College Student Flies To Classes To Avoid High Rent In Bay Area

College Student Flies To Classes To Avoid High Rent In Bay Area

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This is pretty remarkable. A college student spent an entire academic year living in Los Angeles while attending school in the Bay Area. And no, he wasn’t taking online classes, but rather attended all his classes in person, and didn’t even miss a single class.

Student commutes from Los Angeles to the Bay Area

As flagged by @zainman, a Reddit user shared his experience living in Los Angeles while commuting to the University of California at Berkeley for all his classes. His logic was that he previously lived in Los Angeles, and was attending a one year program. He knew that after the program was done, he’d move back to Los Angeles, because his previous employer would hire him once again.

He had a place to live in Los Angeles rent-free, and he tried to avoid the high rent costs in the Bay Area. So he made the decision to commute by plane for all his classes. He was able to schedule his classes so that most weeks he only had to commute 3x, though for a couple of weeks he had to commute 5x.

He booked all of his tickets for the fall 2022 semester in April and May of 2022, while he booked all of his tickets for the spring 2023 semester in November 2022. Most tickets were booked using Alaska Mileage Plan miles and Southwest Rapid Rewards points. He’d rebook the tickets if there were sales, to bring the cost down.

He would book tickets for each weekday, just in case he needed to go on those days, and then would cancel them shortly before the travel period. He would also always book the cheapest ticket of the day, and then use same day flight changes (based on his elite status) to get the schedule he wanted. Amazingly enough, he never missed a class.

A student commuted to Berkeley by plane

His daily commute was 4-5 hours in each direction

The student explained that typically his door-to-door commute between his home in Los Angeles and classroom in Berkeley was four to five hours in each direction.

For the fall semester, his first class was at 10AM on Mondays and Wednesdays, and at 8AM on Fridays. For the 10AM class, he’d wake up at 3:40AM, take the 6AM Alaska flight from Los Angeles to San Francisco, have breakfast in the lounge at SFO, and then take BART to campus. For the 8AM class, he’d wake up at 3:30AM, and take the 5:30AM Southwest flight from Los Angeles to Oakland.

Meanwhile for the spring semester, his first class was at 11AM on Mondays, and at 12PM on Wednesdays and Fridays. For all those classes he’d usually wake up at 5:40AM, and take an 8:20AM Southwest flight from Los Angeles to Oakland.

In the other direction, he’d usually take a flight back home at 6-7PM, though on some days he’d take a flight after 9PM, if there were events after class.

This student largely flew with Alaska Airlines

How much did this commuting cost?

Probably my favorite part of this story is how precisely he calculated the cost of this commute.

For the fall 2022 semester, he took a total of 63 trips, 138 flights, and flew 55,593 miles. He spent 45,972 minutes on his commute, equivalent to nearly 32 full days. As far as the cost goes:

  • In terms of cash, this cost him $3,812.83, including spending $1,366.06 on Alaska, $1,033.75 on gas, $563.80 on BART, $380.85 on Southwest, $370 on parking, $42.80 on United, $39.96 on inflight Wi-Fi, and $15.60 on Avianca
  • In terms of points, he redeemed 307,500 Alaska miles, 43,732 Southwest points, 6,500 Avianca miles, and 5,500 United miles

For the spring 2023 semester, he took a total of 51 trips, 100 flights, and flew 36,496 miles. He spent 29,983 minutes on his commute, equivalent to nearly 21 full days. As far as the cost goes:

  • In terms of cash, this cost him $1,779.82, including spending $914.52 on gas, $377.38 on Southwest, $186.03 on Alaska, $150 on parking, $107.49 on BART, $28.50 on United, and $15.90 on Spirit
  • In terms of points, he redeemed 113,213 Southwest points and 100,000 Alaska miles
This is an unconventional commute to school

Bottom line

Someone commuted from Los Angeles to the Bay Area for all classes for an entire academic year in order to avoid paying rent in the Bay Area. What a fascinating and wild story. I especially love how much data he shared, both regarding the expenses incurred, along with just how long the commute was.

