Before deciding on which college to attend, you undoubtedly took many different aspects of the college experience into consideration. Of course, you wanted to receive the best education possible so that you can prepare for a fruitful career doing what you enjoy. Price, location and where you friends were going likely influenced your decision as well. But now that you’ve enrolled and have become somewhat accustomed to the way things work on campus, you might have discovered that your college’s environment is severely lacking, and as a result, college life is less than what you expected. In this case, there’s a good chance that you’re attending a commuter school – here are 10 ways to know that you’re attending such an institution.

1. No parking
   Whether it’s due to rapidly increasing enrollment, poor planning or both, most colleges of varying sizes tend to lack sufficient amounts of parking spaces. At commuter schools, this problem is multiplied by 10 because – as mentioned below – you and many of your classmates don’t live on or near campus, and you drive to class each day (hence the commuter nickname). If you’ve ever parked on a random side street off of campus, walked a mile to class after parking or received multiple parking tickets, then you might be attending a commuter school.
2. You don’t live on or near campus
   Perhaps you live at home to save money, or chose a place to live on the other side of town. It’s common for students at commuter schools to not live in campus dwellings, and many of them simply show up for class and go home immediately after. Students who attend commuter schools spend almost as much money on gas as they do on tuition. Without a car, attending class is nearly impossible.
3. Weak student organizations
   It’s characteristic of commuter schools to suffer from low participation in campus organizations – like fraternities and sororities, student government, political and religious organizations, and intramural athletics. This is a direct result of the lack of students living on campus. Obviously, it’s much easier to join and contribute consistently to an organization when you’re just a stones-throw from where its meetings occur.
4. Campus is located in a big city
   Commuter schools are almost always located in large cities, attracting mostly students from their respective metro areas. Students don’t opt to participate in campus organizations because there are so many different other fun activities around town in which to partake. Any city worth its salt offers a wide variety of bars, restaurants, festivals, concerts and sporting events, so you may not feel the desire to socialize with just your classmates. What’s the incentive, especially if you lived in the city before attending the school?
5. Campus turns into a ghost town on the weekends
   The occasional gently-rolling tumbleweed is the most action your campus sees on the weekend. It’s partly due to the urban location and partly due to the absence of decent campus housing. Additionally, the lack of hijinks-inducing bars around campus ensures that campus dwellers spend their Friday and Saturday nights elsewhere.
6. You frequently get lost on campus
   When venturing outside of you normal everyday route to class, you almost always end up lost – unsure of where the next turn will lead you. In your quest to finally visit the library or student union several semesters into your college career, you happen upon new buildings that you never knew existed. For students at a commuter school, certain parts of campus seem like uncharted territory.
7. Students wear other schools’ colors
   Students at commuter schools generally have low regard for their institutions of higher learning and no desire to display school spirit. You might have observed that more of your fellow students sport colors from other big state universities than the colors of their own school. It’s indicative that they haven’t adopted the traditions and customs of the school, and have no interest in doing so because they haven’t been enticed to become immersed in campus life.
8. The average student age is older than normal
   An older student body indicates that the school serves people who are seeking to complete their degrees well-after they graduated from high school. They likely work full-time and have a family, and are purely there for academic and career purposes. They usually don’t contribute to the so-called college atmosphere because they’re simultaneously entrenched in the real world.
9. A large percentage of students are enrolled part-time
   In addition to the older students who are enrolled part-time as they juggle work and family responsibilities, many of the younger students take fewer than 12 hours as they work to pay for tuition and living expenses. For them, joining campus organizations and partying every night isn’t an option because they have more responsibilities than most kids their age.
10. It was your safety school
    Didn’t gain admission into your first, second or even third favorite college? Are you attending the local college because it was the only one that would take you? Commuter schools tend to have relaxed admissions standards and high acceptance rates. The outcome is a high dropout rate, meaning that some of your friends who entered the school with you are likely gone by your second or third year. The revolving door of students makes it difficult to establish a consistent atmosphere filled with familiar faces and flourishing campus activities.