Is It Cheaper to Commute or Live on Campus?

Apart from tuition, living expenses — especially housing — constitute the biggest line item in your college expenditure ledger. As is the case with most housing-related issues, location plays a large role. Is it cheaper to commute or live on campus?

Usually, living at your family home and commuting to school will provide the cheapest of options in a strictly monetary sense. However, if you measure affordability by other metrics, you will find that concluding what “cheaper” is will become subjective.

In this article, we will present the factors that you should consider when exploring what is best for your situation. We will also analyze the pros and cons of each alternative, so keep on reading.

Factors to Consider in On-Campus Living vs. Commuting

College life involves more than just academic pursuits. For many people, it is their first taste of independent living. With independence come choices and responsibilities. This is why relying on a simple pros and cons list for choosing whether to live on campus or to commute is not wholly reliable.

It is important to weigh and consider the factors that directly influence the real and perceived value of either option. These are the following factors that you should consider before making a decision:

How Do You Define Cheaper?

This may sound like a silly premise, but it is a valid one when considering your on-campus vs. off-campus options.

If you are searching for the option that is the lowest in terms of monetary cost, then you need to use cost as your sole metric when analyzing the options. In practical terms, this would preclude you from considering the other factors in this article. It also makes it easier in the sense that cost alone will yield the answer.

However, if you apply nuance to the concept of being “cheaper,” more options and considerations come into play. It then becomes an issue of seeking affordability. It becomes more of a value proposition as opposed to a simple search for the lowest monetary cost.

What Are Your Off-Campus Options?

When weighing on-campus living vs. commuting, you need to first identify your realistic off-campus options. For example, which among the apartments and other housing options that are off-campus are within your budget? Is living at home with your parents a possibility? This will provide you with a baseline for comparison and decision-making.

While it may be tempting to fantasize about the fancy luxury apartment complex located on the opposite side of town, if an off-campus option is simply not realistic for budgetary reasons, keep them off your list for consideration. This list should be practical as opposed to aspirational.

It is important to take into account the following items when evaluating your off-campus options.

Distance to Your School

When living off-campus, the distance from where you live to your school will be one of the biggest factors determining how much time you need to allocate for driving or taking alternate forms of transportation.

The distance also directly impacts the actual cost of the added commute. This can be in the form of additional fuel, public transportation fees, parking costs, etc.

What Commuting Options Are Available?

How you commute to school will determine your commute costs. If you have to rely on driving your car to school, you must factor in fuel costs and budget in expenses for automotive maintenance and repair.

If you plan on carpooling — to share the costs and to be more mindful of the environmental impact — you need to consider how sustainable the carpool option is. Will your roommates or other classmates living nearby have similar class schedules? Whose car will you use?

Often, the carpooling option falls flat because the time you need to be on campus fails to properly coincide with the schedule of others to share a ride. If your university offers a commuter program, this may be a viable way to find reliable transportation to your school when living off-campus beyond the private carpool option.

Ideally, the method to lower your commuting cost when living off-campus would be to live near enough to your school that you could ride a bike or walk. Of course, depending on what region of the country you live in, harsh winter conditions can make this option unviable. This would require you to factor in alternate transportation costs during harsh weather.

For alternative commuting inspiration check out our article here.

Would You Live at Your Family Home?

If your family home is close enough to your university, the option of living with your family while attending college will offer you the best way to lower your living costs.

However, this option comes with the trade-off of not being able to partake in the fruits of independent living. Usually, the commute involved would be longer than required when living in off-campus housing adjacent to your school.

While on a strictly monetary level, living at your family home and commuting to school would be the most affordable option, you need to evaluate if missing out on the full college experience is worth it to you.

Additionally, your presence in your family home doesn’t mean that the food that you consume and the utilities that you use come free of cost. Whether your parents pay for all of the grocery and utility bills, or if you contribute to that expense, your presence there incurs a cost. Don’t fall into the mistake of assigning a zero cost to the option of living at home when making your comparative analysis.

Are You Willing to Have Roommates?

College life is commonly associated with having an active social presence. Sharing your living space, be it on campus or off, is practically taken as a given. If you want to curtail your housing expenses as much as possible, having one or multiple roommates is an effective way of doing so.

However, if you value your privacy or are introverted by nature, you need to assess what value your privacy has for you. If the idea of sharing a living space is too extreme for you, then you will need to assume the full burden of rent and utilities on your own.

Are You a Full-Time Student?

Usually, the option of on-campus living is reserved for full-time students. This means that if you are not taking a sufficient number of credits in a semester, you would not be eligible for on-campus housing. This would make commuting your only option.

Even if you do meet the definition of a full-time student, sometimes you need to ask yourself if your life’s schedule will allow you to derive all of the benefits of on-campus living. If you are taking a full slate of courses and also working a part-time or full-time job, the value of dorm life might be lost on you.

In those cases — especially if commuting implies a lower cost for you — removing on-campus living from consideration can be a wise idea. Remember, the cost of on-campus living is rationalized by the social and cultural benefits that it bestows. If you cannot avail yourself of those elements, why pay a premium for something that will not benefit you?

Properly Evaluate Your On-Campus Options

Your on-campus options will vary greatly depending on the school that you attend. According to the College Board, in terms of cost, in 2019, the average fees for room and board at a public university was $ 10,440. At a private university, this was $11,890.

