Darren Carter

Living off campus has its ups and downs for commuters like Connor Livingston, Berry sophomore. He enjoys having his own room and not paying for room and board or high meal plans but suffers the extra planning involved to attend social functions after class and the long drive to school.

“Biggest upside is having my own room,” he said, “I kinda need some time on my own.”

Livingston is involved in many organizations on campus and enjoys the peace and quiet he gets in his room without a roommate or neighboring students. After a long day of classes and meetings, he can come home and relax to the soothing sounds of his video game soundtracks.

The cost of living on campus at Berry College along with the higher priced meal plans for residential students played an important role in Livingston’s decision to live at home. Room and board fees, including a meal plan, at Berry average about $10,000, while the commuter meal plan for the 2012-2013 year was only $650.

“It was one of the absolute biggest factors,” Livingston said. “Obviously Berry is not a very cheap school anyway, so saving that extra ten thousand or so dollars on not living on campus. It really was a big deal; of course you have to consider things like gas. But still in the end it saves you a lot of money.”

Even with saving the extra money and having his own room, Livingston feels like there is a social disconnect for students living off campus. This is especially true for attending campus events in the evenings.

“For a commuter, we have to plan out if we are going to go to an even after our classes,” Livingston said, “because we can’t just go back to our room and then decide ‘hey, I’m going to go,’ cause now I have to spend all that gas and time to get back there.”

The extra time and planning that goes into attending campus events for commuters often results in many commuters not attending several events in the evenings. Events on campus are often planned to encourage student interactions and to create a unique social aspect to the college experience and many commuters don’t get to enjoy as many of these events because of the distance they are away from campus.

One of the biggest negative aspects of being a commuter for Livingston is the driving distance between his home and school. The ten to twenty minute drive to school effects many aspects of his life as a student. He has to plan ahead and account for the driving time to make sure he leaves early enough to get to class on time. The driving time also effects his ability to go back home if he forgets his homework or any other materials for class.

“Forgetting things is bad and also I have a tendency to run late for things anyway and I also like to sleep,” he said. “So I have to wake up earlier than everyone else does because I have to calculate the driving time and I have to leave for things earlier. It’s a lot of extra time and that hurts you in a lot of ways.”

Being a commuter also means spending more time with your family and having a pet around. Many students on campus enjoy not having their parents around all the time while others may miss being at home with their parents. Some students may even have mixed feelings about being away from home, mom and dad, and their beloved companions. Livingston enjoys seeing his dog, Toby, everyday but he has mixed feelings about living with his parents.

“I love my parents, I’ve got a good relationship with my parents,” he said. “It gives me an opportunity to spend more time with them. Like I spend many nights throughout the week playing video games with my dad and doing things with my mom as well. It has its ups there but it really does have its downsides in that, especially having lived on a college campus last year and being accustomed to that, now having to switch back to this idea of ‘they know everything I’m doing’.”

Having parents watching over your shoulder while in college can add more stress to an already stressful time in a student’s life. Livingston also mentioned how living with his parents forces him to be more accountable for his grades because his parents know when he has a test and usually confront him about his tests.

However, living with his parents saves him money on groceries and other expenses related to owning a home or renting a house or apartment.

Livingston has come to the conclusion that he does prefer living on campus based on his past experience living on campus at The University of West Georgia last year and his experience as a commuter this year.

“If someone tells me that they are commuting, I never instantly look at them and say ‘hey, that’s a great idea,’ I make sure that I tell them ‘there are a large number of disadvantages to commuting’ and honestly I think living on campus for the most part is a better idea, finances aside,” he said.

Livingston is planning on trying to move on campus next year if he can find a suitable roommate and a way to work out the extra cost of living on campus but is unsure of where he will be living next year.