There are many reasons as to why a student chooses to commute to school. Maybe it’s the job they still have, or just the fact that they want to keep things familiar. Whatever the reason, here at Millersville there are more commuters who attend the school than you may believe. I myself am a commuter, and until I got the hang of things I always looked around and believed I was one of the only ones who didn’t live on campus.
Currently here at Millersville about 75% of students, undergraduates and graduates, that commute to and from campus daily. That’s a lot for a campus that has close to 10,000 students. Many students don’t commute from home, they have their own apartments around the area, or just outside of the town. Wherever they commute from, they still don’t live here in the dorms.
So the big question I’m always asked is, “Why do you commute? Don’t you feel like you’re missing the ‘college experience’?” My answer is always simple. No. I don’t think I’m missing the normal college experience. Because for me, I never really had that desire to go out every night when I had class the next day. I am in college to learn, to further my education and hopefully find a job in the field I’m studying.
I commute because I have a job, but also because I live so close and it just saves my family a lot of money. I have five siblings, and paying for college isn’t easy on my parents. I don’t need to live at school when I live ten minutes away and can drive myself there. Even though sometimes I think if I just lived at school I would have a better experience, I know that commuting is the right choice for me.
Now I know that in my experience being quiet and shy doesn’t always bid well with being a commuter. It’s harder to meet people when you aren’t on campus all the time. Sometimes I think that it would be easier to meet people if I just lived on campus, but I know that isn’t the case either. For example, my friend lived here, and ended up moving out the next week and becoming a commuter herself because she ended up spending more time at home than she did in her dorm room.
I think the best advice I can give you commuters (and I’m trying my hardest to follow it myself) is to just get involved as much as you can. People are not going to come to you and instantly become your best friend. Getting involved in a sport, a club or Greek life can help you become a part of the campus, even though you don’t live there. You’ll start looking forward to coming up to class every day, knowing that there are people who you want to see.
The final piece of advice I will give is that whatever you do, as a commuter you have to keep your priorities straight. It’s easy, if you live at home like I do, to forget the next assignment due or to just skip class. But if you want good grades, and I know you do, you have to keep up with your studies. I know I have to keep a tight rein on making sure I get my work done before I do anything else. Sometimes it feels like there’s never enough time in the day to get everything done.
As a commuter, you aren’t around the campus and you can’t just wake up two minutes before class and run to the building. You have to plan accordingly. So depending on where you live, you should definitely leave and allow yourself enough time to get there with traffic and find a parking spot. Parking, that’s another issue I will address later. But just remember, you have to have more than enough time to prepare for class than the student living on campus.
I hope that by reading my articles, commuting students will realize they aren’t the minority; in fact they’re the majority here at Millersville. Commuting isn’t for everyone, but if you’re one of those who choose to commute, just remember that you’re not alone you’re as much a part of this college as those who live here.