As it turns out, this person has also written a trip report on FlyerTalk about his experience. I’m not sure how I missed that up until now.

What do you make of this unusual college commute?

Conversations (73)
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  1. Anon Guest

    What I'd like to see is what his carbon footprint was. No one ever cares what the environmental cost is.

  2. Hakuto Guest

    Would've been cheaper if your government was smart enough to build high speed rail

  3. Susieq Guest

    I would think a hotel would have cost about the same including receiving and using points. Much more time to do homework and sleep. I am a flight attendant and love flying, but that's just so much wear and tear on the body. Kudos to him for doing what worked for him.

  4. E39 Guest

    A guy I know attended University of Toronto while living in Vancouver. He skipped all his classes and only flew in for mandatory tests and exams, so while not as impressive as this, still dedicated.

  5. Friend Guest

    How much would have been spent on comparable rent in Berkeley or the Bay Area. I can’t help but think , there is no way this was a cost savings. And to loose that much time in my life to commuting is a true waste of youth.

    1. Alise Guest

      Median price for renting a room in Berkeley is $2897 a month, if you are lucky enough to find one. 15 years ago the going rate for renting a 4'x6' closet in a house that had 12-20 other students renting out every space imaginable- living rooms with ikea bookcases dividing up space, pantries, enclosed balconies- was $800 a month. There would be crowds of people that showed up to open house style nights to be...

      Median price for renting a room in Berkeley is $2897 a month, if you are lucky enough to find one. 15 years ago the going rate for renting a 4'x6' closet in a house that had 12-20 other students renting out every space imaginable- living rooms with ikea bookcases dividing up space, pantries, enclosed balconies- was $800 a month. There would be crowds of people that showed up to open house style nights to be interviewed by the current roommates and if even one didn't like you or think that you would be a good addition to the house they would tear up your application as they showed you to the door. It makes sense with how tight the living conditions are, but it was brutal and the competition was fierce. It still is. Living a couple of hours away but car makes things easier to secure, but the cost decreases only a little and the daily commute would take almost a long. Clever solution to Bay Area insanity for sure.

  6. Lara Guest

    Ok all I care about is how much it would cost in actual money.

  7. Jenny Guest

    Is this about the 50-yo who completed his undergrad 30 years after he began freshmen’s year at Cal? Mr. Hatcher Parnell? So inspirational!!

    https://www.ktvu.com/news/socal-man-who-commuted-to-uc-berkeley-to-finish-his-degree-to-graduate-this-week

  8. JohnHam Member

    Fascinating read on the flyer talk posts. And awesome pictures

  9. Chen Guest

    omg, if there is high speed trains…I’m sure his commute hour would be halfed…

  10. Alex Guest

    We should also account for the value of the miles used here. Thats also thousands of additional dollars worth of value.

  11. George Kimball Guest

    Numbers make no sense. First term 138 flights for ~$1750?

  12. Ted Guest

    Up to him I guess, but the story doesn’t include cost in terms of the physical toll on the body. He was getting less than 6 hours of sleep those nights. Plus when do you do homework or have any free time?

    No thank you.

    1. snic Diamond

      You do homework on the plane. Two hours per day, uninterrupted. Plus, in most cases he was commuting 3x per week, so he had 4 days per week for homework and free time.

  13. L Lee Guest

    He's a Transportation Major (going for his MEng in Transporation Engineering). Thus, he loves flying and commuting!

  14. Exberkeley Guest

    That’s why he’s smart enough Togo to Berkeley!

    1. Eskimo Guest

      You mean he’s smart enough Lomé to Berkeley or Togo to America?
      Just like Exberkeley would put every ExBerkeley to shame.

  15. MrChu Guest

    This is awesome. I use to commute everyday for 5 hrs RT from the NYC area to Wilmington DE. Thanks to Covid nowadays I do it 2-3 times a week. I travel by Amtrak.

    My reasons are obviously different than financial. My family refuses to move to Wilmington DE due to family ties as well the social activities available in the NYC area. It’s one life to live and we don’t want to live...