If you are the recipient of a grant or scholarship, these may cover part or all of your on-campus living expenses. Rarely, however, do these grants and scholarships cover living expenses that are off-campus.

It would help if you also evaluated what you are getting for what you are spending on-campus.

What is the policy over holiday periods? Some dorms close over holiday periods. If you have no place to go, you will need to factor in the lodging cost during those periods.
If a meal plan is included, how valuable is it to you? On-campus meal plans, on the surface, can seem like a great way to mitigate additional expenses for food. However, if you find that you occasionally use it, you should adjust your perception of what it saves you compared to buying food or groceries yourself.
What other ancillary costs do you incur on-campus? Living on-campus usually results in you having to incur additional charges that you may have not originally contemplated. These include parking space fees, fraternity or sorority dues, health fees for on-campus health care, technology fees, penalties for dorm violations, etc.

It is imperative to properly calculate the true value you are obtaining for what you are spending on on-campus living to compare it to off-campus commuting properly.

Do You Trust Your Maturity?

When you first enter college, you are by legal definition an adult. However, not all 18 and 19-year olds achieve the same level of maturity when it comes to the necessary level of responsibility to care for their own home.

Sometimes the presence of fellow students in a dorm situation makes arriving at such responsibility easier. If this is so, opting for an on-campus living solution — even if it were costlier than commuting — could result in savings in the long-run by avoiding the expenses that come from mismanaged households, such as damaged appliances, late bills, and property damage.

Likewise, if living at home with your parents gives you the structure you need to focus more academically, the transportation cost could be offset by what you save in avoiding failing a course.

The “College Lifestyle”

For some, attending college implies wanting to live the complete “college lifestyle.” This means the dorm life, on-campus activities, etc. To live that experience, living on-campus is necessary. Any additional cost for living on-campus would be seen as an affordable premium to those who seek this.

According to Saving for College, some universities are requiring freshmen students who are studying full-time to live on-campus. This is due to the supposed benefits that students derive from it — such as being more focused on academics and adapting faster to college culture.

If the college lifestyle and college culture are that important to you, then even if commuting to school were monetarily cheaper, the fact that it detracts from the full college experience would make it a moot option. You would be best served to seek the most affordable on-campus option as your “cheapest” option.

Pros and Cons of Living on Campus vs. Commuting

While critical analysis based on an evaluation of the factors listed above will provide you with a more accurate answer for your situation regarding which is cheaper between on-campus living and commuting, there is also value in looking at the general pros and cons of each option.

Each pro and con can be weighed differently depending on how important they are to you.

Pros of Living on Campus

Proximity to your classes. By being on campus, you are a short walking distance to your classes. This eliminates the need for any commute. This, in turn, allows you more time to study, socialize, and sleep.
It’s as “all-inclusive” as you are going to get. Room and board will cover your on-campus housing inclusive of utilities and will also offer you a three-meal per day meal plan. It offers you the benefit of being close to your classes, giving you a taste of independent living without worrying about administering your household.
Great way to socialize with fellow students. Living on-campus allows you to socialize and network with other students and professors much easier than commuting.
It can serve as the first step toward more independent living. Dorm life provides you with enough independence without piling on all of the responsibilities of household management. It can be a great bridge from quasi-independence to full autonomy later on.

Cons of Living on Campus

Decreased privacy. Living on-campus will require sharing your living space. This includes sharing amenities such as bathrooms and showers.
Limited choices. Living on campus doesn’t provide you with autonomy in choices. There are rules that you must adhere to when living in a dorm or other on-campus housing. Likewise, with meal plans, you are limited to the menus and selections that are offered.
Distractions. With a large number of people living in a concentrated space, finding quiet and solitude for proper studying and rest may be difficult. Distractions and temptations to put off critical academic work may be greater on-campus.
Ancillary prices tend to be higher near a campus. In general, businesses on and near college campuses are going to be considered “hip” places. This allows businesses to charge a premium for their services. That means that socializing on or near your campus can be costlier than elsewhere.

Pros of Commuting to College

Potential savings. If you live at your family home, commuting to school removes the room and board expenses associated with attending college.
Greater privacy. Even when having roommates, the amount of privacy obtained from your off-campus apartment compared to a dorm is tremendous.
A truer sense of independence and responsibility. If part of the college experience you seek includes discovering independent living and learning to budget for personal expenses, living off-campus in your apartment can provide this.
Creates an improved life balance. For some, the commute time can be therapeutic and allows them to draw clear distinctions between their academic life, their personal life, and —for those who work —their work life.

Cons of Commuting to College

Grants and scholarships rarely cover off-campus living or associated commuting expenses. If you are the beneficiary of such assistance and covers on-campus living expenses, not taking it to live off-campus is like leaving money on the table. With 70 percent of undergraduate students receiving some type of aid, this is significant.
Consumes more of your “home time.” Living off-campus not only requires you to commute to school but also to take time to care for and administer a home. Bills need to be paid, routine maintenance carried out, etc.
Requires a commuting plan and contingencies. Commuting to school will require a vehicle, a bike, or easy access to public transportation. It also requires having alternate transportation plans in place to cover eventualities when you must be in class, and your normal transportation method is not available.
Takes away time from other activities. By having to accommodate the travel time required in commuting, the student is left with less time to study, socialize, or seek employment.

Conclusion

Whether living on campus or commuting to college is cheaper depends on the factors described above. It also requires each student to critically evaluate those factors and arrive at a conclusion as to what they would define as affordable to them.