The many benefits of being a Laurier commuter student

When you think about going into your second-year here at Wilfrid Laurier University, one of the first images that pops into your head is probably a crazy party house where the food is better than the dining hall and everyone gets along perfectly.

This may be the case for most people after the first-year residence experience, but believe it or not, there are tons of people who attend Laurier who decide to commute rather than living in the infamous “student ghetto.”

While a lot of people say that living on your own in a student house is the only way to go, that’s not always true; commuting may be the better option for some. Keep in mind that in order to have a realistic and worthwhile commute;you must live in the tri-city area.  This includes the areas in and around Kitchener-Waterloo, Guelph, Cambridge and perhaps even Woodstock.

Some people will make you feel like commuting is a waste of the university experience and that isn’t true.  Contrary to popular belief, there are several benefits that come with commuting.

You Will Save Money
Commuting to school is definitely cheaper than living on or around campus. You don’t have to worry about paying for all of your meals, furniture and all the other unnecessary expenses that come with living on your own. Don’t even get me started on housing fees.  You might also be much more motivated to get a part-time job since you’ll be home and have the availability to get a job that’s nearby.  You will actually make money.

You Won’t Be As Distracted
You’ve got roommates doing whatever they want, friends barging in whenever they feel like, noises all over the place that you can’t control, a constant party or bar invite which will make you feel like you have to go to and another million things that always seem better than studying for your midterms and finals. When you’re commuting to school, you don’t have to deal with these kinds of needless distractions and can focus on your studies. You can go home to your own bed and do your homework in silence and reward yourself once you are done your homework.

Your Parents Can Be A Big Help
When you make the decision to stay at home, your parents will naturally feel a little more responsible for you since you’re still at home. By commuting from home, this means that you will still have your parents doing things for you if you needed their help. In most cases, parents will continue to help you with those famous laundry days, make dinner, lend money if you really need it, buy food and anything else that you ask them to do.

It’s Less Complicated
Commuting is always simple. When you are commuting to and from school, you wake up, drive to school, go to class, go to more class and that’s it.  When you live at school, you have to worry about actually taking care of yourself, along with juggling your social life and trying to get good grades. You also have to stress about the money you don’t have, horrible roommates, people you hooked up with who won’t leave you alone. I could go on and on. Commuting typically means school is just school.