Every Monday and Wednesday, Heather Dwire gets in her car and makes the 45-minute drive to Vermont State University at Castleton.

Although she only does this two times a week, she still doesn’t love making the drive from Middlebury.

“Music definitely helps me, and podcasts” Dwire said.

You might think all that driving would just eat away at her free time, but Dwire said that’s not the case.

“Honestly I think I have more time,” she said. 

Someone living on campus may have classes every day leading to less free time, she said. But she said she can use that time to do work and spend time with friends.

There are many different reasons people chose to live on or off campus, and what pushed Dwire to commute was a housing situation.

“I had started leasing an apartment before the semester started and I kinda couldn’t get out of that,” she said laughing. 

The idea of living off campus and not being a part of things can be hard, but students like Dwire say you just need to get yourself involved. 

“I think I’m pretty involved. I’m on the cheerleading team, so I meet a lot of people there, ‘’ Dwire said. 

As long as you are making an effort, it’s super easy to get involved and meet new people, she said.

Some students who don’t live on campus don’t commute from as far as Dwire. Freshman Claudia O’Connor says she only lives “12 miles away.” That makes it easy for her to be on campus and get involved.

O’Connor said finances played a role in her decision to commute.

“I am an early college student, so I didn’t want to pay for it this year,” she said. 

Students living on campus say they understand why some would rather commute.

“Room and board is, I think, $3,000 right now, and being able to save that money would be nice,” said freshman Inocent Nkiduriyo. 

Avoiding room and board fees is a major reason to live off campus, students say.

And about getting involved on campus, Nkdiuryo said that can be hard even for those living here. 

“You have to make an effort, regardless of where you are,” he said. 

But Nkdiuryro said living on campus has perks too, with everything being close.

“The ability to wake up and have class be a five-minute walk is very convenient,” he stated.