Of FIU’s entire student population 93% live off campus and commute every day. I am currently a junior and in my three years being a commuter student, it definitely has its ups and downs. I live about 30 minutes away from the Modesto Maidique campus and 40 minutes from the Biscayne Bay campus. During my first and second semester, I went to the main campus every single day. After realizing that I was an insane person for doing that, I made sure to dedicate only two days out of the week to go to the campus. So, I’ve decided to share my pros and cons list of being an FIU commuter student.
Pros
1. Saving money! Living on campus is every high school graduates dream but it is so expensive. As being a commuter student I am able to save 6k every semester by living at home. I don’t have to worry about purchasing groceries every month or going out to eat every week to feed myself. I get to save all that money for my life after college. Saving as much money as you can in college is very important, especially if you are like me and take out loans.
2. Having your own space! It’s a dream to come home and not have to share your room with anyone. What puts the cherry on top is that you don’t have to share a bathroom with anyone. You can sleep in your own bed and not an old reused mattress or dealing no snoring roommate is an amazing feeling. Another plus is that you can focus on your academics without having roommates distract you.Â
3. Home cooked meals! Living at home with my parent’s means I get to eat my mom’s amazing food every day. Nothing is better than coming home after a long day full of classes and organization/club meeting to eat a home-cooked meal. This also means you can avoid the expensive meal plan the university offers.
4. Carpooling! The commute is quite fun when you carpool with a friend and get hyped. At the end of the day, waking up early and that morning traffic gets thrown out the window when you have a hype morning person in that car with you. Once you find that perfect playlist nothing can stop you from jamming out as a celebrity guest on carpool karaoke.
Cons
1. FOMO! This is a real case of “Fear of missing out”. You miss dorm parties, meeting people in the halls, and little hangouts in the Graham Center. You also might miss out on campus events since you don’t have class every day.
2. Waking up early! If you are like me and take morning classes you have to deal with the consequences of waking up hours before your class starts to get there on time. Since FIU is located in Miami Dade it means I have to wake up around 5:30am to leave my house at 6:30am to beat the Miami traffic. On a side note, you will find great parking in the gold garage. But this also means your morning commute looks something like this.
3. Gas! Because of this lovely commute, it means that the money you save from living at home is used for gas. Driving back and forth two times a week and working the other three days of the week starts to add up.
The college experience is what you make of it. Whether you live on campus or commute there’s always ways to get involved and make your own college memories that will be with you forever.