According to The Institute for College Access and Success, the average college student, in California, graduated with over $21,000 in student debt in 2014. When people think of the college experience, they think of living in a dorm, joining a club on campus, and having access to campus whenever needed. Unfortunately this is not the typical experience of today’s average student. Students are juggling tuition, rent, bills, and multiple responsibilities all while attending school. To these students, every penny counts. As the cost of college continues to rise, the idea of commuting is becoming a reality for students every year. Yes these students may be saving money, but at what cost?
In the college community, the term “commuter” is often seen
…show more content…
Non-traditional students are said to be 25 or older, who live off campus, and are taking a reduced course load (Bean and Metzner, 1985). A major factor in defining whether or not a student is traditional is their living status. The living status of the student can have large effects on a student’s social life both inside and outside of the classroom (Bean and Metzner, 1985). Aside from living status, the age and course load of the non-traditional student also effects their socialization on campus. Students who are older and taking classes are more academically driven and aren’t attending the university for social reasons (Bean and Metzner, 1985). To classify a student as non-traditional they must be older than 25 or living off campus or taking a small course …show more content…
Literature has suggested that commuter students are often facing barriers outside of school which can in turn make them feel uncomfortable on campus. A gap in literature is the time frame that schools offer resources for their students to help with these barriers such as mental health or financial hardship. Does the distance a student lives from campus affect their sense of collegiate sense of belonging?
Literature has stated that residential students are more likely to be familiar with campus and the resources it offers. The reasoning behind this is because residential students can visit the resource offices during their business hours, which typically is 8-4:30 p.m. If a commuter student has a job that takes place during these hours, then they are unable to use these resources. Because of this observation, the following hypothesis has been created. Students who live 1 mile or less from campus use school resources more than those who live more than 1 mile from
Martin and Lehren’s article “A Generation Hounded by the Soaring Cost of College” addresses the issue faced by current and former college students dealing with large amounts of debt due to student loans. The article presents the reader with stories of former college students who have either graduated or dropped out, and their struggle to pay off their student loans. The article also talks about issues such as students not being informed about high amounts of student loans and why student debts have increased. Martin and Lehren also make the issue of student debt more intimidating by giving examples of high amounts of student loans students have had. The article gives a very hard reality check to anyone reading as to how bad the problem of student debt is.
And finally, colleges and universities have to be inclusive of varied student subpopulations. They need to determine and address the special needs of groups such as racial/ethnic minorities, women, athletes, Greeks, students of different ages, and gay and lesbian students.
The start if college is like the end of one’s childhood. Yet I had no intension of letting that go when I woke up yesterday at 7:00 am. Still, like high school, my mom dropped me off and picked me up; copping almost the exact same routine from the four years I spent in high school. Just as I thought this ought to be the easiest way of transportation, my mom proved me wrong once we reached the University of Washington’s parking lot.
Adult students' participation and persistence in educational activities ranging from adult literacy to doctoral programs is a complex phenomenon involving an array of factors. Adults are often affected by situational factors beyond their control—job, health problems, financial problems, legal problems, personal or family problems (Belzer 1998). Likewise, dispositional factors such as expectations, self-esteem, level of family support, and past educational experience, can be barriers to participation (Hubble 2000). Institutional factors such as red tape, program fees, scheduling, and procedures can either help or hinder participation (Quigley 1998). In fact, adult students who drop out are often actually "stopping out"—that is, interrupting their studies but planning to return (Frank and Gaye 1997)—or attending other institutions (Hoffman and Elias 1999).
For the past decade, The United States has stressed the importance of college education, to those seeking employment, and better careers. For most people, college is the logical next step in education, as it provides a working knowledge of a desired field and opens the door to many opportunities, but college has become increasingly more expensive as time goes on. Many people feel that college is no longer an option financially. Even with financial aid and scholarships, the cost of a college education can still be very taxing. This is due to massive price increase across the boards, but the main issue on most people’s minds is the debt that will be acquired from higher education.
According to current estimates approximately 75 percent of college students are now nontraditional students – older than 25, attending school part time, and having delayed entry or reentry into college for a variety of personal reasons. Post secondary education is needed by such students to develop their careers and to acquire new skills and knowledge in a global society where they are likely to have longer life spans than did workers in the past. This trend is not restricted to North America; it is a worldwide phenomenon.
Most people today accept the debt that comes from college. Students consider student loan debt as a “good debt.” They see other students make this mistake but follow their path anyway. Nearly 80% of college-bound students have not projected the total amount of money they will need to graduate college.
