In today’s world of ~crazy~ and ~true~ “college experiences,” the act of commuting to school often has a significantly negative connotation. It’s incredibly rare for someone to respond with honest excitement and interest when you tell them you go to a school where a majority of the student body commutes. What they don’t realize is that there are many pros to being a commuter. We commuters are saving money (kind of), get our own rooms, and aren’t forced to eat college cafeteria food every day. Just as there are many pros, there are also many (more) cons. Since there seems to be more struggles, they can make the pros of commuting instantly dissolve into nothing. The struggle is definitely real for commuters.
1. Having to wake up extra early.
Depending on how long your drive is, you may need to wake up significantly earlier than your friends who live on campus, and trust me, it gets old real fast. If you live on campus, don’t even think about complaining about how early you have to wake up for your 8 a.m.
2. Freakin’ traffic.
Many commuters take morning classes, which means they frequently have to drive in rush hour traffic. If waking up extra early doesn’t put you in a bad mood, don’t you worry. Sitting in traffic for an extremely unnecessary amount of time will.
3. Having to pack your backpack as if you are preparing for a zombie apocalypse
Since many students who commute do not live very close to their school, once they are there, there is no going back until all classes for the day are over. If you are a commuter, it is necessary to pack your whole life in you backpack; it’s basically your dorm room.
4. Dealing with ridiculous parking
One of the many factors contributing to the fact that commuters leave so dang early is parking. Often times, there is LITERALLY (yes, literally) nowhere to park. Also, it truly seems as though people completely forget how to drive when they get into college parking lots. Not only are people driving at you from all directions, the same people apparently do not know how to decently park a vehicle. People’s horrible (which is an understatement) parking jobs can potentially ruin someone’s chance of parking in the spots next to them, and at commuter colleges, every single spot counts.
5. Basically living in the library
You might as well just sleep there every night because you’ll be back at it again in the morning anyway.
6. Driving all the way to campus and finding out class is canceled.
“Oh, look. The professor emailed me fifteen minutes ago. It’s a good thing I left my house over an hour ago!”
7. “Sorry, I have to work.”
When people try to make plans with you, you are usually working. Of course people who live on campus obviously have jobs as well, but the jobs are usually on campus. Many commuters have to work weekdays and weekends, and have other responsibilities outside of campus.
8. You have to spend money on gas approximately every three minutes.
You may be saving money by not living on campus, but you are definitely not saving money when it comes to gas.
9. Having long breaks in between classes.
Having a couple hours in between classes in classrooms that are seriously right next to each other is not uncommon, and having no cozy dorm room to go to and take a nap in during this down time is a major struggle.
10. Living with your parents.
If you’re a younger commuter, chances are, you still live with your parents. While there are positive things that come out of living with your parents (it’s FREE), it can sometimes feel like you’re still in high school because you probably still have to follow their rules.
11. Making friends isn’t as easy.
Unless you’re in a sorority or fraternity, being a commuter and making friends isn’t super feasible. Most of your friends on campus are people who you talk to because you don’t really have a choice.
Although these struggles can be immensely bothersome to deal with day-to-day, I try to remind myself that saving money and being able to have my own room and bathroom is worth it, and then I feel much better.
