When I first applied to college, I selected “On Campus” when asked about my residential status. I thought living in a dorm and developing independence was a fantastic idea.
Reality set in when I actually received my financial aid packages.
I applied to four colleges; one in the city, one in Long Island, and two in upstate New York. $18k a year for a closet-sized room, twin bed, shared bathroom, and no personal kitchen or lounge? I think not. On top of that, you’d have to live with a roommate who would either be a complete stranger or a mutual acquaintance.
Needless to say, when I saw the cost of living in a dorm for one semester, I immediately adjusted my application to reflect my status as a commuter.
I chose to go to a college in the city for two reasons, it was my top choice and it was close enough to my home for me to take public transportation.
Living in the Bronx, my options for going into Manhattan are limited. The only train in my area is the 6. On a good day, it would take about 55 minutes to get to campus. On days with rain, snow, and other hazardous weather conditions, that number reaches closer to about 65-70 minutes.
A lot of people recommend dorming, even just for a year, to get the “experience” of the college lifestyle. But why would I spend thousands of dollars to live in a shared room when I can spend $800 a year for a metro card? There are a lot of pros and cons to both sides of that question.
For me, making the choice to commute was one of the better decisions I’ve made in a while. Not only did I get to save a significant amount of my tuition, I also got to come home everyday and be greeted by my overly excited dog.
One of the things I was nervous about was making friends. I had been told that making friends was much easier when you lived in a dorm because the connections are almost endless. That’s where I got lucky. By some miracle, I met a girl on Instagram who was also going to Pace, turns out she was a commuter too. She then introduced me to another commuter. Then that girl introduced me to yet another freshman commuter. By the time the start of the semester rolled around, I had formed an entire commuter friend group.
I had gotten everything I wanted, my own bedroom, friends, my dream school. Sometimes I questioned whether the hour-long commute was really worth it.
Sometimes, waking up at 6AM for a 9AM class makes me rethink my decision. Leaving my house in the early morning darkness just to return home in that same darkness is not as fun as it may seem. I’ll admit I’ve been a bit envious listening to my dorming friends tell me about their “treacherous” 5-minute walk in the rain to the main campus building after waking up 10 minutes before their class.
Do I regret commuting? Not really.
If I had the chance to make the decision all over again, I’d probably still choose to commute. I don’t feel like I’ve missed out on any important events, and I certainly don’t feel like I’ve lost the college “experience.”
Admittedly, everyone’s experience is different- and as my time in college goes by, my opinion might change. But for now, if someone asked if I’d recommend commuting to college, I’d say it’s worth a shot.