UCR Commuter Students

Is Your Student Commuting?

There are two types of commuters at UC Riverside and you, as a parent or family member, have a very different role based on which type of commuter your student is. If you live relatively close to campus, your student may be living at home and driving to school. If you live farther away, your student may be renting a room or apartment, possibly with people he/she knows or possibly with strangers.

If your student is living at home…

It is incredibly easy for commuters to return home when they are not in class, and likely miss out on opportunities that may be happening on campus. It is important for your student to meet and engage with new people and a majority of those experiences come from outside of the classroom.

Try to be understanding if your student wants to stay on-campus after class. A majority of UCR’s student organizations have meetings at night and it will be hard for a student to be involved in one of these organizations if they can not make the meeting time. UCR also has an abundance of free concerts,  
movies,  and other social events that can help your student to meet new friends and make connections outside of class.

If your student needs or wants to work while attending UCR, urge them to consider getting a job on-campus. The pay is comparable to other jobs off-campus and they will still get time to meet other students and make connections here. It will also be convenient, since employers on-campus understand the schedule of a busy student and will be more likely to accommodate for things like midterms and finals.

If your student is living in an apartment…

A student that chooses to get a local apartment will still likely feel somewhat disconnected from the campus. Encourage them to either be active on-campus by joining a student group, attending events throughout the week, or by looking for an on-campus job (this will help with the whole paying for rent factor).

Make sure that they understand all the complexities of their apartment lease. Go over the contract with them to help them understand the timeline that they’re on. Some complexes may have 12-month leases and your student may be stuck paying for rent over the summer when they do not intend to live there. Also, find out if the apartment complex is furnished or not. An apartment that is not furnished will be much cheaper but how much will it cost to pay for the essential bed, couch, table, chairs… That is not counting all the extras that college students will likely want (computer, television, etc).

Also go over what is covered by the apartment’s rent and what will be paid for by the student. Does rent cover electricity? Cable? Internet? If they choose a complex without these things, they may end up with monthly bills that they didn’t anticipate and may not be able to pay.

Regardless of where they live…

The best thing you can do is to support them in really getting involved at UCR. The more people they meet, the more fun they will have, and the more they’ll enjoy their college experience. Studies have shown that students that are involved on campus actually do better academically than students who are uninvolved and disengaged. Becoming part of the UCR family in fun and meaningful ways often means that they will take that excitement and apply it to their academics as well, succeeding as a student and having a blast while doing it.

UCR Commuter Pit-Stops

The Commuter Pit-Stop is targeted at the UCR students who drive significant distances to come to campus. The program basically functions like a meet and greet information portal to commuter students. At the Pit-Stop, students can access information and services that they might not have known they had as commuter students.

Information presented at the Pit-Stop booths are unique commuter based services that directly affect the UCR Commuter. Commuter Pit Stops happen often all over campus. Make sure your student keeps an eye out for our distinctive commuter canopy.