Children of the twenty first century spend nearly 13 years in school, preparing for what is college, one of the only ways to achieve the so-called “American Dream”. College is the best way to start an advanced career and go further than one possibly could if college degrees were not available, allowing people to achieve their view of the American Dream; whether it be large houses, shiny cars, multiple kids, or financial comfort, college is the stepping stone to achieve the American Dream. But all great things come with a price, college dragging along debt. Students who attend college struggle to find ways to pay for it, leading to applying for student loans. These loans a great short term, paying for the schooling at the moment but eventually the money adds up
The third group is the normal group, they are usually typical college students attending their scheduled classes, getting the homework assignments done and turned in on time. The normal group is usually mothers/fathers that have hired baby sitters to watch their son(s)/daughter(s) while they attend the college they are enrolled in. They spend their recreation time studying, exercising, having fun with their friends, spending time with family, or simply offering their time to give back to their community.
Newbold, Mehta, and Forbus (2010) define commuter students as those who do not live on campus; this population makes-up approximately 75% of students in colleges and universities in the United States. During the 1960s through 1980s, new federal and state policies and programs, such as the Higher Education Act of 1965 that created need-based financial aid programs, expanded access to higher education, causing a rapid growth of commuter students (Kim & Rury, 2011). Commuter students brought unique needs and challenges, including feelings of isolation, the need to balance multiple life roles, different relationships and support systems, and financial and time considerations of housing and transportation costs (Newbold, Mehta, & Forbus, 2011). Despite this influx of commuter students, the environment and structure of institutions failed to satisfy commuter student needs. Instead, colleges and uni...
In college, attendance is crucial to students’ success. Being late to class can result in having less time to take a test or missing fundamental concepts that may be discussed in a classroom. Students must take responsibility by arriving on time; however, limited parking spaces and other transportation problems at many universities can cause students to be late which can result in poor academic performance. The University of Texas at San Antonio, one of most populous cities in Texas, has 29,000 enrolled students (UTSA . . .). During peak hours, one must be timely to find a parking space; many students find themselves driving in circles while hoping to find someone else leaving the campus and others wait for a shuttle bus that has a reputation of arriving late. Due to transportation problems, some students may feel unmotivated to study in the library or go to class regularly. Therefore, the University of Texas at San Antonio should improve student transportation because doing so could increase students’ academic performance.
There are some students who attend campus to experience the life of a college student. Some students go to campus to participate events such as tournaments, free food, and other events that are being offered. Students also show up to campus to meet new friends, assuming that some of them doesn’t have friends back in high school. Students would also find other new friends who enjoy the same hobby as they have such as videos games, comics, sports, and other types of hobby. There are also who would go to outside for some refreshing air around the environment of the campus and enjoy the sight such as the lake, forests, and other things they could see in campus. These students only do this because some of them ...
...school. Time is not an issue for students living on campus because they reside at the college, which makes it a lot easier to get to class. Whereas, students, who commute struggle to get up in order to catch a bus or two to get to class on time. Students living on campus can spend extra money on other things such as movies since they don’t have to pay for food or transportation. In contrast, students who commute need to save money on the side in order to have access to public transportation to get to class and pay for food at the school. Students living on campus are familiar with places around the college and they know more students. However, students commuting don’t have time for this since they are more worried about getting home on time. Living on campus should be considered by most college student since it appears to be a lot less stressful than living at home.
Studying, friends, and money: all of these are areas that normally consume an average college student’s time. The main reason students attend college is to learn and develop skills for their future career, but they need money to pay for it, and friends help make the journey less lonely and stressful. Most college students prefer to live on campus for a variety of reasons, whether they attend a college far from home, or they just want to get out and expand their social skills. Many other students, on the other hand, prefer to live off campus, if they live close to the college, or they have other responsibilities. Although most students do live on campus, the number of commuters is high as well, which may prove that either option is able to meet
When faced with new environmental changes and a lifestyle to adapt to, many college students feel overwhelmed by homesickness. Homesickness is most commonly due to anxiety, depression, and loneliness. A research studied concluded that homesick college students are three times more likely to drop out than non-homesick students. For many first-year college students, being away from home can be like an adventure. It’s exhilarating to be off on your own and completely in charge of your life and social well-being. I know that during my first week in college, I didn’t feel homesick at all because I was so anxious to meet new people, explore campus, and check out my classes. However, as I got more used to