Commuting to Uni or accom, help!

Hi,
I have a place at Uni of Manchester and tried for 3 years for it so obvs I want to go. However theres an issue, I’m already feeling homesick and I haven’t left yet. I understand there will be comments saying that I’ll have to move out at some point etc, or no social life. I’m past the social Uni life and just want to get my degree that I’ve been trying to get into for so long. I’ve tried to ask for a timetable but they won’t be released until September.

I will be studying pharmacy year 1 and not sure on how many hours I will be in Uni but I do know that lectures are online. For background information, I live near Chester trying to commute to Manchester. Also, I was planning on going home every weekend on a Friday anyway so idk if accommodation is even worth the space and money. It would take me maximum 2 hours for my house to the stopford building. I’ve done a commute before similar to this but as it’s in Manchester and a bit further away, I’m scared lol.

Original post by BChillington

Hi,
I have a place at Uni of Manchester and tried for 3 years for it so obvs I want to go. However theres an issue, I’m already feeling homesick and I haven’t left yet. I understand there will be comments saying that I’ll have to move out at some point etc, or no social life. I’m past the social Uni life and just want to get my degree that I’ve been trying to get into for so long. I’ve tried to ask for a timetable but they won’t be released until September.

I will be studying pharmacy year 1 and not sure on how many hours I will be in Uni but I do know that lectures are online. For background information, I live near Chester trying to commute to Manchester. Also, I was planning on going home every weekend on a Friday anyway so idk if accommodation is even worth the space and money. It would take me maximum 2 hours for my house to the stopford building. I’ve done a commute before similar to this but as it’s in Manchester and a bit further away, I’m scared lol.

Hey @BChillington

I didn't go to the University of Manchester specifically but have experienced both living at uni/living at home so might be able to offer some advice! I personally lived at university in halls for my first year and then commuted for my second and final year. In my opinion, I'm so glad I lived in uni accommodation in first year as I met so many great friends and felt I really got a good 'uni experience' this way; I personally think living in halls is the easiest way to make friends at university as everyone is in the same boat so wants to be friends with everyone. I understand it is hard to live away from home but it genuinely changed me so much and made me a lot more confident. I also think most people think that they'll be going home every/every other weekend and end up not doing that anyway! The main reason I live at home now is just so I have more money, but with commuting I personally felt a little bit more isolated sometimes.

On the flip side, if you're not interested in the social side of things maybe it is worth the commute for you. But it is worth considering you will likely be at uni around 4 days a week so this will probably become very expensive and you'll spend a lot of time in the car/on the train/on a bus. I'm still at uni now because I'm a postgrad student and sometimes find myself thinking how much easier it would be to live at uni as the commute takes a lot of time out of my day!

Hope this helps a little bit :smile:

Natalie
University of Kent Student Rep

Reply 2

BChillington

OP

7

Bump, guys I need advice pls. Thanks

Reply 3

martin7

20

Original post by BChillington

Hi,
I have a place at Uni of Manchester and tried for 3 years for it so obvs I want to go. However theres an issue, I’m already feeling homesick and I haven’t left yet. I understand there will be comments saying that I’ll have to move out at some point etc, or no social life. I’m past the social Uni life and just want to get my degree that I’ve been trying to get into for so long. I’ve tried to ask for a timetable but they won’t be released until September.

I will be studying pharmacy year 1 and not sure on how many hours I will be in Uni but I do know that lectures are online. For background information, I live near Chester trying to commute to Manchester. Also, I was planning on going home every weekend on a Friday anyway so idk if accommodation is even worth the space and money. It would take me maximum 2 hours for my house to the stopford building. I’ve done a commute before similar to this but as it’s in Manchester and a bit further away, I’m scared lol.

Commuting up to 4 hours a day (two hours in each direction) is going to take up a huge chunk of your life, and presumably a decent chunk of your money.

Have you tried doing the commute to see how it works out for you? If it's a two-hour commute and you have a 9am start, will you be able to get up, dressed, and leave the house by 7am to arrive on time? It might not feel too painful now (in August), but how do you feel about leaving the house an hour before sunrise on a drizzly December morning -- and then potentially leaving university after sunset with a two-hour journey home?

You say your lectures are online -- but are they really online, or is the online version simply a recording of a lecture that your classmates will be attending in person? Bear in mind that teaching isn't necessarily just lectures -- there may be workshops, seminars, tutorials, problem classes, etc that are in-person only.

If you're commuting in, it's very tempting just to not bother going in if you've only got one session on a given day. But universities can and do pick up patterns of non-attendance and that can start causing you problems.

Commuting to Uni or accom, help!

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