How hard do you guys think it is commuting from brampton everyday which is like a 1hr 10 min drive on the bus ususally or sometimes less and handling second year commerce. Do you think it would be easier to have morning classes and come home earlier to have more work done?

I don't commute from Brampton (and I'm not in commerce) but my commute takes roughly 1 hour. I find that it's better for me to have earlier classes if possible because even though it sucks getting up super early to catch the bus. It's better because if I get home earlier it's more likely I'll do work at home. if I get home later I'll be tired and know I won't want to do anything but eat, watch tv and go to bed.

I try to do school work and readings on the bus when I can. Since I'm not really doing anything other than sitting there for an hour. And when I have breaks inbetween classes at school since it's too far to go home inbetween.

I commute from Brampton, and I really do not find it to be hard. After a year of commuting (I commuted throughout first year and during the summer), I have gotten use to driving for 45 minutes and sometimes having to sit in traffic for an hour. Obviously, my life would be easier if I lived in Hamilton or if I lived on campus, but commuting from Brampton and handling all your school work is definitely doable. You just need to be focused and manage your time efficiently.

Personally, I prefer having morning classes. I always try to make my schedule so that I do not have any classes after 4:00 pm. Driving from Hamilton to Brampton between 5-6 pm is a pain!

Hope this helps

I'm doing it this year after living in residence for my first two years. It is definitely a change and you have to wake up earlier and all that but its not so bad really. You save a lot of money and quite frankly I love living at home. I love being in my own room, having a whole house instead of just a residence room, not eating at Commons, watching my own TV and watching whatever I want etc. It's different but not that much worse imo. Plus the bus takes you right on campus which is great. I actually enjoy the bus ride, both the 47 and 47A (the express) don't take that long (less than an hour usually) and you can just listen to music, catch up on readings or my most favourite commuting pass time sleeping.

If you're looking to save money and you think you could get used to getting up way earlier to get to class than commuting from Brampton is a decent option with the Go Bus.

It sounds like you're driving though but just so you know if you don't want to drive yourself instead of paying for gas you can buy Go Bus passes that take you right from Bramalea Go (on Steeles) onto the McMaster campus by Mary Keyes. Its $226 dollars for a student monthly pass and if you only buy 6 passes a year (say not April or Dec) than that's a little over $1000 per year, you'd have to weigh it w/ driving time, gas etc. You could always just use it as an alternative on days when you can't drive, don't want to or in winter for convenience. You can drive to the Go Station, leave your car there and get on the bus. Plus the buses take the 407 ETR so they get here faster than driving would, especially the express bus 47A which only makes 1 stop at Sqaure One and then comes straight to Mac. I get on that one at 6:45 for example and it gets to Mac probably around 7:35-40 depending on traffic getting onto the ETR, getting into Square One etc. I find the buses usually arrive at school earlier than scheduled, it might be different in Winter though.

Originally Posted by sew12

I find the buses usually arrive at school earlier than scheduled, it might be different in Winter though.

GO Bus for the most part runs on time or even a little bit early. The trains tend to have a little bit more issues with being on time, especially in the winter months.