Travelling 1.5 to 2 hours to uni?

This includes travelling to and from the starting and ending stations. I know it's going to be possibly arduous and will most likely affect my social/studying times but student accomodation is so expensive right now and I'm still looking for a suitable part time job to be able to fund it. So currently, I can't afford it.

I'm in my first year and i know second year is harder. I plan on getting advice from student support...

I've done a one week trial travel. I tried staying at school for 2-3 hours after my classes unless it was a late class. It wasn't too bad in terms of tiredness but it's just more about delays and strikes that I am worried about. I am thinking that I will have to stay in hotel if I can't get back home.

I honestly do think that having accomodation near uni is better overall. It's just the money and using a shared bathroom, which I don't mind using; but due to personal reasons which I will not say here, I would rather not.

And obviously, I understand the forum is not the best place to ask but perhaps maybe any advice from those who travel.

Hi,

As someone who spent a fair portion of my time on trains travelling from university, to home and back again, I know sometimes it can be tiring, and with strikes, and delays, it can be a nightmare to navigate.

If you can't get back home, you don't necessarily have to worry about booking a hotel. A lot of universities will have accommodation for commuting students, which can cost as little as £20 a night.

Second year can seem a bit more daunting initially, but it's not necessarily noticeable, as it doesn't actually feel any different to first year. From my own experience, there didn't feel like as much of a shift up as everyone claims there is.

One advantage of your commute is you'll have more but less time than your fellow students. Just because you're travelling, doesn't mean you can't spend your time wisely. If you've got a 5 minute walk to uni, you might have more time in bed, but if you're travelling, you have extra time to study, or make notes, or even just plan out your day.

It can be not always worth it, but it can be cheaper in the long run, and if you are travelling 3-5 times a week, a railcard or a bus pass is always worth the investment and means you're saving more money overall.

Hope this helps,

Andrew

My commute was about an hour each way, and that’s probably about as arduous as I would have liked.

As above, you’ll be much more likely to start skipping stuff if it’s only one session or the weather is horrendous so I can’t honestly recommend up to four hours of travel a day.

Does the uni have a temp agency? You should be able to pick up some casual work fairly easily unless it is very remote.

Is that 1½ - 2 hours each way -- so 3 to 4 hours in total each day?

I can understand that accommodation near uni will be expensive; but bear in mind that the travel will be expensive too, and if you're living with your parents you'll get a lower maintenance loan. You'll need to factor than into your calculations.

Make sure you look into the best way to minimise the cost of travel. A railcard may give a discount on your train travel, subject to the rules on minimum fares; plus look at whether Advance tickets are available for your journey (but be aware that an Advance ticket, while cheaper, restricts you to travelling on a specific train).