Do you know how often you pay for your garbage pick-up? Do you have any idea how to get electricity service in a new apartment? Can you fix a broken door knob? Does you budget break up include electricity and Internet bills? Do you know how much groceries last for a week? Will you notice if there is price increase in lettuce and tomatoes? Do you occasionally invite your friends for dinner? If you are a college student and answered “Yes” to these questions, you are most probably a college commuter.

With college life comes independence, added responsibilities and connection to people who can be pivotal in personal and professional life. To experience all these things, most students think it is utmost important to live in college. However, this is a serious misconceptions and commuting to college can give all college experiences in addition to some other pros.

There is no denying that college is expensive. Commuting to college will save some money and help you land you with lesser debt than paying for the dorm fees piled up on top of tuition fees. Yes, you will have to take charge of things like paying your own bills but the money you save over the four years of your college life could count to your savings to buy a house.

Space is usually never an issue when you live on your own. There’s no concern about fitting furniture in small space. You can always have your own room and not have to worry about a roommate’s loud music when you are trying to do an assignment Additionally, you can cook your own food whenever you like.

People shy away from commuting to campus as they think one cannot get involved in different activities if they do not live on campus. This is not true. You can still be a part of organizations even when you commute. Living a little further from school buildings does not mean you won’t know what is happening around. I have been a campus commuter since my freshman year and this fact as never affected my university experience. I rarely miss my classes, and I try to enjoy college outside of classes as much as I can.

Coming to a university is all about independence, and nothing can teach you more than living on your own. I did not know how much my parents paid for electricity bill until I started living on my own. Now, I know when and how much rent, electricity, Internet and water bills need to be paid. I have learned how to deal with the landlord. I know how much food will last for a week, and I know how to shop economically. I know how to change bulbs, and I also just recently learned that you need to change air-conditioning filter for the air-conditioning to run smoothly. I would have never learned these things had I been staying in the dorm.

For students who have already started thinking about their future and truly want to start living an independent life, living on your own and commuting to college is the best option. The main point of going to college is to be real world ready and commuting to college helps you learn to live your life the way you want.

“I definitely think being a resident is easier, for the fact of actually going to classes. It’s way easier to skip classes whenever you have to drive all the way here.”

“I’d rather be a resident because you can be more active on campus, and you can have better experiences than being a commuter because I was a commuter last semester, and it was not fun.”

“I’d rather be a commuter just because you have somewhere to stay during holidays, and you don’t have to be on campus all the time.”

“So, I commute, but I’d rather be a resident. The only reason why is because the walk is a hike.”

“I’ve been a commuter and a resident, and it’s much better being a resident because the commute is crazy no matter where you come from. There’s always traffic on University – you’re going to get to class, maybe late.”

“Whenever I was staying on campus, I felt like I was trapped, and I didn’t feel like I had many choices on things I wanted to do outside of classes and things like that. Also, I just like being at home around my parents.”

“I’d rather be a resident because I live almost 40 minutes away, and it’s just easier to already be on campus, and it’s easier to be more involved in school.”