<p>I’m a freshman resident student living on campus. I was looking forward to dorming, but now I’m starting to feel regrets. Here’s a few things that are pushing me to consider becoming a commuter student instead:</p>
<p>1.) First and foremost, I’m a hockey referee that does a lot of traveling around the local area. It’s essentially a part-time job for me. Unfortunately, I don’t keep a car on campus, which means that every time I have to work a game, my father has to come pick me up from college and take me to the rink. This really isn’t the best way to show up to a job. If things go well, I may be working full-time in the next year or two, traveling all across the country to work games, just like a professional hockey player.</p>
<p>2.) My father is getting hip replacement surgery, which may require me to be at home to help out, as my parents are now empty nesters.</p>
<p>3.) I also play for the ACHA club hockey team at school, which is a big time commitment. We do a lot of weekend traveling, and when I’m not playing, my smelly, rotten equipment stays in my room.</p>
<p>4.) Besides this, I feel a strong disconnection to the outside world. Living and going to school in the same place has caused me more anxiety than I anticipated. For me, it’s almost the equivalent of being home schooled. Not having the connection to roam about or see life outside the walls of campus is driving me crazy. I enjoy the company of my floor, but it’s too much.</p>
<p>Overall, I think the pros of commuting outweigh the cons of dorming, but what do you think? Should I keep dorming for the year, or should I commute?</p>
<p>It sounds like commuting would be a better option for you. You don’t have to feel bad about it, it sounds like you have responsibilities outside college so it’s easy to see how dorms would be an inconvenience. You’ll save a LOT of money by living at home, and I actually know exactly what you mean about #4 because that’s how I felt about dorms. Whether or not you finish out the semester in the dorm is up to you, but there’s definitely no harm in moving out spring semester and living at home. If you decide to leave during this semester make sure you know the consequences, like if you’ll be getting a refund on any of the money or not and how this might effect any financial aid you have. </p>
<p>The one thing you would have to keep in mind is how you could get to school. Do you live close enough to commute by walking, biking, or public transportation? Are there people you could carpool with? Would it be harder to make it to all the practices, games, and other requirements for your hockey team?</p>
<p>I live less than half an hour away from school, so if I lived at home I could either drive or carpool with a friend who lives nearby. As far as the hockey team, practices and home games are five minutes away. For officiating, I wouldn’t have to worry about finding a way to get games anymore because I would have access to a car, and public transportation doesn’t cut it to get to all the rinks (refs definitely don’t take the bus to games).</p>
<p>My dilemma is a bit different. I am dorming, but it isn’t a homely feeling. I live in a single suite, but my three suitemates stay to themselves. It is lonely at night after a wild party or football game. Being in a fraternity, we have a few unofficial houses. I have been offered by my big to move in, but I am not sure about it. Houses are off campus and I feel that would also conflict with housing agreements for a year. I am in a stiff.</p>
<p>I don’t think I would like fraternity housing, but that’s just me. It seems like that’s really a lifestyle you embrace, especially if you’re living in the housing. Don’t do anything to mess up your contract if it’ll lose you money or mess up your financial aid. Fraternity housing is probably just a matter of personal opinion. See if you could stay over for a couple of nights to see how you might like it.</p>
<p>These are more of unofficial houses, the university I go to has no official houses (they are working with the IFC though and my fraternity will have national support to get a house even though we have few numbers, around 40). But money is a huge issue … housing on campus cost over 4000 a semester, yet living in this unofficial house cost about 600 a month (saving about 800 a year) and it is about a football field length off campus.</p>
<p>I don’t think it will happen anyways though because the housing on campus says I cannot break the year contract.</p>