r/wlu • u/Deep-Media6535 • May 28 '26
Question commuting to laurier
hey guys! i’m gonna be commuting to wlu from mississauga for the following reasons:
- it’s way too expensive for me to afford dorm and would much rather go in debt for law school
- same commute time for schulich (my second choice)
- my dad said he’d buy me a nice car instead ;)
i honestly really love lauriers program and im so excited to attend this fall. i was wondering, will it make a big difference in my uni experience if i don’t live on res? i just don’t wanna feel “left out” or feel ”weird” for not living on res. and if you also commute, how do you find it so far?
i personally don’t mind a 1h20 commute cuz i go to DT often and it’s around the same (laurier would be one str8 bus)
Please let me know!!
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u/Parking_Arachnid_210 May 28 '26
People overrate the “uni” experience. Their definition of it is getting shitfaced at 3 in the morning. Find good friends, join some clubs, and you’ll have fun regardless of if u live there or not
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u/Deep-Media6535 May 28 '26
my siblings were saying the same thing. besides i don’t drink so id missing out on half the “experience”.
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u/Main_Finding8309 May 28 '26
Parking on campus sucks. Otherwise, you'll be fine. Join a club or two, find some friends, and your social needs will be met.
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u/afterwerk May 28 '26
If you're driving, I wouldn't do it. Cost of gas and milage on your car for that distance will more or less equal rent every month. If you're taking the bus I guess it could be feasible.
Why not just live off campus instead? It's much cheaper than residence and that 2.5 hours commute you spend could be put to socializing or studying.
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u/Deep-Media6535 May 28 '26
i’m gonna be busing since it’s one straight bus! i haven’t looked too much into off campus, i’ll take a look!
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u/D3ADL1FE May 28 '26
I'm from Mississauga, and although I don't commute, I go back on many weekends. Usually, it's just a 1-hour commute for me using the GO Bus (they're also really nice). If you don't mind commutes of that length, you're fine. The only thing is that it'd be harder to be "spontaneous" when it comes to making plans, and dealing with long breaks between classes (your BU lectures/labs are scheduled for you).
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u/Deep-Media6535 May 28 '26
yeah I’m a little nervous about how scheycking will work out if I’m commuting, but I don’t think it’s the end of the world. my sister did uoft and commuted, and during her breaks she’d js go into the city.
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u/D3ADL1FE May 28 '26
You could also look into off-campus housing. Laurier Residence is definitely quite expensive, but my place next year is $750/m (obviously not nothing, but $6,000 in living expenses for the entire year isn't terrible).
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u/Altruistic-Quiet7263 May 28 '26
I say it does affect the social aspect. You will be left out of a lot of last minute hangouts, or even planned ones since you still have to drive home. A lot of people will go to bars and stuff at night, they don’t always think to invite you since you don’t live here and it’s an inconvenience for you to be driving home at like midnight. It’s draining doing that commute while trying to keep up with those that live here. You’ll still be able to socialize easily during the day, but nights and weekends you won’t be there for, people will plan in front of you without thinking to ask if you want to join. I have felt left out of conversations and events because of commuting, yet I would be coming home at like 1 am on a Tuesday and have to do the drive again the next day at 7am.
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u/Deep-Media6535 May 28 '26
I hope I’ll make friends that won’t make me feel like this! I’d much rather save up money for travel than res, but thank you
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u/Plus-Ad5829 May 28 '26
honestly the off-campus community had if not way more cooler activities during first year and there is definitely ways to mingle!! i had a few off-campus friends so look into the instagram account or the your house council to get involved
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u/Expensive-Lead-6299 May 28 '26
doesnt make much of a diff if you dont live on campus. i just used to go out in waterloo in the night for the social aspect, which you can do regardless of living on campus. residence had no effect on my social experience personally. also you dont need to be invited to stuff, you can literally go by yourself and meet people same day.
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u/murrey987 Jun 02 '26
I recommend taking the go bus to save you stress of driving and finding parking! Its soo hard to find a spot at Laurier, unless you’re there at 7:30 or something
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u/Big_Anxiety9324 May 28 '26
It might because you won’t be on campus only for lectures but also clubs, networking events, case competitions… all of these are big parts of the bba program and provide valuable learning experiences and contacts.
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u/Live_Yogurtcloset_19 May 29 '26
I wouldn’t recommend commuting, some labs end at 10pm & some classes start at 8am you’re not going to want a long drive before/after. Also it will impact your social life depending on how much time you actually spend on campus.
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u/ShoddyObjective777 May 30 '26
Parking at wlu is thru a lottery system your not guaranteed a parking pass. Although I ended up with one each year. Just something to consider.
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u/One_Ad1061 May 30 '26
I live in Oakville, so the commute from there to Laurier is relatively the same as your situation. If you can't afford to get a dorm, I would try to get a cheap off-campus apartment. I lived on Spruce Street my first year and I must say for the price of some of the apartments, it was definitely worth my money. Ultimately I would try to avoid commuting as much as possible simply because it can negatively impact things like extra circulars (ex. in-person club meetings), work, academics (especially first year labs), etc. Also commuting to Laurier during winter season is a nightmare, constant bus delays and walking between classes. Waterloo is not particularly known for being very accessible during winter season lol.
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u/bman050382 May 31 '26
Is your program available in Milton? Can save you quite a bit of time!
When is dad buying you the car? Now, or after first/second year?
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u/Deep-Media6535 Jun 07 '26
GUYS UPDATE IM DORMING! my dad forgot he had an resp set up for me and it had a hefty sum in it. THANK YOU FOR ALL OF UR REPLIES!!
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u/Little_Resolve_1968 Jun 17 '26
I was commuting the first few weeks of sem but then ended up moving to campus cuz of the distance but id say you do get a decent amount of fomo being off-campus during orientation week cuz of all the events they hold. They do have an orientation specifically for off-campus students but its honestly just a campus tour - but you do get to meet alot of great people like off campus advisors. other than that id say commuting isnt bad per-say because once the semester pushes into academics there isnt much youre missing out on (unless you're part of some clubs that have meetings on campus you'd just have to work around your sched for that tbh) but if pricing if the concern then a small suggestion is trying off-campus renting? Its almost always ALOT cheaper than living on res and most of them are walking distance from campus so its cheaper, you'll have your own space with less rules, but you'll still be close/on campus if that makes sense.
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u/[deleted] May 28 '26
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