    This is awesome. I use to commute everyday for 5 hrs RT from the NYC area to Wilmington DE. Thanks to Covid nowadays I do it 2-3 times a week. I travel by Amtrak.

    My reasons are obviously different than financial. My family refuses to move to Wilmington DE due to family ties as well the social activities available in the NYC area. It’s one life to live and we don’t want to live in Wilmington DE. To each his own. For what it’s worth my cost of living will be cut drastically by living in Wilmington and not taking the train.

    As for the opportunity cost obviously folks who read this travel blog are not savvy travelers. Since I don’t drive I get to work, read, relax and even socialize over a drink on the train. Because I know I’m spending time away I utilize my time efficiently at work including working out during slow periods. I get to go happy hours after work since I don’t drive so don’t have to worry about drinking and driving.

    I’m an early riser and I take the 6am train which gets me at work by 830am. I take the 530pm train and I’m back home by 8pm. Since I only go in for 2-3 times a week nowadays I usually schedule my on site work days on alternate days. In case I have important meetings back to back days or for later hours I just stay in a hotel. This only happens once a month or so.

    Did I say I have been doing it for 17 years!

    1. Eskimo Guest

      After so many comments disregarding opportunity cost with being productive on the plane, I gotta say something.

      I'm not saying you can't be productive on your commute, but rather than commute you have better use of your time. There is nothing wrong when your in your 40s or 50s doing for work. Look at Biden. But when you're young and in your early career, time is better spent doing something else. Same reason as you...

      After so many comments disregarding opportunity cost with being productive on the plane, I gotta say something.

      I'm not saying you can't be productive on your commute, but rather than commute you have better use of your time. There is nothing wrong when your in your 40s or 50s doing for work. Look at Biden. But when you're young and in your early career, time is better spent doing something else. Same reason as you don't go to college at the age of 70.
      Likewise people relocate or commute for family reasons all the time, so your (@MrChu) opportunity cost, is having 10-15 hours less with your family every week. It might work for your family, but I'm sure it won't for everyone.
      You say your family refuses to move to Wilmington, they say you refuse a different career for them.

      But this isn't a right or wrong issue. Different people have different views on how to each of use spend our day and our lives. The key here is sometimes people just don't realize what they're giving up. College is more than class or homework, but if that's what a graduate degree is for those people, I wish them the best.

  16. Chris Guest

    lol no wonder this past year was so warm... dude increased global warming all by himself.

    Plus least he could've done if he was bound and determined to commute is fly on an airline with a decent "business class" (not that there are any for that route).

    Frankly, I would've contacted all my instructors, told them I had concerns about Covid, and asked for an accommodation allowing me to participate remotely as much as humanly possible.

  17. Math Guy Guest

    Let's do some napkin math:

    The expected cost for student housing was $1600/month minimum (plus utilities) for 12 months (i.e. about $20k plus utilities). Let's say it's $25k all-in.

    He spent $5592.65 in cash, plus about 400k Alaska miles and about 150k Southwest points. The valuation for points can obviously vary, but let's say 1.3 cpp for all of it (probably a low estimate if anything), so about $7150 in points. That's $12,742.65 in cash...

    Let's do some napkin math:

    The expected cost for student housing was $1600/month minimum (plus utilities) for 12 months (i.e. about $20k plus utilities). Let's say it's $25k all-in.

    He spent $5592.65 in cash, plus about 400k Alaska miles and about 150k Southwest points. The valuation for points can obviously vary, but let's say 1.3 cpp for all of it (probably a low estimate if anything), so about $7150 in points. That's $12,742.65 in cash value, approximately, which is just about half of the $25k target.

    To save the remaining $12,257.35 in out-of-pocket expenses, he spent 1266 hours commuting (and probably an awful lot of time doing all of that post-game analysis too), at a rate of... $9.68/hour.

    Factoring in the other missed opportunities of not being present on campus for other activities, the physical toll of that much commuting, etc., you'd have to imagine that he would have been much better off renting a cheap place, and maybe getting a part-time job to bring in some cash.

