Living off campus is awesome. You don’t have to share a room, you can make your own meals, and you can save a ton of money. Commuting comes with its own challenges, though, so it helps to have a bit of insider information. Check out this commuter guide to find everything you need! Sure, you can find all the resources you need in There’s a reason nearly 70% of NC State students live off campus. this commuter guide. But if you’d like all the From free buses to a bike sharing program, NC State has you covered. insider details about new apartments, great restaurants, upcoming Here’s how to avoid breaking the bank at the start of the semester. events, campus traditions, and more, Find everything from coffee shops to fancy date night spots here. check out The Student Saver. Here’s what else you need to know as a commuter student. New to NC State or Raleigh in general? Here’s a list of fun things to do. 1 NC State offers plenty of If you don’t live in university-affiliated housing (residence halls or apartments student perks, from a like Wolf Creek), then congrats! You’re a commuter student. Since going to college isn’t exactly cheap, living off campus and commuting to state-of-the-art gym to class is a great way to save money. computer labs outfitted with printers. If you’re So just how expensive is it to live on campus? This year, it costs almost looking for more ways to $9,000! Here’s why. save money as a commuter student, see Residence Hall: $5,990 (up from $5,790 last year) what else NC State has Meal Plan: $2,750 ($1,375 per semester) TOTAL COST: $8,740 to offer (and what kinds *Stats based on 2017-18 rates. Sources: University Housing and University Dining. of student discounts are For comparison, you could pay $665 for an apartment and buy $305 worth of groceries (or 50 Cook Out trays) per month. No wonder so many NC State out there). students commute to school. Not really. Yeah, it’s inconvenient to drive or catch the bus back to campus for a late-night club meeting or group project, but you won’t be isolated from all school activities. Check out these tips for success. Get to campus early. Raleigh rush hour traffic is one of the biggest challenges for commuters. Leave earlier than you need to so you won’t be late. Stay on campus. Have a long break between classes? Catch up on homework, grab a bite to eat, or hang out with friends instead of going home. Join a club or sports team. With more than 600 clubs and service organizations, NC State makes it easy to find friends. Keep up with what’s happening. Check your email, follow NC State social media accounts, and hang out with friends who are still living on campus. Use your commuter benefits. NC State offers discounted parking permits, alternative transit options, and a commuter meal plan. 2 NC State’s commuter Whether you’re living at home or in your own apartment, there are plenty of benefits aren’t limited ways to get to class. Most are free or pretty cheap. Here’s a quick list. to a parking pass. The university is all about sustainability, so students who use alternative transit (like If you want to park near campus, Hillsborough Street has metered parking spaces. walking or biking) have access to plenty of perks. Find out more Ride city buses for free with a GoPass, get around campus on the Wolfline buses or NC State’s rental bikes, or carpool with friends and get a discounted about the commuter parking pass and scratch-off permits. program here. NC State’s public bus service is free and runs every day that classes are in session. The Wolfline also shuttles students to and from designated Park & Ride lots. GoRaleigh and GoTriangle are the major regional bus networks, operating several routes that stop at or near NC State. Riding these public buses isn’t normally free, but it is if you have a GoPass. Order yours online in the summer for $5 and it’s good for a year. While you can rent a bike at Carmichael Gymnasium, you can also rent a bike through the LimeBike public bike share. You can’t miss these bikes—they’re lime green and are everywhere around campus. 