Too Long?

The Wheels on the Car go Round and Round.  Then the plane goes up and down.

On Tuesday September 25, students from Oakland University were asked questions about commuting to and from school.  These students wanted to know the opinion of other students, and the reason behind why they commute to school.

Check out this 2016 map that shows most public college students enroll in an university within 50 miles from their house.

A range of 7 questions were asked:

1. What’s your name and major?
2. What’s your class standing?
3. Do you live on or off the campus?
4. Do you live at home or rent locally?
5. Where do you commute from (city)?
6. How long is your commute?
7. Why did you decide to live off campus?

The number of students who answered the questions were 67 in total, were 1 freshman, 9 sophomores, 14 juniors, 32 seniors, and 10 senior +.  Majors ranged from communication, business, nursing, engineering and more, which gave us a better pool of students. There was a large spectrum of commuters.  There were some students on campus, but many lived off campus.  The closest off campus were Rochester, Auburn Hills, and Pontiac which is 10-15 minutes away.  The farthest were Romeo, Armada, and Heartland which range from 40-60 minutes away.

It was much cheaper, and I wanted more privacy than the dorms,” Senior Liz Starnes said. “I would have lived in the on-campus apartments, but the age cut off is so early I wouldn’t have been able to live there until my senior year.  Also, the food options were very difficult for me as someone who was trying to get healthy.”

Here is an article of pros and cons when living at a college dorm.

On November 4, 2018 I was able to ask groups of students from Notre Dame College, Ursuline College, Lakeland Community College and Lake Erie College in Ohio, how far they commute to school every day.  There was no where near as many students that were asked in Ohio, but it was interesting to see if there were differences or if it was like the students at OU.  I was comparing if there are major or minor differences in a different part of the country or if there was no difference at all.

The number of students who answered the questions were 20 in total, 3 freshman, 7 sophomores, 4 juniors and 6 seniors.  There was a big number of commuters.  There were some students that decided to live on campus, but the majority lived off campus.  The closest cities off campus were Mayfield Heights, Kirtland, and Painesville which is only 5 minutes away.  The farthest were Youngstown, Pittsburgh, and there was even 1 from Los Angeles.  Youngstown and Pittsburgh are upwards of an hour or 2.  LA is a 4-and-a-half-hour plane ride.

The number and percentage of students that drive less then 1 hour, 1-2 hours and more then 2 hours to school everyday on Nov. 4, 2018.  Clearly, most students want to stay as close to home as possible.

“As much as I wanted to live on campus, I know it made sense financially for me to commute and stay at home,” according to Jane Katz a sophomore from Youngstown, Ohio.

“I knew I wanted to leave the big city and try to move into a smaller college town, which is why I moved from LA to attend college in Ohio,” senior Nick Poole said.

“Staying home and going to college was my plan all along and that never changed from my sophomore year of high school.  I wanted to save money for a house or apartment after I graduated from college.  I am a senior and a little over a semester away and in the process of searching for homes, so I could not be happier,” per Michelle Yang.

From a parents point of view they might be able to see differences from their children living at home or in a college dorm.

 

How Long Is Your Drive?

Some drives are close, some are far, but we all make it work.  Students at OU weigh in or where they live.

On Tuesday September 25, students asked other Oakland University students questions about commuting.  These students wanted to know the opinion of other students, and the reason behind why they commute to school.  A range of 7 questions were asked:

1. What’s your name and major?
2. What’s your class standing?
3. Do you live on or off the campus?
4. Do you live at home or rent locally?
5. Where do you commute from (city)?
6. How long is your commute?
7. Why did you decide to live off campus?

The number of students who answered the questions were 67 in total, it was 1 freshman, 9 sophomores, 14 juniors, 32 seniors, and 10 senior +.  Majors ranged from communication, business, nursing, engineering and more, which gave us a better pool of students. There was a large spectrum of commuters.  There were some students on campus, but many lived off campus.  The closest off campus were Rochester, Auburn Hills, and Pontiac which is 10-15 minutes away.  The farthest were Romeo, Armada, and Heartland which range from 40-60 minutes away.

See below for a pie chart of how far students are driving:

If you look at the chart above on Sept. 25, 2018 we see the majority of students live within an hour of their school and the further out you go the less percentage of people attend.  This would make sense because not many people want to see how far they can drive to go to school.

“It was much cheaper, and I wanted more privacy than the dorms,” Senior Liz Starnes said. “I would have lived in the on campus apartments but the age cut off is so early I wouldn’t have been able to live there until my senior year.  Also the food options were very difficult for me as someone who was trying to get healthy.”

She is right, however, here is something to try to eat healthier in college, especially if you chose to live on campus.

The majority of students live at home because it’s cheaper, and some students have jobs near home.  It’s simply more convenient for most.  Others pay rent since it’s more feasible, and one student just wanted to live on their own rather than living with parents. Below we have a map that shows each students location, and it gives you a visual of where and how far OU students commute.

To see a map of where the respondents came from and how long their commute takes, click here.