've met people and had different experiences, I now understand why my teacher was upset. When I meet people and tell them I commute to college, they often ask if I attend a community college. I immediately state that I don’t, I just attend a four year university and live at home. One of the most common questions is simply, “Why?”
Why do I do this? I'm doing what I need to do. Or in other words, it’s simply the best option for me. A lot of commuters are the same way. Regardless of scholarships, tuition is expensive for everyone. Room and board isn't cheap either. Besides, it doesn’t make very much sense to live on campus if you don’t live that far away. All you need is to have a car and have gas money and you’re set. It's that simple.
I know I’m one of the rarer cases of commuting college students in general , yet at my university it’s not that uncommon. Although we're far from having a majority, there are many commuters here. If you go to Valpo, you probably know quite a few commuters and you don't even know it!
Believe it or not, there are people who commute an hour and a half to get to school and then back home. Why do they do it? Despite the amount of gas they’re burning, it still saves money per semester for room and board. Campus living is also expensive because you may go out frequently, and depending on where you live, you may have to purchase your own groceries. There are also other matter to consider like refilling prescriptions, buying toiletries, and other important necessities.
Meanwhile, at home, you can get anything you need. Sure you’re expected to still be responsible, but it’s worth it. Some parents make you pay for your living expenses, others don’t and support you however they can. Regardless of how your family views it, more often than not you get home cooked meals, something many of my resident friends greatly miss. The best part about that besides the food is that you don’t have to worry how much you’ll have to charge to your meal plan.
But what is the biggest misconception about commuters?
They don’t get involved.
This statement is half-true and varies from commuter to commuter. Some of the people I graduated high school with currently attend the same university as I. Some of them choose to immediately go home after classes. Then there are people like me that are all over the place and are at school more than their house. Some of the most involved students on my campus are commuters. I used to wonder why I never saw people from my high school that attended my school come back and visit. Now I know why because like me, they are heavily involved on campus.
So, in short, commuting isn’t as horrible as what some people make it out to be. You get free food, your own space, you don’t have to worry about sharing a bathroom with ten people, and you don't have to worry about quiet hours. You don’t have to worry about being woken up at 4:00AM for a fire drill. And even though living at home can be stressful at times, it’s worth all the money you save.
