There are plenty of reasons why students would choose to commute. Whether it is to save money, or other responsibilities such as children, a house/apartment, or something as simple as being able to live close to your work and school, commuting can be an ideal option for many students. Living on campus is very expensive; in fact, at the beginning of one student, who chose to remain anonymous, asked about the cost difference between commuting and living on campus and chose to be off campus because of the savings they would get. He explained that being on campus would be an extra $7,000, and that does not include parking. With all of this in his mind, it was not worth the cost.  

Another important factor is the fact that some students choose to work while still attending school. For those who work outside the city of Fond Du Lac, it would be less than ideal to live on campus. The reason being is that it would be a greater distance to get to their job than if they simply chose to live at home and were in a good a median point of school and work.  

It is also important to keep in mind that not all students in Marian are in their early twenties. Some are far older and have outside responsibilities to take care of such as kids and/or houses. Commuting is critical for these kinds of students as being on campus is no longer an option for them. For example, when a woman was asked about commuting, she said that was her only option as she had a home and kids to take care of.  

However, as for any kind of topic, when there is a positive there is a negative. Commuting does have its benefits such as financial because it gives you the opportunity to be able to focus on other things than just school such as work. 

Even with all these positives, there are things some commuters struggle with. One thing they struggle with is the social aspect while being in school. Marian students explained, this week, that the limited time they have with classmates makes it far more challenging for them to interact with other students and form connections. This can make life a bit lonelier for some students as they have no outlets to talk to people on a consistent basis 

Driving can also be dangerous, especially during certain seasons. The winter can prove to be especially challenging as slippery ice makes it far riskier to be able to drive safely. In fact, it holds the most fatalities in car crashes per year. From the 10-year average from 2007 to 2016, there were 156,164 crashes annually due to icy road conditions. 

However, seasonal weather changes are not the only thing commuters have to keep in mind when traveling to school. If one does choose to commute to school, that means one must plan on leaving far before the actual time of the class starts. Keeping in mind, weather, traffic, and parking are all things a commuter must plan ahead of time, if possible, to avoid missing classes. This can be easier said than done as most of the things listed are unpredictable to any commuter. Good chunks of the day can be taken out just to make sure they get to class on time, even if there isn’t an external force such as traffic slowing them down.  

Arevalo, written by T. (2021, March 23). 20 winter driving statistics to ensure road safety. carsurance. Retrieved September 28, 2021, from https://carsurance.net/blog/winter-driving-statistics/.