The U.S. News Short List, separate from our overall rankings, is a regular series that magnifies individual data points in hopes of providing students and parents a way to find which undergraduate or graduate programs excel or have room to grow in specific areas. Be sure to explore The Short List: College, The Short List: Grad School and The Short List: Online Programs to find data that matter to you in your college or graduate school search.
Not everyone lives on campus when they enroll as a freshman in college.
On average, nearly 20 percent of freshmen commuted or lived off campus in fall 2016, according to data reported to U.S. News by 264 ranked National Universities in an annual survey.
[Check out 10 ways to prepare for your freshman year of college.]
Although some studies indicate that students who reside on campus during their first year are more likely to complete their degree, more students are commuting to school these days, according to a 2016 paper published in the Journal of International Education Research.
California State University–Fresno reported the highest percentage of first-year students who lived off campus or commuted each day, at 86 percent, according to data submitted to U.S. News.
Among the 10 universities with the most freshman commuters, nine are public institutions. The only private institution — Adelphi University in New York — is located in close proximity to railway networks that connect to Queens and Brooklyn in New York City.
At the other end of the spectrum, there are some schools that require freshmen to live on campus as part of their college experience. Twenty-one schools — including Brown University and other Ivy League and top-ranked institutions — reported no freshmen living off campus or commuting in 2016-2017.
[Avoid 10 mistakes as a college freshman.]
There are three public four-year universities that require first-year students to live on campus — the College of William and Mary in Virginia, the University of Virginia and the University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill.
Below is a list of the 10 National Universities with the highest percentages of first-year students who lived off campus or commuted for the 2016-2017 school year.
| School (state) | Percentage of first-year students living off campus or commuting | Total estimated first-year commuters | U.S. News rank |
| California State University–Fresno | 86% | 2,747 | 223 (tie) |
| Florida International University | 78% | 2,473 | 216 (tie) |
| University of Nevada–Las Vegas | 77% | 2,971 | 231-300 |
| University of New Mexico | 75% | 2,552 | 192 (tie) |
| University of New Orleans | 74% | 648 | 231-300 |
| Cleveland State University | 69% | 1,314 | 231-300 |
| University of Illinois–Chicago | 67% | 2,216 | 145 (tie) |
| Adelphi University (NY) | 63% | 772 | 151 (tie) |
| University of California–Riverside | 62% | 3,322 | 124 (tie) |
| Wayne State University (MI) | 62% | 1,605 | 223 (tie) |
Don’t see your school in the top 10? Access the U.S. News College Compass to find data on commuting, complete rankings and much more. Sign up for the U.S. News Extra Help: College Admissions free email newsletter to receive expert advice twice a month.
U.S. News surveyed more than 1,800 colleges and universities for our 2017 survey of undergraduate programs. Schools self-reported myriad data regarding their academic programs and the makeup of their student body, among other areas, making U.S. News’ data the most accurate and detailed collection of college facts and figures of its kind. While U.S. News uses much of this survey data to rank schools for our annual Best Colleges rankings, the data can also be useful when examined on a smaller scale. U.S. News will now produce lists of data, separate from the overall rankings, meant to provide students and parents a means to find which schools excel, or have room to grow, in specific areas that are important to them. While the data come from the schools themselves, these lists are not related to, and have no influence over, U.S. News’ rankings of Best Colleges, Best Graduate Schools or Best Online Programs. The commuting data above are correct as of Jan. 23, 2018.
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10 Universities Where Most Freshmen Commute originally appeared on usnews.com