    1. Mik Guest

      Factor in elite status from all that flying (if status was obtained)

    2. Math Guy Guest

      Note that the minimum wage in California is currently $15.50/hour (for 2023; it was as low as $14 in 2022). This guy basically "worked" at repeatedly commuting between LA and SF as a part-time job for more than 1200 hours during the school year, for less than minimum wage. Of course, it's not actually a real job, so it doesn't even count toward employment history, his resume, Social Security, etc.

    3. Eskimo Guest

      To his benefit, you forgot to add the cost savings of all the AYCE buffets in the airport lounge. All those high carb breakfasts. But the health toll is much less when you're young so it shouldn't give him diabetes.

    4. N1120A Guest

      Carbs don't give you diabetes

  18. u600213 Guest

    Here is another person who commuted but I don't think he did trip reports:
    https://www.ktvu.com/news/socal-man-who-commuted-to-uc-berkeley-to-finish-his-degree-to-graduate-this-week

  19. Anonymous_Traveler Guest

    I don’t understand some of these comments. While he is commuting, he can study, read, prep, etc. It isn’t exactly like commuting by car for 3+ hours a day, something lots of people do and feels like far more of a waste of time to me.

    Also, looking at the times, he was spending at least 7 hours a day “on campus”. He wasn’t jetting in for 2 hours of class work and leaving....

    I don’t understand some of these comments. While he is commuting, he can study, read, prep, etc. It isn’t exactly like commuting by car for 3+ hours a day, something lots of people do and feels like far more of a waste of time to me.

    Also, looking at the times, he was spending at least 7 hours a day “on campus”. He wasn’t jetting in for 2 hours of class work and leaving. How much time do you need to network on a master’s program? It isn’t like everyone else is in dorms and hanging out together after hours all the time. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was networking more than local people since he can’t just head back home right after class and so is incentivized to make use of the rest of his day on campus.

    1. NotMyName Guest

      This is what I came to say. Did everyone forget that someone CAN be productive on an airplane, especially when it comes to school work? Everyone here either didn't attend college or forgot about the workload it often comes with?

      He could either sit at a table/desk and do 2-4 hours of homework or he can do that on a plane. Either way he's sitting. Either way it's getting done. The "opportunity cost" people...

      This is what I came to say. Did everyone forget that someone CAN be productive on an airplane, especially when it comes to school work? Everyone here either didn't attend college or forgot about the workload it often comes with?

      He could either sit at a table/desk and do 2-4 hours of homework or he can do that on a plane. Either way he's sitting. Either way it's getting done. The "opportunity cost" people speak about here sounds like a buzz phrase you they all like to throw around without consideration.

      One thing that I do think was short sighted. He would have gotten much more value out of it by paying out of pocket and banking miles. It hurts to see he used 400K miles for intra-state trips.

    2. NotMyName Guest

      This is what I came to say. Did everyone forget that someone CAN be productive on an airplane, especially when it comes to school work? Everyone here either didn't attend college or forgot about the workload it often comes with?

      He could either sit at a table/desk and do 2-4 hours of homework or he can do that on a plane. Either way he's sitting. Either way it's getting done. The "opportunity cost" people...

      This is what I came to say. Did everyone forget that someone CAN be productive on an airplane, especially when it comes to school work? Everyone here either didn't attend college or forgot about the workload it often comes with?

      He could either sit at a table/desk and do 2-4 hours of homework or he can do that on a plane. Either way he's sitting. Either way it's getting done. The "opportunity cost" people speak about here sounds like a buzz phrase you they all like to throw around without consideration.

      One thing that I do think was short sighted. He would have gotten much more value out of it by paying out of pocket and banking miles. It hurts to see he used 100K miles for intra-state trips.

  20. STEFFL Diamond

    C O O L . . . .but . . . .
    it's just 1 more PROOF, how much the North American people care about the environment, NO wonder, flying is as much or much more then years ago NOW!?
    Let's hope, nature strikles back to places on this globe, that treat this 1 globe that we all have like shit.

