Confessions of a Three Hour College Commuter

Imagine its 12:30am in southside Jamaica, Queens, one of the toughest areas in the borough. You get off your shift at 9:15pm up north in Westchester, NY dealing with self-absorbed and narrowed minded women and convincing them into feeling good buy expensive swimsuits. You have a 9:00am class the next day in Queens. Do you stay in Westchester and go to sleep til the next morning and take a 6:00 am train to get to class on time, or do you head to Queens right after work and get in around 1:00 am?

That's my life.

Being a commuter college student and living on campus definitely have their pros and cons. I'm glad I don't have experience nasty cafeteria food and that I can go home to my own space everyday. I'm also glad I can save a ton of money being an in-state and 'financially independent' student. But one thing about being a commuter student that I always died every week of classes is my long commute to school.

Statistics

According to NBC News, an average of 19% of freshman commuted or lived off-campus. They also saved about $10,000 during their four years by commuting to school. That means almost a fifth of all college students commute to school, and the number is only growing. I'm probably that one of the 19% that has the longest commute to school ever, I should really win a world record or something?

It takes me on average two and a half hours to get from my house to my school in Queens. I have classes Tuesday's-Thursday's and stay at my grandparents house, who live in Queens, during the week. You're probably wondering why did I choose to go to college almost 3 hours from me. I used to live in the area, I found myself in a complicated situation and had to move back to my hometown upstate. My school is also the only public institution that offers journalism and an undergraduate major. So without my grandparents, I literally don't know what I'd do about school.

Yes, I save a bunch of money going back and forth at a public school, but my commute to school also isn't a cheap one. For those who don't know where I live or go to school at, here's a map.

Photo by Ashleigh Brown via Apple Screenshot. This map shows the commute taken every Monday night before my class on Tuesday mornings. It takes around two and a half to three hours every week going to and from Queens. The White Plains Metro North station to and from Grand Central during rush hours is $24.50 every week and a 7-day metro card is $32. If I get paid bi-weekly, I'm spending $50 for the metro north trains and $64 for the buses and subways which add up to around $120 for two weeks.

Elmsford, NY to Queens Commute Breakdown

The red mark is my house in Elmsford, NY. 

1. My commute starts from taking the bus to White Plains bus terminal (1st black mark) where I catch the Metro North train. 
2. I get on a train going to Grand Central (2nd black mark). 
3. From Grand Central, I walk about 2-3 blocks to catch the F train going towards Jamaica-179th Street. 
4. I transfer to the E train at Jackson Heights-Roosevelt Ave (3rd black mark). 
5. I take that to the last stop at Jamaica Center (4th black mark). 
6. Luckily, my school is right by there so I can either go straight to school or take the bus which is the Q83 to the second to last stop to my grandparents (5th black mark).

So I'm spending $113 every two weeks, just to get to school and back. The prices are only going up as well. That's not counting other bills and necessities throughout the week. When you're having a bad day and in traffic, just think of my commute.