Living at home? Not a bad idea

For Wharton freshman Alex Hill, the trek to class every morning takes about an hour - by SEPTA.

Hill, who lives in Oxford Circle in Northeast Philadelphia, is one of about 175 Penn freshmen who currently live at home in or around Philadelphia and commute to campus every day, according to director of business services Barbara Lea-Kruger. The travel times of such commuters range from as much as an hour, as in Hill's case, to as little as five minutes, as in the case of College sophomore Michelle Yee.

The overall number of students who commute is small - though Business Services does not collect the numbers of upperclassmen who commute - but students say they are happy dividing their time between campus and home.

"The best part of living at home is the freedom; I feel like I'm not restricted by anything," said Hill, who applied mostly to local colleges.

"Not having a roommate is another plus," he added. "It's also cool to be able to quickly go back and forth between campus and home - sometimes I buy 'groceries' at the convenience store in 1920 Commons and take them home with me," he said.

"I definitely wanted to go to school closer to home," said Nursing sophomore Jessica Phillips, who lives in Upper Darby, which borders the western city limits of Philadelphia.

Phillips is a transfer student from Washington College in Maryland, where she wasn't satisfied with its nursing program and decided to apply to several nursing schools around Philly.

"I have a job and I babysit - everything is just easier," she said.

Living at home has its downsides, though. Most students list traveling to campus everyday as the biggest hassle, especially when working on group projects or meeting up with friends on weekends.

"The commute is bothersome sometimes, but both my parents work at the University so I'll come in with [them] sometimes," said Phillips, who spends about half an hour coming into the city during rush hour.

"Sometimes the time I can afford to spend on campus is limited due to my commuting schedule, but I don't think it detracts too much from the overall college experience," Hill said. "I still take plenty of classes, endure OPIM projects, and cram for midterms and finals like everyone else."

Both Phillips and Hill said attending college close to home allows them to still spend time with friends who go to local universities.

But commuter students miss out on one of the most popular college pastimes: napping.

"If I have a four-hour break in between classes, I'll want to take a nap, but I'll just hang out in the library and try not to fall asleep in public," said Phillips, who usually gets to campus around nine every morning and stays until around six in the afternoon.

At the end of the day, though, at least one thing is for sure.

"You don't have to worry about cooking dinner," said Yee.

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