Commuting

It can be hard to deny the fun and freedom of moving away from home. But there is also the familiar option of staying at home and commuting which some believe to be much cheaper - but is it really the best option?

TSL spoke to Gemma Littlewood, a criminology student from Rainham, Kent who commutes to London 3 times a week for her studies. "It costs me about £30 a week", she tells us. "The train service is good provided it actually arrives on time".
Do students who commute like Gemma miss out on the action around uni? "No, if there is ever anything on, I stay at a friends who lives there so I never miss out".
Gemma also gets around £10 off her train journey with her 16-25 railcard. Commuting into university isn't such a bad idea it seems. What about early starts? "Well, twice a week I have to get up at 6am - and it takes me about an hour to travel. Plus I get caught up in the rush hour".

So to way up the pros and cons of commuting:

• You save a lot of time and money as you don't have to buy food or pay for rent, just travel
• Close family support is always at hand
• Save even more money with railcards

Cons:

• Waste time traveling into university - and sometimes very early starts.
• May miss out on parties because the trains finish early
• Travel time can be boring (although, you could do some work if you manage to find a seat!)
• Trains can be late or delayed - potentially affecting your studies and attendance if a regular occurance!

TSL recommends:

If you live around an hour away, maybe you should consider commuting because it can save a lot of time and effort. But if you live any further, or enjoy spending lots of time with your friends you should consider living away, closer to university. And remember, if you do commute, get a 16-25 railcard as you can save so much money with it.