The Student Room Group

Commuting to university

Hi! Does anyone have experience of or is intending to commute to university that isn't particularly close to where you live?
I'll be 31 when I start in September and own a house so halls are not really for me.

I have three options of unis to go to with my preferred choice being around an hour's drive or train journey away. The other two are much closer. I'm interested in the impact that this might have on studying and stress levels, being involved with general uni life/other students and also lack of resources (eg library/study groups) on the days you're not on the campus. Having not studied full time for around 12 years, I suppose I have concerns that this and the distance will not be the best combination!
Any advice??
Original post by K-Bear
Hi! Does anyone have experience of or is intending to commute to university that isn't particularly close to where you live?

Hello :smile:. I'm starting uni in Sep, not going into halls either, but I'm intending to find somewhere privately that's fairly close to my uni. So, short answer: no!

However, my sister went to uni as a mature student a few years ago and her case is more relevant to yours. She wanted to continue to live with her other half at their home, but her uni was about 45-50 mins drive from home. Her strategy was to treat uni like a job: go in every day and work sort of 9-5ish - going to lectures and then into the library/with study groups etc. the rest of the day, after which she'd usually drive home. I think she did have the odd coffee/chat & little trip into town together with her uni mates, but generally she wasn't greatly involved in the uni social scene. Instead she socialised with her existing friends in her home area.

Sorry I can't be more specific, since this is 2nd hand info, but I hope it helps. I guess you'll have to make some compromises on the social aspects, but on the plus side, you'll have your own pad to go back to at the end of the day instead of a small room in messy uni accommodation!
Reply 2
Original post by jimmy_looks_2ice
Hello :smile:. I'm starting uni in Sep, not going into halls either, but I'm intending to find somewhere privately that's fairly close to my uni. So, short answer: no!

However, my sister went to uni as a mature student a few years ago and her case is more relevant to yours. She wanted to continue to live with her other half at their home, but her uni was about 45-50 mins drive from home. Her strategy was to treat uni like a job: go in every day and work sort of 9-5ish - going to lectures and then into the library/with study groups etc. the rest of the day, after which she'd usually drive home. I think she did have the odd coffee/chat & little trip into town together with her uni mates, but generally she wasn't greatly involved in the uni social scene. Instead she socialised with her existing friends in her home area.

Sorry I can't be more specific, since this is 2nd hand info, but I hope it helps. I guess you'll have to make some compromises on the social aspects, but on the plus side, you'll have your own pad to go back to at the end of the day instead of a small room in messy uni accommodation!


Thanks for your reply! Where you starting uni and what are you studying?

That's very helpful actually to think of it as still like doing a 9-5 job, I suppose if you get your mindset right before starting, it's a lot easier to stick with those intentions. I would like to be involved in some of the social side but maybe just have to accept that it would have to be planned in advance.
I haven't really got experience with it yet, but when I start uni i'll be travelling over an hour. I can't leave home because of all my animals so it'll have to do! :smile:


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Reply 4
I commuted about this distance to uni last year, and will be doing again next year. It's not too onerous, as I used to commute a similar distance to work before that. It also entitles me to a parking permit for the uni campus, which students living closer can't get! My main concern was that there are no late buses or trains, so I anticipated that I may need to arrange a few overnights closer to uni. In practice though, this only came up a couple of times, as being a mature student I chose either not to drink or not to stay out late! On the couple of occasions I did need to stay over I booked a cheap hotel room, although uni halls do have some short term lets which I investigated in case I needed that option. I found commenting by public transport to be a useful time to read. If you are settled where you live it is probably a lot more straightforward to stay put 😀. Good luck with your course 😀.


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Hello

I drive, but I take the train instead! The reason for that is because traffic can be horrendous, and also parking is very expensive and limited parking at university campus so I will have to resort parking ten minutes from the campus in the multistorey car park which is a bomb! I park on a street near the train station (free) then train straight to university which is ten min walk from the station.

A lot better on me and no stress at all! I would pick the train if it's quite far. If it's maximum 20-30 miles then I'd drive.

