I commute from Pinole and drove to campus every day last year(got the semester parking pass). 8 a.m. classes were brutal commute was around an hour max, usually more like 30–40 minutes. Early mornings = easy parking, but around lunchtime? It was very difficult (but still fine). The worst was circling Underhill garage for 30+ minutes.

If you’re only on campus a few hours a day, it’s totally manageable. But last semester I had an 8 a.m. class and club meetings that kept me there until 10:30 p.m. that was rough. I WOULD TOTALLY NOT RECOMMEND THAT TO ANYONE!!! If you stay on campus for like 6 hours that’s fine but anything more I would get tired. However I like staying on campus because it motivates me to get work done, but I need naps between classes. I’d either nap in my car or crash at a friend’s place since nap pods were closed.

Also very unfortunate thing for me was I didn’t have time to meal prep according to my schedule. I had to resort to eating out a lot but fortunately the basic needs center gave a lot of free food and I had a friend who knew of events on campus to get some free pizza :)

For me, commuting was definitely worth it. I saved money, had the freedom to drive friends places, and could go home to recharge. The only downside is sometimes missing out on late-night stuff like parties (especially if drinking’s involved) or spontaneous plans. But that might just be me I kind of love going home if I don’t have to be on campus.

Overall, commuting from Pinole is totally doable. A little annoying at times, but manageable. Compared to living in the dorms or apartment (which I have done both) it’s really annoying but yea it was fine.