<p>@sitamom - That’s great if you can swing the dorms. I have to disagree to an extent with ucbalumnus my husband works downtown near GT and deals with Atlanta traffic every day. If you can get your trial run as far as how long it takes to get the parking area in before the K-12 kids get out at the end of May you will at least have a good idea of the traffic he would deal with commuting. DH says that there is no difference that he can tell when the college students are commuting to college in the spring and when they don’t in in May. It’s only after the K-12 kids get out that it gets slightly better.</p>
<p>IMO Georgia State it is a good school and one of the schools my 9th grader plans on applying to when the time comes. Your DS may not want to transfer to UGA once he starts. </p>
<p>A higher population state will likely have more high school graduates meeting baseline college readiness than can be accommodated in a single state university campus.</p>
<p>@sitamom, My parents lived 45 minutes away from where I went to school in the Atlanta area, but I lived in the dorms. Atlanta traffic can be beastly, and that will add stress to your son that you may not be thinking about. One highway accident, and he might miss class. You get the idea. Beyond the stress, sitting in traffic eats into the time he will want/need to be involved studying and other activities. My friends who were commuters told me they didn’t feel as much a part of things, which seems a shame IF you are financially able to pay for the dorms. There really are a lot of added benefits to on-campus living that may outweigh the monetary benefit from commuting.</p>
<p>FWIW, I agree with the poster(s) above that your son will probably not care much what they dorms look like.</p>
<p>The other issue with commuting is that the student needs to leave a buffer for the occasional traffic delays. For example, if the usual time is 45 minutes, but 55-60 minute commutes often happen due to someone crashing on the road, then 60 minutes need to be budgeted for commute time. On exam days, the buffer may need to be even greater, just in case.</p>
<p>Also, don’t forget the time it takes to walk from the parking lot to where classes are held.</p>
<p>I am definitely seeing more and more reasons why dorming is a good idea. Really the only issue left is finding the money. Luckily, he has the HOPE and we just filled out the FAFSA so we will see where that puts him for tuition. </p>
<p>It wouldn’t be such a bad idea to calculate predicted gas mileage as well, thanks @Bestfriendsgirl </p>
Or not be so desperate for warm bodies with college degrees that they’ll do just about anything to get a kid through the door. HS GPA of 0.07? No problemo! We’ll work with you, at least for two semesters until you flunk out. Even that isn’t the end though - academic amnesty to the rescue. </p>
<p>sitamom I hope you can find a way to afford the dorm for your son. Another advantage to dorm life is it will give your son access to other students to study with - and that’s a lot easier to do in a dorm than as a commuter student. Good luck to you and your son!</p>
<p>I realize you’re thinking of the money and I get that attraction but you are making a fairly big mistake here. Call Georgia State as soon as possible and get him registered for the dorms. It’s an investment, not an expense. It’s going to make a world of difference for him. Huge.</p>
<p>I knew a number of people in college who lived in the same town but lived in dorms. It really makes a huge difference. It doesn’t matter if the dorms are ugly and cramped. In fact IMO the best dorms are not the beautiful suite style dorms, but the ones with singles and doubles on a hall way with some sort of dorm lounge space where kids hang out and talk. College is not just about classes - it’s also about discussing political theory or string theory or atonal music in the middle of the night. </p>
<p>Well, not to load on with everybody else, but I agree that freshman year is the best time to be in the dorms. A lot of kids move off campus after freshman year, so that really is the time when your son can best become attached to his classmates and to Georgia State.</p>
<p>And I agree with whomever (on this thread) said that parents are often more turned off by the dorms than the kids are. My daughter is going to UGA and we toured the dorm room in one of the high rises. The whole time, I was cringing, feeling claustrophobic. We later toured a dorm in the Hill community and I thought it was much better. The whole time, my daughter kept saying that she didn’t mind the space issues in the high rise.</p>
<p>I also wanted to chime in re: waiting list. My daughter applied to my husband’s and my alma mater, and we were so sure she would get in. She had the grades, numbers, etc. plus she was a double legacy. Wait listed… we were all shocked. Like all of you said, she has moved on, we put down the deposit at UGA and she is really happy and excited about it… she has a roommate she likes, etc. And we are all completely committed to her becoming a Bulldog. </p>
<p>However, we have STILL kept her on the waiting list. Even if she gets in (and chances seem slim), I doubt she will switch and go to my alma mater. But she went through a string of rejections this spring with a bunch of “REACH” schools, and if she gets in, I think it would be a nice ego boost. She could say, “I got into ______, but I turned it down and went to UGA.” And if she doesn’t get in, no harm done. Maybe that’s selfish, taking a spot from somebody who really sees it as their #1 first choice, but that’s what we are doing.</p>
<p>Another who thinks that dorms are the way to go if financially feasible. </p>
<p>I wonder if THIS isn’t one of the main reasons he wanted to go away …because the live at home option (although many do have to do it) feels like high school 2.0</p>
<p>I don’t know, we offered our daughter the dorm option to stay at one of the two local, highly ranked universities she got into and she still couldn’t shake the “high school 2.0” feeling. She is going out of state.</p>
<p>S1’s only real beef with his eventual choice was the fact that it’s only an hour away in the same town where his grandparents live and he’d been visiting there all his life. Now he tells people if he needs something, his parents are only an hour away. </p>
<p>Just found out today that the UGA waitlist has about 575 people on it with an average of 110 or so being admitted off (for fall and spring) based off past years. Though ~20% aren’t amazing odds, this new statistic has got S all caught up in UGA again!</p>
<p>@jocjarmom Hope your daughter loves UGA and gets that ego boost! </p>
<p>Still trying to see if dorming at GSU will work. I am very thankful for all the input I have received! I couldn’t have asked for better responses; especially from those who are going through or have gone through similar situations! </p>
<p>Son was officially rejected off the UGA waitlist today :/. Naturally, we are very disappointed in the decision but will continue to move ahead with Georgia State. There is always a transfer option in the future.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that if you want to check out dormng, you might want to contact the financial aid department to see if it will change the fa package. Some schools will give more aid if you are living on campus. Worth checking.</p>