Commuting to University

More students are deciding to live at home and commute to university due to a variety of reasons. This can be to save money, wanting to study a course local to you or just not wanting to move out!

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There are many positives to living at home while studying such as:

• Saving money on rent and bills.
• Not feeling homesick. This is something that can affect students, especially in the first term.
• Staying close to your friends and family.
• You can focus more on your studies.
• And most importantly, sleeping in your own bed!

But it can come with drawbacks such as:

• Commuting to uni can take up a lot of time, compared to just walking to your halls on campus.
• You won’t have as much independence as you would like. Lots of students want that bit of freedom that comes with university, which you won’t get as much if you’re living at home.
• You might not have as much of a social life compared to your friends on campus, but this can easily be resolved by joining societies and putting yourself out there!

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How to make friends when you don’t live at uni

• As mentioned, societies are a great way to meet people with similar interests.
• Making friends with people on your course is a good idea as you can connect and talk about your lectures and seminars.
• Social media is another way to make friends. Lots of courses create groups on various social platforms before the course starts and you can also follow different university accounts.
• Freshers week is also a good way, everyone will be in the same boat of not knowing anyone and you can use this to make friends outside of your course.

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Top Tips!

• Make the most of the facilities on campus, it can be easy to just go to uni and come back home, but remember, you’re paying for these resources! The services on campus and the staff are great, so definitely use them as much as possible.
• Join societies to not miss out on any fun, societies are a great way of meeting people and having activities outside your lectures.
• Do all your uni work while you’re on campus. It can be good to separate your uni life and home life and there might be more distractions at home compared to at uni.
• Connect with other students who commute, if you become friends, you can always commute together, if both of you drive, you could lift share.

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If it’s right for you, commuting can be great, think about the pros and cons for you before starting uni and if you decide commuting is not for you while you’re at uni, you can always see if there is accommodation on campus available or move in with friends in your second year.

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Questions to ask yourself when deciding about where to live while at university.

• How much money (if any) would you save if you commuted to university, factoring in travel and food costs?
• How far would you have to travel each day and how long would it take?
• Would your commute be reliable?
• Could you use your commuting time to study or would it be dead time?
• Would you be worried about missing out on social events/opportunities to make more friends?
• Would you be comfortable with studying at university if you had to hang around for several hours between lectures?
• Would you prefer to keep your home comforts or have more independence?