    1. Icarus Guest

      Why are you on a travel blog complaining about people flying ??? Blah blah blah

    2. ConcordeBoy Diamond

      Complaining ignorantly as well, seeing as the price of US airline tickets as a commodity has steadily decreased over the years and decades, relative to inflation.

      If one is going to whine, at least be factual.

    3. TT Guest

      It’s not like the plane only flew because of him. SMH!

    4. koggerj Guest

      climate change isn't real. The predictions have ALL been wrong. Every single one of them.

  21. ex commuter Guest

    I remember commuting weekly from LAX to JFK to teach. On a red eye. In economy, but getting upgraded often. Then going to work right after landing. After a few fights, I realized then many people in the front were also commuters. It was financially easy when Delta gave you about 12,000 miles each trip that cost only $300. I guess people like me were the reason why Delta decided to go revenue based.

  22. Andy Diamond

    Meanwhile, some students in Europe glue themselves to the roads ....

  23. InceptionCat Gold

    After reading his review on Flyertalk i'm quite impressed but his dedication/how much fun he had in this.
    He collected his 850k miles with a bunch of mileage runs during Covid in 2020/21. You've got to give him credit on how well he planned this.
    Ofcourse he missed the social life that's a huuuge part of university life but each to their own.

    1. Icarus Guest

      I read some of his daily reports. Not sure when he studied as he seems to spend a great deal of time documenting his trips.

      He must have been exhausted with little sleep. Not sure where he lived as some flights were from LAX and others from SNA, however the commute time wasn’t long from home to terminal.

  24. OneAlphaTwo Gold

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qqrCoyVK80I&pp=ygUac2ltcHNvbnMgZ3JhZHVhdGUgc3R1ZGVudHM%3D

    Sorry, but I couldn’t resist! ;)

  25. LR Guest

    $563 parking seems low for all those round-trips!

    1. Eskimo Guest

      Didn't read the details. But probably like the rest of his logic, just like time, it's free if it's not paid out of pocket.

      $107.49 on BART seems low too, consider the airport BART extortion and how much he paid the semester before.

      So I guess, he got a BAE who gives a free ride and more? ;)

  26. Jim Guest

    If one does the conversion of the miles to cash equivalent at the now-standard rate of 1 cent per mile, that's *still* substantially less expensive than living in the Bay Area.

  27. Donna Diamond

    Killer commute! Clearly the cost looks cheap when one factors their time as being worth nothing.

  28. Chris K Guest

    Dumb. Like many others have said. This level of missing the forest from the trees is idiotic. Shows a fundamental issue in understanding value of time and the purpose of post-graduate school (build a network). I have the same negative feelings about this kid as the one girl who applied to 80+ colleges. They exhibit terrible judgement about resources whether it is in your control (his time) or her (college admissions time) that would ever...

    Dumb. Like many others have said. This level of missing the forest from the trees is idiotic. Shows a fundamental issue in understanding value of time and the purpose of post-graduate school (build a network). I have the same negative feelings about this kid as the one girl who applied to 80+ colleges. They exhibit terrible judgement about resources whether it is in your control (his time) or her (college admissions time) that would ever prevent me from considering them for a job.

    1. Eskimo Guest

      Well recently there was this kid who got accepted 180+ with $10M combined scholarship.
      The media praised him? (How broken our society has become)

      What I see is he deprived 179 kids and $9.75M from a college education.

      If I'm in admissions, I'd ask how many schools you apply to and straight reject anyone with over 30. And that's already a crazy high number.

      And no I'm not going to hire him either but I can predict he's going to be a great politician.

    2. 02nz Guest

      Do you really think those 179 spots will just go empty and the $9.75M will disappear? No, that's not how it works. Colleges have admission waiting lists, and the scholarship money will go to other students.

    3. Eskimo Guest

      @02nz

      And at the bottom of those waitlist is 179 who never made the waitlist and $9.75M who couldn't afford college.
      It didn't deprive the school. The class doesn't shrink, the money isn't gone.
      It deprived the applicants.

      You're looking from a school point not an applicant point.

