Is it cheaper to live on campus or get an apartment in college?

Commute or apartments near college campus?

• I will be transferring to a four-year in the fall and am wondering if I should commute or live in an apartment near the campus. The commute would be about 40-45 miles and would probably take 1-1.5 hours to drive. I'm leaning toward commuting because I have a job close to home that I get really good hours with and enjoy well enough for it being in retail. I am also used to commuting since my commute to community college takes about 45 minutes. Commuting is also significantly cheaper than living on my own (technically with 1 roommate). However, living close to campus will give me more time to study and will give me the "college experience". As I'm writing this I realize that I have more reasons to commute than to live on campus, but I'm still wondering your opinion? Thanks in advance :)

• Answer:

  It depends. Sounds like you're wasting a lot of gas money though. If you live near campus, how much farther away will you be from your job? Will the difference you wouldn't have to spend on gas money make up for the higher cost of living near the campus? Will you end up working the same amount of hours if you live close to campus?