Life as a commuter has its fair share of differences from that of your average college student. Obviously the biggest difference is that commuters don’t live on campus. The balance between the home life and college life is a factor commuters have to monitor carefully.

What may be seen as a minute detail in the lives of students living on campus might carry greater significance to someone who has to take the time to drive to get to their first class.

For example, registering for classes is a tough enough process for those living at QU already. Anyone who has ever gone through this scheduling procedure knows there is a very small chance of getting all the classes they had in mind. There is an even smaller chance that the classes will fit into a student’s desired time frame. Pair that with having a schedule where you can’t walk or take a school shuttle to get to class, and you need ample time to plan out your day. In addition, other aspects such as a student’s work schedule outside of school must be taken into account.

“I schedule classes so I don’t have long time intervals in between,” Richard Pompano, a commuter from New Haven, said. “This way I can stay on campus rather than drive home then drive back. This semester and last semester my schedule was condensed.”

Having classes that are spaced far apart throughout the day is occasionally unavoidable with certain requirements, but it is a fact of life that all commuters learn to deal with.

“My schedule is insane. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday I have classes from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m., which means a very early wake up. Monday and Wednesday, I then work until 4 p.m. or so and then go to a 5 p.m. class,” sophomore Douglas Bray of North Haven, said. “Tuesday I work until 3 p.m. and then have a class until 5 p.m., and Thursday I work and have classes until 10 p.m. Combined with constant homework demands and a lack of free time this schedule