Students who commute do not have the built-in socializing
mechanisms found in residence halls and Greek houses, so they are at a
disadvantage when it comes to meeting other students and socializing. It’s easy to meet people and make friends
when you live in the next room, but when you live twenty miles away, it becomes
much harder. The best thing you can do for your commuting child is to let him
be a college student and immerse himself in the campus culture as much as
possible. To do this encourage him to do the following:
• Get involved
in at least two campus organizations or clubs. Ideally students should join an
academic, or major related student club such as advertising club, the
microbiology club or nutrition sciences student club etc. Every major has a
club representing its students and its interest on campus.
• Join a
social, community service, or religious campus group.
• Play
intramural or club sports. Some campuses
have teams sign up by residence hall, Greek house, or other affiliation; some
teams are just for commuters.
• Spend as
much time as possible on campus. Encourage your child to study, eat, and
socialize on campus, and really engage in campus life.
• Make plans
to live on or at least near campus at some point. Even one semester is long
enough to meet new friends and carve out a niche for oneself. Moving out of the
family home is also a good way to learn about the realities of having a
roommate, paying rent, paying utility bills, and maintaining a living space of
one’s own.
• Get an on
campus job. Working at an on campus job will afford your student the
opportunity to meet other students as well as college faculty and staff.
Whether he’s working in the cafeteria, in an office, a lab, or the library, an
on-campus job will not only keep him on campus longer than just attending
classes alone, it will put him in the middle of what’s happening at his
college.
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