By: Sam Spurlock, Staff writer
When people think about college, one of the aspects that stands out the most is the concept of moving away from home and living in a dorm, but that doesn’t occur for everyone.
Some students end up commuting to and from school, whether it be for financial reasons, convenience or personal preference. Like most parts of life, commuting has its pros and cons.
Living in a dorm has its good and bad points. While coming to a new place can be scary, the open setting of a dorm allows resident students to easily meet new people.
Having a roommate also increases the chances of making a new friend, or at least having someone that they can turn to when needed. Commuter students don’t typically get this opportunity and come into the first day not knowing as many people.
On the other hand, students tend to have some issues with their roommate over the course of the year. Most commuters don’t have a roommate and, therefore, don’t have to worry about sharing their space or getting along with another student. Chances are they also have a bigger room at home than most of the typical dorm rooms.
One of the biggest cons is the commute itself. Whether 10 minutes or an hour away, traffic is bound to be an issue as well as the weather.
“In the winter, commuting students have to drive to campus through adverse weather while the students on campus just have to walk to their class from their dorm room which is less than five minutes away,” Paul Markovits, a senior digital communications major, said. “This creates a lot of issues because while the weather may be safe enough to walk in it, it may be difficult to drive in and since the students leave early, they may miss a notification for a cancelled class.”
After classes are over, some commuting students stay on campus to study or spend time with friends, but a lot of commuting students go home instead of staying on campus. The problem is, most practices and meetings are held in the evenings or late at night, causing students to either have to drive back to campus or sit around, sometimes for hours.
Conversely, most will agree that the best part of commuting is definitely the money that is saved. Room and Board at LVC costs $10,980 per year and will add up to close to $44,000 by the end of four years. Commuters don’t have to pay a cent of that cost. The majority of commuters also don’t have to pay for a large meal plan because they aren’t on campus for meals or can bring food from home.
“Commuting can be a pain sometimes, but I know that commuting was the best choice for me because my freshman year I was definitely not ready to live on my own, and the money that I’m saving is definitely worth the commute,” Laura Brent, junior digital communications major, said.
While commuting is different from the traditional path, it doesn’t mean that the total experience has to be different. There are just as many pros and cons for residential living as well. College is all about what an individual makes it, and it’s up to each person to take advantage of the opportunities and overcome the disadvantages.