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It was always my dream of living on campus, finding new opportunities, making new friends and connections, and becoming independent.
But I'm poor.
So I'm commuting.
That's the short story, without all the sobbing BS.
Okay, on to the question. I've seen some sources list 86% as the number of college students in the US commuting to college. I don't trust this number. Anybody have any experiences or information to add?
What is the norm seems to depend a lot more on where you live than your wealth. I am originally from NY (Long Island) and everyone went away. Well not everyone but it was the norm.
Here in North Eastern PA the norm seems to be to commute.
Commuting is expensive. You need a car and gas. Add insurance.
Dorming can be inexpensive. Recently I helped one of my son's friends to live on campus. His parents earn 24 thousand a year. Totally possible, and an education in and of it self.
It was always my dream of living on campus, finding new opportunities, making new friends and connections, and becoming independent.
But I'm poor.
So I'm commuting.
That's the short story, without all the sobbing BS.
Okay, on to the question. I've seen some sources list 86% as the number of college students in the US commuting to college. I don't trust this number. Anybody have any experiences or information to add?
Living on campus was a great experience for me, and I would recommend it to everyone who has the means to do so. But if you've crunched the numbers and you can't afford it, then you simply can't afford it.
Either way, and 86% commute rate sounds extremely high, unless you're factoring in community colleges, vocational/trade schools, etc. Also, how does the source define "commuting?" If it's simply people living off campus, that may not be such a crazy figure. A lot of schools offer limited dorm space and don't guarantee housing for all four years.
It was always my dream of living on campus, finding new opportunities, making new friends and connections, and becoming independent.
But I'm poor.
So I'm commuting.
That's the short story, without all the sobbing BS.
Okay, on to the question. I've seen some sources list 86% as the number of college students in the US commuting to college. I don't trust this number. Anybody have any experiences or information to add?
Living on campus was more common 20 years. Now, with college attendance nearly doubled since then, there isn't enough room to house everyone so students are opting, if not being "forced", to live off campus.
I always lived off campus and while there were moments when I wish I didn't, in the long run, I think I had the better deal. I had more space, my own room, a real kitchen, didn't have to check in guests, didn't have an RA to act as my nanny, had more privacy, etc. I dunno, I always found college students kind of annoying and looking back, I probably experienced the "college lifestyle" just as much as those who lived on campus, if not more so. Also, by living off campus gave the experience of being a college student while living in a normal setting. I got to experience both worlds and when it came time to leave college there wasn't that shock of "now living in the real world".
Also depends on where you go to school. If you go to a local state school (within 1 hour or so) - you'll find a lot of commuters. If you go "away" to school, most will start out in dorms, then probably apartments in the local community (which would probably then make them commuters again).
I live near Cincinnati .. and there are several bigger universities in Cinci (Univ. of Cincinnati, Cincinnati State University and Xavier). Primarily commuter schools, with a large part of their population being people who grew up in the Cinci metro area. Nothing strange about that at all.
I lived on campus my first three years of college and in a house with my friends off campus for my last year. At my university most undergraduate students lived on campus. It was a requirement unless you lived near home. I visited a number of other universities during my college search and at some it was more common to live off campus.
we had to live on campus for at least 3 years of the 4. i lived on campus all 4. from what i've seen from others, its common for underclassmen to live on campus and upperclassmen to live off.
It's very possible that if you are "poor" it will be less expensive for you to live on campus. Financial aid will extend to on campus housing but not if you are living at home. It depends on how poor you are though.
In my experience, in our area, 99% of the kids live on campus, even if they are attending a school nearby. I can't think of anyone I know who is living at home and going to college but I am sure there are some so I didn't say 100%.
A lot of it depends on the campus. I don't believe the 86% figure at all, unless, as already said, it factors in every possible educational venue that a person could attend after high school.
Also, a lot of campuses have "commuters" who don't live on campus, but live within a few minutes' walk or bike ride from campus. Technically, they commute. Pretty much everyone I know, lived on campus, or in adjacent off campus housing.
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