I think that the norm for the rest of the school also impacts the value of staying on campus. If the population was heavy commuters with a few on campus, I would be willing to pay less than if most of the students lived on campus.
Whether or not you “should” spend more on R & B than tuition really is up to you.
I think a lot depends on what the standard is at the particular school and what you can afford. If most kids live on campus and your child would one of a small majority of freshman living at home and commuting, then you need to consider some of the points made above to decide if it’s a good decision for your child. If study groups, clubs, tests, etc, will be scheduled in the evening assuming all kids will be there, it might become a challenge for your child. If a large number of kids live at home and commute than some of those issues might have less of an impact on your child. If most kids do live on campus and you can afford it, I would probably suggest letting your child do it freshman year and then re-evaluate for the following years. Especially if the commute if up to an hour long.
The typical freshman in the US often expects to live on campus to get that traditional US college experience. I don’t know what your circumstances are but friends of mine who have not gone to college themselves or who went in other countries are often confused by our R & B set up at colleges and are less likely to want to pay for that “extra” for their kid regardless of whether if was financially an issue for them.
I’m impressed there are state schools with tuition lower than room and board. That’s not the case where I live.
Note that an hour commute (especially if driving) can limit class scheduling options. An 8am class may require commuting during heavy traffic periods, which can increase the risk of missing class or an exam during class unless the student leaves extra buffer time (i.e. may have to leave at 6am or 6:30am instead of 7am to reliably get to class on time).
That’s true in many places:
https://educationdata.org/average-cost-of-college/
Average in-state public tuition is a little over 10K/year.
Average R&B at a public is a little over $11K/year.
Also consider how valuable the student’s time is. Are they trying to get into a competitive grad school? Are they trying to get into a competitive career where employers use GPA as a screening tool? Adding 2 or more hours per day to their schedule may torpedo their post-graduate aspirations.
The same could apply during undergraduate if there is a competitive secondary admission process to get into the intended major as an undergraduate.
However, for this coming school year, if classes are online, maybe just take the online classes.
The student could potentially move on-campus/closer to campus later. There are definite benefits to being on-campus.
If my kids were incoming freshman this fall and the college was going to all on-line classes, I would seriously consider taking a gap year.
Fin aid covers tuition for the OP.