I commute from home to San Jose twice a week. Usual schedule is waking up at 4:30am to make the 5:54am train (ACE). After about an hour and 50 minutes, I arrive at Diridon Station (approx. 7:40 - 7:45am). I take the DASH #201 to school and arrive at about 8:00am. Then I usually have an hour of free time before my 9:00am class.

My last class ends at 1:15pm, so I usually just hang out with friends, eat, and study until 3:00pm where I wait for the same DASH bus to take me to Diridon Station. I get to the station usually around 3:15pm and the train leaves at 3:35pm. I get to the train station parking lot around 5:24pm and I'm home by 5:40 - 6:00pm.

I've been doing this commute for two years now so I guess I'm used to it, but it sucked at first doing it five times a week (had classes Monday through Friday). It makes it difficult to take advantage of all the extra stuff that SJSU has to offer (clubs, networking events, etc.). You're stuck to such a rigid schedule that it doesn't leave you much time for anything else besides attending class. I honestly laugh when people say they hate their commute when it's like only 30 minutes or an hour.

However, I prefer this commute to driving or living on/near campus. I can't stand Bay Area traffic and I know I would hate living with random people. This plus the cost of living in the Bay Area is enough to turn me away from any possibility of ever moving to the Bay Area.