<p>I was admitted to a university that is within 10 minutes of my house. I originally applied as a resident to see what the price would be to live on campus and when I switched to commuter my price dropped by about $12,000. After making this switch people criticized me saying that I would not be getting the most out of college if I commuted and that I would have no social life. They told me that I would be worth taking on the extra debt just to get these things. Would commuting really have this drastic of an effect on my social life and experience?</p>
<p>Those “people” won’t be paying off that debt for you after graduation, will they? Ten minutes is pretty close – you can still join clubs and go back over to campus for social activities. You will miss meeting people in the dorms, but for $12K a year I think you could put in some extra effort and still make friends. Join an intramural sports team, get involved with something like the school newspaper or theater groups, if there are volunteer organizations join one, get a part time job on campus, etc. I say save the money and live at home. If those “people” bug you, let them know you are accepting donations to pay for on-campus housing if they think it is so important.</p>
<p>What she said^</p>
<p>No, it’s not worth the extra debt. You can make friends just as much as a commuter as you can as a student living on campus, if you are proactive about getting involved. Ten minutes is pretty close–close enough to go to campus often for activities/clubs/events, and close enough to students that you can go out with them if things come up spur of the moment. You have more control over your social life than where you live.</p>
<p>Would it be correct to assume that your parents will be subsidizing your food, utilities, and transportation costs if you commute, but not apply those costs to room and board if you live at the school? A $12,000 or so difference typically contains that assumption.</p>
<p>In any case, $12,000 per year debt is too much.</p>
<p>It may be preferable to live on-campus in frosh year for various reasons, but if your commute is only 10 minutes (especially if it does not involve driving and parking a car), then the disadvantages of commuting are much less than if you had a long commute. Indeed, your commuting situation is probably more like being in nearby off-campus housing in terms of convenience.</p>
<p>Well, I wonder when is it “worth” going on campus??</p>
<p>In my situation, I roughly have a 2 hr commute to school, in a combination of cycling, bus, and train. Rainy days always leave the temptation to skip classes, I have to leave campus early so that I’m not riding out too late and I also work on my bicycle, so exhaustion and lack of social life definitely kicks in. Plus, I live in the suburbs with my parents who enjoy a non social lifestyle, grew up in a isolated childhood (outside from school), and I had to return home to this and take a year off break for financial reasons. When I went on campus my first year, social life literally became night and day. When I took the break, it became a unbearable nightmare and burned out for the first time in my life when I returned this semester. Not looking forward to Bs and Cs.</p>
<p>Now that I am sophomore going into junior year in fall, I am wondering if it is still worth going back on campus. I am soon to be half way done, and my parents struggle paycheck to paycheck, so not sure if I should take the debt. Then again since I had to return home back in late 2012 to now, my mental health has deteriorated drastically, so all signs are telling me to GET ON CAMPUS!!! What to do…?</p>
<p>Yes, but that is not the OP’s situation on this thread. I would be hesitant to suggest a long commute for exactly the reasons you list. But being 10 minutes away, whether by car or bike or foot, is totally different. DreadfulSkolar, you should start your own thread if you are looking for advice on this.</p>