10 Things You’ll Understand If You Live Off Campus At SJU

Deciding the best place to live during college is a bit of a double-edged sword. On one hand you want to experience that little bit of freedom and independence of living on your own without anyone to nag you. But on the other hand, too much freedom and lack of rules like the ones you would have to follow if you were living on campus can potentially be a bad thing (like blasting 90’s R&B at 3 a.m. especially if you live in a neighborhood full of kids). While living on campus is no picnic either, here are the top ten things you’ll understand if you live off campus at SJU.

1.You can generally tell commuter students from those that dorm.

It’s not hard to spot the difference; commuters aren’t dressed in sweats or slippers and don’t look like they just rolled out of bed. Another helpful hint on how to tell if a student is a commuter, they’re always in a hurry to get home and beat the traffic.

2. Stay home & skip class or wake up 2 hours early just to get there?

You dread having to leave 2+ hours early just to GET to class and have to actively make an effort to attend all your classes. Which reminds me…

3. Traffic. SO MUCH TRAFFIC…

No matter how much time you give yourself it seems like there’s never enough. Both the LIE and the Grand Central are notoriously unpredictable and sometimes when you’re sitting there in traffic having not moved for the last 20 minutes trying to beat the clock that’s ticking down, you just have to accept your fate-you’re going to be late again.

4. Public Transportation

A wise man once said “Every New Yorker is in an abusive relationship with the MTA.” As if it isn’t bad enough that commuters have to risk being late to class because public transportation is so unreliable, it certainly doesn’t help when professors scold you in front of the entire class after it’s taken you 2 buses and a train just to get to campus…

5. Having half your closet in your car

You’re either over prepared or under prepared out of fear you’ll forget something at home and it’s too far to go back. Rain boots, raincoats, umbrellas, Timbs for when it snows, are all in the trunk just in case you’re unsure of what the weather’s going to be that day.

6. Parking

Everything about parking is annoying; paying for a parking pass (which doesn’t guarantee you a spot), not getting a parking spot on campus or in front of your building and the ridiculous time spent riding around trying to find a spot. There’s nothing worse than having to give up a decent parking space because you’re classes are so far apart.

Also, could SJU make the spaces any tighter?

7.  Feeling disconnected

Those that live off campus have a higher risk of feeling left out or not getting involved. If you’re lazy like me and don’t want to have to actively seek out campus opportunities you’re not coming all the way to campus. Especially not for common hour. You’re just going to have to turn around once it’s over.  Contact your doctor if you’re suffering from FOMO or feel like you aren’t getting the full college experience.

8. Your SJU Class Schedule

With a schedule that’s so spaced out, you can either be stranded on campus for hours until class starts or take the chance of going back home real quick before your next class starts. Madonna was right, time goes by so slowly.

9. Figuring out what to eat

Since you’re not at SJU as much, it doesn’t exactly make sense to get a meal plan. So, you are in charge of your meals for the week. Sounds fine until you open your fridge and see your roomie at your food.

10. Coming all the way to campus to find out class is canceled

While some professors send an email giving you a heads up that class is canceled, other professors cancel without warning. Basically, you came all the way to campus for nothing which is especially irritating if you only have one class for the day.

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