    4. Chris K Guest

      Not exactly true. Colleges are focused more on yield now than ever before. Yield is % of attending students to accepted students. For a place like Harvard it is high since if you get in you are more likely to go than not to go. It is low for many of the traditional “safety” schools as the student may have gotten into their reach school and decide to go there. Idiots who apply to 30+...

      Not exactly true. Colleges are focused more on yield now than ever before. Yield is % of attending students to accepted students. For a place like Harvard it is high since if you get in you are more likely to go than not to go. It is low for many of the traditional “safety” schools as the student may have gotten into their reach school and decide to go there. Idiots who apply to 30+ schools (plus the importance ranking systems like US news put on acceptance rate) are screwing up with these numbers and schools either accept too many or not enough. College admissions has been and co to yes to be a disaster right now. Glorifying this behavior (much like any influencer these days, even this blog in some respects) is putting unwanted stress on the system (both from a physical and mental standpoint on the individual and systemwide basis).

    5. Chris K Guest

      100% agreed, ridiculous that the media is praising them like they played the system. Plus the schools they applied for weren’t really reach schools.

    6. LEo Diamond

      The only slots wasted are those ED ones, EA and the rest are fully waitlisted.

  29. JK Guest

    But OH the carbon footprint!!!

    1. koggerj Guest

      climate change isn't real.

    2. John Guest

      But OH, the self-righteousness of you. Dickhead!

  30. UA GS @ SFO Guest

    "College student" is inaccurate. He was a graduate student. No such student would ever say they were in college except in jest.

    Bay Area rents are not that expensive either. A quick apples-to-apples comparison can be done by looking at AvalonBay's vacancies in the Bay Area versus New York City. (On both coasts Avalon offers comparable standards.) $3000 rents a decent studio apartment in the Bay, but you're looking at upwards of $4000 in NYC....

    "College student" is inaccurate. He was a graduate student. No such student would ever say they were in college except in jest.

    Bay Area rents are not that expensive either. A quick apples-to-apples comparison can be done by looking at AvalonBay's vacancies in the Bay Area versus New York City. (On both coasts Avalon offers comparable standards.) $3000 rents a decent studio apartment in the Bay, but you're looking at upwards of $4000 in NYC. In lower Manhattan, there is even a $5000 studio that has not been renovated, does not have laundry in-unit, and has virtually no space for anything other than a bed.

    1. Eskimo Guest

      Oh but Bay Area rents are expensive.

      For $5000, you could probably rent a 7br villa in Tulsa, OK.

    2. Chris Guest

      Dude could've lived in Dublin/Pleasanton area or North Concord/Martinez and BARTed in from there every day. Guarantee you, 100% sure, that the rent would've been cheaper- and the commute many hours less- than what he did. Would've had 1-1.5 hours to "study" on the train each way, each day. Also would've melted a few less (or fewer) glaciers.

    3. UA GS @ SFO Guest

      Dublin/Pleasanton aka "Tri-Valley" home prices have skyrocketed since the pandemic for this exact reason: it's close enough to urban cores for an every-other-day commute.

  31. Eskimo Guest

    I not even going into the math, but top of my head it's around breakeven or maybe a little savings.

    Factoring in the opportunity cost, not even close to worth it. You probably save a lot more doing online class.
    Berkeley or other top schools, are good not just inside the class room but outside too.
    You get top scores, paying top dollar, going to great schools, so you can spend time with...

    I not even going into the math, but top of my head it's around breakeven or maybe a little savings.

    Factoring in the opportunity cost, not even close to worth it. You probably save a lot more doing online class.
    Berkeley or other top schools, are good not just inside the class room but outside too.
    You get top scores, paying top dollar, going to great schools, so you can spend time with like minded people.
    The network you could build at Berkeley is priceless. But you treat it as some random night class at a community college. Even those people would appreciate their community college and would trade places to Berkeley in a heartbeat.

