In the movies, college looks like tons of fun with the crazy parties and activities, but this hasn’t been the case with my college experience. I commute by train to get to Mercy College from Peekskill, NY. It takes me two trains to get to school and a 2 mile walk to get from my house to the Peekskill train station. This means that my time is very precious and I have to be really punctual.
By commuting, I’m forced to wake up earlier than the average student who dorm on campus or live in the hotels. Every second of sleep counts when you’re a college student.Besides going to school and focusing on my studies, I also have a job. This makes it hard for me to try making many friends on campus. This is why my freshman, sophomore, and junior year were boring. I also have class Monday through Friday. As if having a Friday class isn’t bad enough, it was at 8:30 in the morning. Mercy’s parties usually are held on Thursdays in New-burg at a lounge and if I went to them, I would be exhausted and falling asleep in class the next day. Maybe if I lived on campus, I would go to more parties and be more social, but I really don’t have time to do much of anything.
Taking the train is the worst part of my college experience. Literally more than half the time, when I take the train, it is delayed. This means I get to Mercy late and teachers will assume I’m irresponsible even when it’s not my fault. When I’m late to class, I miss out on notes and sometimes have to deal with the professors’ attitude when asking for them after class.
Also, commuters don’t get dinning dollars and the food in the cafe is so expensive. Spending money for food on campus feels like it burns holes in my pockets. There are times I leave my wallet at home when I have a long day at school and wait util 9pm, when I get home, to eat.Sometimes I find myself filling up on vending machine food, that way I’m not spending twenty dollars a day on food.

Dorm students have a better opportunity to meet people because they see them in class and in their living environments. I thought about dorming but it is too expensive. As of right now, I would rather dorm because then I could sleep in more which would then result in feeling more functional in class. I’d also want to dorm so that I could get a taste of the true college experience. I feel the college experience is going partying, meeting tons of new connections, networking, and just building bonds with the people who will be hopefully be part of the rest of your life.
Because i take the train i have to base my schedule around the train schedule which means i don’t have time for much of nothing. Commuters with full schedules defiently don’t have the college experience because they get a lot of work and have to drive home hoping not to hit traffic or being stuck on the train trying not to fall asleep or miss their stop. Think about the commuters who work and go to school. this leaves them with no time for a college social life, to join frats, or to even join sports. I personally haven’t been able to join any academic activities because i always find myself rushing to get from point a to point b. My friends barely get a chance to see me. if i took loans out to dorm all of this would change but i rather be debt free.
Commuting is a big challenge for college students. Commuting makes is tough on students especially who jobs and a full schedule. i know from my personal experience that i hate commuting. Walking to the train half asleep was never fun for me and neither is the long train ride. Id love to go to parties and join after school actives but work and going to school while commuting is taking a toll on me. Even if i didn’t ale the train i would have to drive and be at risk of the traffic. Traffic’s no joke so luckily i don’t have to deal with that. My advice for kids coming into college is take loans out and dorm if they want the real college experience.