Residential Campus vs. Commuter College vs. Online Educ? NO ONE WAY!

"I loved living on campus..it’s something I want my children to do, too"  

- Excerpts above and below are from a series of articles about "ways that parents who send their children to college could cut their expenses." These excerpts are among Singletary's thoughtful responses to reader criticisms of her  "One tip — that students live at home and commute to classes."

More excerpts:

 "If you have the financial resources, dorm life can be a great experience... However, they won’t be staying on campus if we don’t have the cash to pay for it." 

"The other underlying argument critics bring up is the belief that if students don’t live on campus or near campus in an apartment with roommates, they are settling for an inferior college experience. So, as this theory goes, it’s worth it for students and/or their parents — or both — to go into debt if that’s what it takes to avoid missing out on this rite of passage.

"Certainly, it’s easier for students living on campus to become more engaged in various university activities. But I argue that rather than racking up debt for room and board, motivated commuter students can rack up priceless experience in self-discipline.

"If the weather outside is frightful, the extra effort to drive to campus takes self-motivation. If I were an employer, I certainly would appreciate a graduating student who excelled in college while commuting to school every day.

"Mathews is right that with careful budgeting, students and their parents can cut the living expenses for college. But many don’t even try. And they don’t try because student loans are so easy to get. Families just assume this debt is necessary. Many students attend expensive schools even if that choice means they have to pile on debt for living expenses and even when there is a school closer to home that has a good and similar degree program.

"If you have the financial resources, dorm life can be a great experience." 

- From "How to lower college costs, revisited," Michelle Singletary, The Washington Post, September 7, 2011

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