    For this kid I'd give B+ for creativity and penny pinching.
    I'd give F for doing it.
    He's missing the big picture.
    I wouldn't hire this kid for anything outside entry level PR jobs. Definitely not for engineering.
    If housing was the issue, I'd still rather hire a homeless student in a shelter 30 mins from Berkeley who might miss a few class but still graduates over him.

    To sum this up, this is like spending 5 hours and $100 in gas to another city just to save $102.

    If this was commuting for work, I'd applaud him a lot more. But still wouldn't hire him.
    But I guess we live in a social media world now where we crash planes on YouTube.

    1. Frank Guest

      Enlighten me... Regardless of how you feel about his commute, what could this possibly have to do with his ability to do a job?

    2. Eskimo Guest

      Dear Frank,

      Thank you for your interest in seeking enlightenment.
      We regret to inform you that after carefully reviewing your question, we’ve decided to move forward with other questions. We received many questions on enlightenment from experienced and qualified applicants, and competition is extremely high.

      We are committed to a diverse and inclusive workplace. We support an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, national origin, gender,...

      Dear Frank,

      Thank you for your interest in seeking enlightenment.
      We regret to inform you that after carefully reviewing your question, we’ve decided to move forward with other questions. We received many questions on enlightenment from experienced and qualified applicants, and competition is extremely high.

      We are committed to a diverse and inclusive workplace. We support an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, protected veteran status, disability, age, or other legally protected status.

      Like many big big companies out there, unfortunately we don't comment on the nature of the rejection. Nor would those companies ever use the word cronyism or nepotism ever. Except college who are still legally able to discriminate and favor legacies or donors over qualified candidates because that's what a holistic review really means.

  32. DenB Diamond

    The student's valuation of his time is sad. He meticulously calculates and reports money and points spent, but only vaguely acknowledges the time he spent on this unproductive activity. Time is the one resource he can't replace. Every commute was time not spent studying, dating, sleeping, cooking, exercising. Much wiser to borrow on his line of credit and rent digs for the year, or live in hotels.

    1. Jim Guest

      I did an executive MBA program years ago in London, while living in Estonia. I commuted in once a week and stayed for the 2-3 days of classes. The time spent traveling for the most part wasn't wasted -- I'd spend all of it reading case studies and finishing up assignments.

      Of course it's a bit different from the case described here -- my program was designed for students to commute, and over half of...

      I did an executive MBA program years ago in London, while living in Estonia. I commuted in once a week and stayed for the 2-3 days of classes. The time spent traveling for the most part wasn't wasted -- I'd spend all of it reading case studies and finishing up assignments.

      Of course it's a bit different from the case described here -- my program was designed for students to commute, and over half of them did (the school had cheap, basic accommodation available too). Even some of the professors commuted in -- one instructor flew in from Tel Aviv every week, and another from Geneva.

    2. pstm91 Diamond

      You were commuting once per week. He was commuting 3-5x per week. This is not a good comparison. As frugal as this guy may be, clearly no one ever taught him about opportunity cost.
      On top of that, I have a hard time believing he couldn't find a studio apartment or room to rent that wouldn't have cost the same as he ended up spending (not accounting for the ludicrous amount of miles he spent), if not slightly more/less.

    3. Eskimo Guest

      EMBA or other executive education is a whole different program and experience.

      The class stuff is there so you actually paid for some 'education'. The whole exercise is to prep you up for more senior roles, networking more for business opportunities not career opportunities.

      From a company's stand point. This is a tax deductible business expense to send executives on a semi paid vacation while looking for business contacts. It grooms you, so shareholders feel...

      EMBA or other executive education is a whole different program and experience.

      The class stuff is there so you actually paid for some 'education'. The whole exercise is to prep you up for more senior roles, networking more for business opportunities not career opportunities.

      From a company's stand point. This is a tax deductible business expense to send executives on a semi paid vacation while looking for business contacts. It grooms you, so shareholders feel good appointing you. It's a good school, so you feel good having a name on your profile, and some time off work.

      In short, you (company) pay huge money so you would make fewer mistakes, but you hardly made them anyway (or they would have send someone else) on something you will forget in few years to open your network that could benefit the company for years to come.

