JOYS OF COMMUTING

Exams are fast approaching and then it will once again be time to get thinking about university.

A lot of stress and planning goes into the run up to freshers week, from organising enough stuff to stock a whole new flat – which is often much smaller than you expect – to getting the money together to pay deposits.

It’s a lot of hassle to go through. What if there was a way to make it all easier? That would be good, right?

It turns out that there is a much easier way to go through university if you live in Swindon, and that’s to commute

I know everyone wants to get away from their parents and let loose while they’re in their first year, and that’s great, but wouldn’t it be better to do that with a little more money in hand?

If you commute to university you can stay living with your parents, pay less rent than you would in halls, not have to bother with buying all kinds of kitchen equipment that you don’t know how to use...and you’ll still get to party. Doesn’t that sound better?

Swindon is very close to several great universities that offer a huge range of subjects. No matter what you want to study there will be something for you just a train or coach ride away.

From Sports at Bath to Education in Oxford to Literature in Reading you can get almost anywhere using the Swindon rail network and coach services so why would you give up your home and your room and your comfort?

If you aren’t bothered about staying at home but are worried about how you will cope with hardly any money now the student loans have been changed commuting might work better for you. If, like most first year students you are only on campus for three days a week then you will spend less travelling to university than some students will pay to live there all week round.

Staying in Swindon means staying quite close to lots of jobs too, so you could work and study at the same time giving you even more money to party at the weekends.

If you choose to commute then you will have anything from a half hour journey (Bath) to two hours (Oxford Brooks / Reading) during which time you could catch up on class work, or lost sleep. It’s time put to good use that you might waste if you were living in halls. There’s less to do on a coach or a train certainly but it means you’ll get more work done which, in the long run, gives you more time to yourself.

If you have a driving licence then it is worth looking into carpooling options in your area. Lots of people are choosing to drive to university now, and if you organise a car share it can cost you very little to get to and from campus when you need to.

It’s a good way to meet people in your classes too, one of the few things that you will miss out on if you’re not living on campus is meeting so many people so driving with them is a perfect opportunity. You could even get a motorbike license – something that is very cheap – and save even more money on petrol by taking a bike to campus. Taking a bike might save you money on parking permits as well; it’s a win-win situation.

So guys and girls, if you’re looking at university but don’t want the stress of moving, or if you just want to save a bit of money so you have less to pay back at the end of your three year stint, commuting might be the way forward.

Travel passes make train-fair cheap and there’s always a subsidised University Bus running when you reach your city of choice. If you want to work and party while living in comfort then commuting might well be for you. - by Katherine Armstrong