2012-04-18, 12:43 PM
Moonlapse Wrote:I'd go ahead and try to get a dorm. Driving over an hour to school every day is going to use up valuable study time and wear you down. Also, living in a dorm is a great social experience.
With regards to the original topic, this. I commuted via bus 1.5 hours each way to a part-time job a couple days a week last year, and looking back it was insane. Absolutely not worth it.
In talking about getting a car v. living in the dorm, however, I'd still be concerned about time. You said the distance is 30 miles and it's a 40 minute drive? You'll be going 45 MPH on average every minute of the way? What about stop lights, rush hour traffic, etc? I'm obviously not the authority on this and I'm sure you know it very well, but it just seems like cutting it close to gauge that amount.
So what if you bumped it to 45 min? Even then that seems a bit much. And how frequently is a car necessary on campus? Here at UW having a car is "nice" and all, but, using my roommate as an example, it's not necessary more than once a week on average for other things, if that.
I had a horrible freshman year experience living in the dorms, as is Kurtle now, but that was because neither of us had the opportunity to choose our roommate. With that option I think dorming would still be better for you.