Living on campus is expensive. REALLY expensive. Sometimes you decide to commute because you want to save the extra thousands of dollars, and sometimes you commute because you have no other choice. Either way, commuting to campus can make you feel ostracized from your school. Making friends, joining clubs, and going to sporting events can feel like a hassle if you only go into the building a couple times a week. I personally felt as though making close friends as a commuter would be an impossible task, but with a little work and great advice from upperclassmen I managed to make campus feel like a genuine college experience, and NOT a repeat of high school.
1. Get A Locker On Campus
I know it will feel like high school (sigh), but getting a locker establishes a place that is yours on campus. Even if you just put an extra lip gloss and pen inside of it, having a locker will give you a place to customize with photos, drop your extra stuff, and give you your own slot on campus.
2. Join Clubs (Seriously!!)
It’s time to listen to your parents, teachers, and friends and join a club. I personally had never been apart of a club in high school, and thought the only ones at college would be the Mathletes or Debate Team. This is not true! After reading my universities website, I was surprised to find that there were clubs that were actually fun (not that math for pleasure doesn’t sound totally fun!). I joined ski club and got to go on trips with classmates for free.
3. Talk To People In Your Classes
As a commuter, the classroom is where you spend nearly all your time on campus. Take advantage of the opportunity to socialize with the hundreds people around you. Talk to the girl next to you about upcoming assignments, answer questions in class, and smile!! Also, join study groups and take full advantage of meeting new people in group projects. Your new best friend could be sitting one row up from you!
4. Find and Follow Your Campus Social Media
As soon as you can, find your schools online platforms. Follow clubs, students from your classes, and if your school has one, campus activity board! When you follow a consortium of persons from the community, events on campus will start popping up on your IG feed, making it impossible not to go to at least one this semester.
5. Stay On Campus
This was the best piece of advice a senior commuter student gave me. Stay on campus, I know it’s tempting to want to run back home when you have a beautiful (CLEAN) bubble bath and home-cooked meal waiting, but try to stay on campus. Get to class early, eat lunch with someone new, and stay after to study in the library. If your school has a gym go to the gym on weekends and say hi to classmates you may see. If you want to feel like you’re apart of campus you have to stay on campus!
Best of Luck!