Good luck :smile:

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Original post by K-Bear
Thanks for your reply! Where you starting uni and what are you studying?

That's very helpful actually to think of it as still like doing a 9-5 job, I suppose if you get your mindset right before starting, it's a lot easier to stick with those intentions. I would like to be involved in some of the social side but maybe just have to accept that it would have to be planned in advance.

No problem. Hope it's of some help. I'm off to UKC (Uni of Kent at Canterbury) this September to study Film and English & American Literature.

I've just completed an Access to HE course and I was in the fortunate position of not needing to work this year while studying full time (although in retrospect perhaps I should've done a bit of paid work, since I'm running low on funds now). So I tried to follow the 9-5 routine - often a class in the morning and self-study (at home) in the afternoon. Some days were longer than a typical working day: I'd be up at 6am for a bus to college, and then sometimes working until 9-9:30pm in the evening (did stop for meal breaks). On the flip side, some days were a lot easier than a working day: I didn't have classes on Friday and when the workload wasn't too bad, I'd take a half or even full day off.

I'm going to try to continue that approach to studying at uni - if possible. It may be a bit more difficult as I will need to work at some point, although perhaps I can get by with just working during holidays. Anyway, I was surprised with a few people on my Access course; even though they didn't have to work either (for different reasons to me), they didn't give the impression that they consistently studied during the weekday mornings or afternoons they weren't in classes. I think for HE you need to be self-disciplined.

I don't know if the above was relevant to you - is your bigger concern the impact commuting will have on your social life rather than the impact on your ability to do the work? My concern about the social aspect is that even though I should hopefully be close enough to the uni to be able to participate, I don't know how I'll fit in with the younger students. I'm moving to a new area so it's not like I've got friends there already more my own age to socialise with instead. I've had some reassuring comments on this forum about the issue, so it's not keeping me up at night or anything, but it's one of those things that will keep bothering me somewhat until I'm actually there and things settle down.
Reply 7
I have commuted 1 to 1:15 hours one way to school, and later on 1 to 1:30 hours to university (depending on traffic, train schedule, etc.). If the train connections are not too inconvenient, you should be able to work during your commute.

It worked perfectly for me. Although it may feel rather stupid to commute for 2-3 hours to attend 1 or 2 hours of lectures on a day. I always studied at home, apart from group work. There were no resources I needed and could not access at home.

The one consideration, IMO, is whether there are others commuting. If very few people commute, you may have a harder time fitting in socially. In my university, there was always a majority of people commuting, which made it an easy decision. Not sure how important that is to you, though, as a mature student.
Reply 8
Original post by jimmy_looks_2ice
No problem. Hope it's of some help. I'm off to UKC (Uni of Kent at Canterbury) this September to study Film and English & American Literature.

I've just completed an Access to HE course and I was in the fortunate position of not needing to work this year while studying full time (although in retrospect perhaps I should've done a bit of paid work, since I'm running low on funds now). So I tried to follow the 9-5 routine - often a class in the morning and self-study (at home) in the afternoon. Some days were longer than a typical working day: I'd be up at 6am for a bus to college, and then sometimes working until 9-9:30pm in the evening (did stop for meal breaks). On the flip side, some days were a lot easier than a working day: I didn't have classes on Friday and when the workload wasn't too bad, I'd take a half or even full day off.

I'm going to try to continue that approach to studying at uni - if possible. It may be a bit more difficult as I will need to work at some point, although perhaps I can get by with just working during holidays. Anyway, I was surprised with a few people on my Access course; even though they didn't have to work either (for different reasons to me), they didn't give the impression that they consistently studied during the weekday mornings or afternoons they weren't in classes. I think for HE you need to be self-disciplined.

I don't know if the above was relevant to you - is your bigger concern the impact commuting will have on your social life rather than the impact on your ability to do the work? My concern about the social aspect is that even though I should hopefully be close enough to the uni to be able to participate, I don't know how I'll fit in with the younger students. I'm moving to a new area so it's not like I've got friends there already more my own age to socialise with instead. I've had some reassuring comments on this forum about the issue, so it's not keeping me up at night or anything, but it's one of those things that will keep bothering me somewhat until I'm actually there and things settle down.