      The biggest question @Jim would you invest your own time and money for an EMBA? (unless you're a business owner)

    4. Henry Guest

      Yeah, I agree, when the time you do not have money, money is more valuable, given a Berkeley student, I would say time is also important. However, it really comes the way how did he use his time during the commente, I am not that intense as I do not think I can tolerate a 3 am waking up, but I commute on a weekly basis, I think if he can use his commute time...

      Yeah, I agree, when the time you do not have money, money is more valuable, given a Berkeley student, I would say time is also important. However, it really comes the way how did he use his time during the commente, I am not that intense as I do not think I can tolerate a 3 am waking up, but I commute on a weekly basis, I think if he can use his commute time on reading, learning, that actually works. But given how many tickets he has to keep revaluing and purchase, it could be still hard to manage.

  33. Antonio Guest

    So a boy that doesnt want to spend a lot in accomodation has a piggy bank of at least 600k AS miles and other Carriers. Were them from daddy, cc's and corresponding spending or legacy flying??. I really dont see the point, but if he is Happy, me too...

    1. LEo Diamond

      He is studying for a master's degree, likely he had work savings already

    2. Antonio Guest

      Thanks clue Leo, well, if he is doing a masters degree he'll have assessed the business Case. As im a bit bored just looked a 1Bed apt with swimming pool just off Fishermans Wharf from 2350$...On my side I wouldnt stand Daily tsas and us airports even for 200 or 300 k

    3. Eskimo Guest

      @LEo
      In the broken financial world of students.
      Master's degree = No job income + old student loans + car loan + mortgage + relocation.

      The lucky ones would have a SO working to help pay bills.
      And this kid is living in LA rent free = live with parents

      Nope, most likely no savings.

  34. LEo Diamond

    This post was on flyertalk for 6 months already,
    https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-reports/2093205-epic-commute-i-go-school-plane-aug-2022-may-2023-a.html

    1. LEo Diamond

      nvm, didn't read the article first

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MrChu Guest

This is awesome. I use to commute everyday for 5 hrs RT from the NYC area to Wilmington DE. Thanks to Covid nowadays I do it 2-3 times a week. I travel by Amtrak. My reasons are obviously different than financial. My family refuses to move to Wilmington DE due to family ties as well the social activities available in the NYC area. It’s one life to live and we don’t want to live in Wilmington DE. To each his own. For what it’s worth my cost of living will be cut drastically by living in Wilmington and not taking the train. As for the opportunity cost obviously folks who read this travel blog are not savvy travelers. Since I don’t drive I get to work, read, relax and even socialize over a drink on the train. Because I know I’m spending time away I utilize my time efficiently at work including working out during slow periods. I get to go happy hours after work since I don’t drive so don’t have to worry about drinking and driving. I’m an early riser and I take the 6am train which gets me at work by 830am. I take the 530pm train and I’m back home by 8pm. Since I only go in for 2-3 times a week nowadays I usually schedule my on site work days on alternate days. In case I have important meetings back to back days or for later hours I just stay in a hotel. This only happens once a month or so. Did I say I have been doing it for 17 years!

3
NotMyName Guest

This is what I came to say. Did everyone forget that someone CAN be productive on an airplane, especially when it comes to school work? Everyone here either didn't attend college or forgot about the workload it often comes with? He could either sit at a table/desk and do 2-4 hours of homework or he can do that on a plane. Either way he's sitting. Either way it's getting done. The "opportunity cost" people speak about here sounds like a buzz phrase you they all like to throw around without consideration. One thing that I do think was short sighted. He would have gotten much more value out of it by paying out of pocket and banking miles. It hurts to see he used 400K miles for intra-state trips.

2
Eskimo Guest

Well recently there was this kid who got accepted 180+ with $10M combined scholarship. The media praised him? (How broken our society has become) What I see is he deprived 179 kids and $9.75M from a college education. If I'm in admissions, I'd ask how many schools you apply to and straight reject anyone with over 30. And that's already a crazy high number. And no I'm not going to hire him either but I can predict he's going to be a great politician.

2
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