Commuting vs. Staying On Campus: Does it alter your college experience?
Danny Stueber, Staff Writer
Commuting can be a hard decision to make when choosing a college or university. Some chose to save money especially if you live close to your college of choice. You can commute every day instead of living on campus itself. It is a popular option among the young adults that go to college and one that I as a student at Wingate have enjoyed doing as well instead of paying for a dorm, even though Wingate is a quick 20 minutes from my house.
Every morning I wake up around an hour before I have to leave, shower, eat, and get on the road to get to class. I arrive in one of many parking areas and walk to my destination. My commute is a much different experience compared to a student from another college however.
I sat down and talked to Patrick Foray, a sophomore at the University of Charlotte (UNC) about how his daily life differs from one of a student that attends Wingate.
Patrick, tell me what a normal commute is like for you when you start your day.
“Well, I live about 40 minutes from my campus so if I have a class at 11 I have to wake up at like 9 so I can get on the road at 10 in case of traffic. I take the highway for the quickest route as well. Once I arrive at campus, I have to park in a parking garage because that’s where I paid to park.”
Oh, you have to pay for parking?
“Yeah it’s a couple hundred a year it’s not free like Wingate and we can’t park wherever we want. Sucks if you think about it.”
So you have to pay to park and its 2 hours of prep time to get to class every day. Why commute?
“Its really not a bad drive and close enough that I would not want to waste money on a dorm that I do not have when I can just live at home.”
Any reason you would need to stay at campus after classes? Do you miss out on anything as a result?
“I have band every so often but other wise I hang with friends if I want before heading home. Nothing really happens on campus that would keep me here that isn’t school or band related. I don’t feel like I’m missing anything from my college experience and the saved money is a bonus to me.”
So you don’t have anything like Lyceums, that I do at Wingate?
“Nope thank God since those seem like they suck. I would not want something holding me back like that but because you live closer than I do it would not be as bad I guess.”
Thanks for your time Patrick.
“No problem thanks for interviewing me.”
So two different students getting to school the same way can actually vary a lot whether it is money or the overall college experience. As many variances there are though there is also similarities. Choose whatever works for you seems to be the main point here and there is no wrong way to experience your college years.
Edited by: Sara Gunter
Wingate Triangle 