3 You have two options for paid parking: buying a parking permit or paying a meter at Raleigh’s Pay-to-Park spaces on Hillsborough Street. Parking permits go by seniority. The more credit hours you’ve completed, the earlier you can sign up and the easier it is to get a spot at your preferred deck or parking lot. We’ve mentioned this before, but it’s worth repeating. Commuters can park at the university’s off-campus Park & Ride lots and ride the Wolfline to campus—all for free. You can also park on campus for free after 5 PM in most parking lots. Just check for the enforcement times on the sign! NC State is a bike-friendly campus, so if that’s how you want to get around class, you’ll find plenty of bike parking near your class. You’ll also find skateboard and scooter racks like this one outside of several buildings. This skateboard and scooter rack is in front of DH Hill Library. 4 You don’t have to break Textbooks are expensive. Prices have doubled in the last decade, outpacing the bank to buy your healthcare and housing costs. Yikes. So how do you avoid shelling out hundreds of dollars for books you’ll hardly use after you finish the course? textbooks. You have the Follow these tips. option to buy, rent, or borrow, depending on Sometimes you can’t avoid buying new textbooks. Some classes require the professor’s rules and supplemental materials, like access codes, which you can’t buy used. If you have to (or want to) buy new, take advantage of price comparison sites like your preference for the BigWords and sell your books back with NC State Bookstore’s buyback program. book’s condition. Check out our helpful tips about saving money on If you know you’re not going to use the book after you finish the class or if you don’t care about the condition, you can buy used. Again, use price textbooks here. comparison sites or buy your books from a friend. Yep, you can rent textbooks. You’ll pay less than a new copy and you won’t have to worry about selling it back later. You can rent your textbooks from sites like Chegg and Amazon. DH Hill Library has current editions of most required textbooks at the circulation desk. You can check out books for two hours at a time. Borrowing books is a great option if you don’t have to bring your textbooks to class with you and you don’t want to spend any money. NC State has a Textbook Exchange Group on Facebook where you can swap your books with other students. You need an NCSU email to join the group. 5 There are dozens of There are four spots around NC State where you can find a good restaurant: coffee shops, fast food Hillsborough Street, Western Boulevard, Mission Valley shopping center, and Cameron Village shopping center. chains, pizza places, and The list of restaurant options is always changing, so there’s always something new to try near campus. Here’s a peek at what’s available this year. hole-in-the-wall spots around NC State. So how do you pick what to eat for lunch? Check out this restaurant guide for a list of all places to eat, or browse our RESTAURANT CATEGORY ENTRÉE PRICES Ajisai Japanese cuisine $3 - $48 restaurant reviews to Baskin-Robbins Ice cream $2 - $7 Benelux Coffee Coffee & tea $2 - $6 find the best of the best. Brixx Pizza Pizza $7 - $16 Café Carolina & Bakery Soups & sandwiches $4 - $8 Cameron Bar & Grill Drinks & burgers $6 - $19 Cantina 18 Tex-Mex $7 - $28 Chick-fil-A Fast food $4 - $9 Chopt Salads $8 - $12 Flying Biscuit Café Southern comfort food $8 - $15 Goodberry’s Ice cream $2 - $6 K&W Cafeteria Southern comfort food $5 - $15 McDonald’s Fast food $2 - $7 Moe’s Southwest Grill Tex-Mex $7 - $12 Noodles & Company Pasta & soup $4 - $9 Piccola Italia Italian cuisine $6 - $21 Rise Biscuits & Donuts Breakfast food $4 - $8 Starbucks Coffee & tea $2 - $7 Sugarland Cupcakes $5 - $10 Tazza Kitchen Farm-to-table fare $8 - $19 Tupelo Honey Café Southern comfort food $10 - $22 Village Deli & Grill Drinks & sandwiches $6 - $15 Village Draft House Drinks & burgers $5 - $28 Which Wich Sandwiches $6 - $12 6 RESTAURANT CATEGORY ENTRÉE PRICES Bruegger’s Bagels Breakfast food Under $10 If trying every restaurant Checker’s Pizza & sub sandwiches $4 - $22 Chipotle Tex-Mex $3 - $8 on Hillsborough Street is Coco Bongo Mexican cuisine $4 - $21 Crepe Traditions Crepes & tea $6 - $9 on your college bucket Cup A Joe Coffee & tea $3 - $6 list, we can help you David’s Dumpling & Asian cuisine $5 - $22 Noodle Bar out. Check out our East Village Grill & Bar Drinks & burgers $4 - $20 Freshii Salads & wraps $6 - $9 Hillsborough Street Global Village Coffee & tea $2 - $5 Golden Dragon Chinese cuisine $2 - $13 restaurant guide for our Gonza Tacos Y Tequila Mexican cuisine $5 - $14 Groucho’s Deli Sandwiches $3 - $12 top picks.