Through the eyes of a day student: balancing home with academics
At 5:30 a.m., Anna Quantrille, a freshman biology major, rolls out of bed and begins her morning routine before getting in her car and commuting 20 minutes to school. Like 30 percent of the student body, Anna is a day student—a student who commutes to school from home. This single aspect creates an appreciable difference in a student’s college experience.
When Anna finishes her classes for the day, she often stays at school to work her job at the Academy and go to volleyball practice. “Usually I don’t get home till 7 or so. [My parents] save me some dinner, I tell them a little about my day, and then go to my room to do my homework,” she said. While Anna tries to do as much homework as possible at school during a couple free hours, she does the rest of her studying in her room. “We call it the ‘Anna Cave,’” she said.
Though still living at home, many day students find that balancing family with school and work is a challenge. Graphic design major John Petersen said, “Most of the time I’m away from home, either working or doing projects for school.” Time with his family is limited, though he drives his sister to school at the junior high every morning. “Occasionally we’ll have dinner together, but that’s very rare,” he said.
Coming in to school a little early to beat rush hour traffic on I-385 or Wade Hampton is the only way a day student can be sure of getting to class on time. Many spend the extra time before their first class sitting in their car, brushing up on notes for a test that day, and finishing their morning coffee.
Without any primary territory on campus—a room and a bed, for example—day students are campus nomads, drifting between classes into the library, Snack Shop or any place with a good wireless signal.
Danielle Nifenecker, a sophomore English major, has experienced both worlds since she used to live in the residence halls but now lives in town. “I definitely feel less connected,” she said. She stays connected by going to games at night and attending society prayer meeting. However, trips to campus, like a “quick” library run in the evening, mean 30 minutes of driving for Danielle who lives 15 minutes away. Students living in some of Greenville’s suburbs and outlying towns often must build in more than an hour of commuting time for each trip to campus.
Gas for individual trips may not amount to much, but in many cases it gets expensive quickly. This is an important factor for day students to consider when deciding to go to games or other campus events. “It’s hard to go to society games,” John said.
Commuting to school affects many aspects of college life, but even with the added responsibility of applying good organization with wise choices, hard work is key to college success for day students as well as residence hall students.