Sounds an interesting course, good luck with it! Sounds like your approach to your studies on the access course will help with transferring that to uni.

I'm most concerned about the impact on the work really as with not having studied full time since my A Levels in sixth form, I think it is going to be a bit of a shock to the system and then adding commuting on top of that, which I'm not used to either because I live relatively close to my workplace. So I guess it's just a complete upheaval of what I'm used to. I'm positive that I can adapt to it, of course, but was just concerned about the extra pressure I'd be putting on myself.

I can relate to the not fitting in with the younger students worries but it does seem that there are quite a lot of mature students around, more than I thought! I've managed to speak to some of them on the same course and it's helped me a lot to know there will be others in a similar situation.
Reply 9
Original post by Zefiros
The one consideration, IMO, is whether there are others commuting. If very few people commute, you may have a harder time fitting in socially. In my university, there was always a majority of people commuting, which made it an easy decision. Not sure how important that is to you, though, as a mature student.


That's a good point. I have spoke to a few people who are commuting so not everyone is 18 and living in halls! It's definitely made me feel more at ease with the choice.
Reply 10
Original post by Ftmshk
I commuted about this distance to uni last year, and will be doing again next year. It's not too onerous, as I used to commute a similar distance to work before that. It also entitles me to a parking permit for the uni campus, which students living closer can't get! My main concern was that there are no late buses or trains, so I anticipated that I may need to arrange a few overnights closer to uni. In practice though, this only came up a couple of times, as being a mature student I chose either not to drink or not to stay out late! On the couple of occasions I did need to stay over I booked a cheap hotel room, although uni halls do have some short term lets which I investigated in case I needed that option. I found commenting by public transport to be a useful time to read. If you are settled where you live it is probably a lot more straightforward to stay put 😀. Good luck with your course 😀.


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Thank you, it's great to hear your experience of already doing it. A few people have mentioned public transport being a good option for reading time.
Hi!

I commuted 50 miles in my final year, and it was fine, BUT
I had to go early to avoid rush hour because driving 7-8 then studying 8-9 or 8-10 was better than driving 7.30-9 or worse!
Roadworks appeared without warning and caused delays
My route to Uni was totally disrupted the week after my last exam (thank god not before) and the alternative route is 75 miles+, mainly busy motorway!
I couldn't be as involved with Uni events because waiting around for them to start/driving home at 2am was a pain

Definitely wouldn't change having commuted, but I am so, so, SO glad the major roadworks and road closure didn't happen until June this year, or I would have been screwed!!!
Original post by K-Bear
Hi! Does anyone have experience of or is intending to commute to university that isn't particularly close to where you live?
I'll be 31 when I start in September and own a house so halls are not really for me.

I have three options of unis to go to with my preferred choice being around an hour's drive or train journey away. The other two are much closer. I'm interested in the impact that this might have on studying and stress levels, being involved with general uni life/other students and also lack of resources (eg library/study groups) on the days you're not on the campus. Having not studied full time for around 12 years, I suppose I have concerns that this and the distance will not be the best combination!
Any advice??


I've no experience of commuting myself but I can give a few bits of info that might help:

Look at your first choice universities policy on cars when you decide whether to drive or get the train, some will let you buy a parking permit, others will only let disabled students park on campus and some will let you apply with no guarentee you'd get one!

As far as studying goes, during my undergraduate degree (in Arts) I managed fine not going into the library every day in 2nd & 3rd year, I would plan to get books out/return them the days I was in when I needed them and journals were accessible offline. We didn't have study groups, everyone did their own thing although obviously if you have to do group presentations you'd need to meet up with others.

General uni life is probably the trickest one for you, as generally most pre organised events held by the SU and societies tend to take place on evenings and weekends when most people are available so whether you partake in them depends on whether you can/want to come in or stay longer. Some unis offer more for mature students than others- some may offer mature student societies where you can connect with other mature students who might be more likely to want to go for a coffee in the day if thats more your thing.

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