North State Promise Opens the Door for More Local Students at Simpson University
For students across Northern California, attending college close to home is becoming a more accessible option as Simpson University expands opportunities for local students through its new North State Promise.
The initiative reflects Simpson’s commitment to investing in future local leaders while making higher education more affordable, accessible, and local. Incoming traditional undergraduate students from Northern California who qualify for the program receive an automatic 50% discount on tuition.
As more North State students consider Simpson, some may choose to commute from home rather than live on campus. Currently, about 30% of Simpson’s undergraduate students commute to the university.
For senior Glorianna Junokas, commuting has allowed her to remain connected to her local community while becoming deeply involved in life at Simpson.
Junokas grew up about 30 minutes from the university but had never visited the campus until she attended a tour.
“I actually was not planning on coming to Simpson,” Junokas said. “But I ended up coming to one of the tour days, like the Spring Preview Tour Day. And I ended up really falling in love with the campus. I remember thinking like, I couldn’t believe Simpson has been here this whole time, and I lived here this whole time and never stepped foot on campus. And the next thing I knew, I was fully enrolled as a student here at Simpson.”
A residential experience with options for local students
Simpson is a residential university and encourages students to live on campus during their college careers. However, certain students may qualify to live off campus and commute.
Students may qualify for commuter status if they live with a parent, legal guardian or grandparent within 35 miles of campus. Other circumstances that may qualify include being married or having children living with them, having served three or more years in the armed services, having an off-campus job that requires them to live at their place of employment, already owning a local home, or having a documented disability that has been approved through Simpson’s accommodations process.
For students who qualify, commuting can also provide significant savings. Students who live at home could save on housing costs and dining costs.
Those savings come with other considerations, including gasoline and vehicle wear and tear on your vehicle. Students who spend much of their day on campus may also need to budget for meals while they are at school.
For Junokas, commuting has not kept her from making Simpson a major part of her daily life.
“There are definitely days where I come here, I have an 8 a.m., and I stay all the way until the library closes at 9 p.m.,” she said. “I have definitely done that multiple times, especially being a science major.”
Building community beyond the classroom
One of the challenges commuter students can face is finding opportunities to develop friendships and become connected to campus life.
“For commuters, it’s a little bit harder; you have to have a little bit more effort to make connections and friends because it is very easy to just come and do your classes and then leave and go home,” Junokas said.
Simpson’s commuter support team works to help students overcome that barrier by creating opportunities specifically designed to bring commuter students together.
“We really want to foster community among the commuters, so that they really feel like they belong and that they, you know, have a place at Simpson,” Junokas said.
The commuter support team organizes events, sends commuter updates and offers activities designed to encourage students to connect with one another.
“We have commuter challenges, like a weekly challenge, and our goal is to get other commuters to meet commuters,” Junokas said.
Events are planned with commuter schedules in mind. Some activities take place shortly after classes, while others may be scheduled in the morning or during the middle of the school day.
A commuter lunch in the campus dining area, for example, gives students an opportunity to meet other commuters without requiring them to make a separate trip to campus.
Making the most of campus life
While Junokas lives off campus, she has found ways to make Simpson’s campus feel like an important part of her college experience.
She regularly uses campus facilities for studying, particularly the library.
“I spend a lot of time in the library,” she said. “I really like the quiet rooms for studying, because if I go home I will be distracted.”
Commuting also does not prevent students from participating in extracurricular activities.
“A lot of commuters are still athletes, and still very involved on campus,” Junokas said.
For Junokas, attending athletic events is another way to experience the community that makes up college life.
“It’s really fun to, like, sit in a cheer section, and you really get to feel like you are having that college experience, going to a game and cheering for people,” she said.
She encourages other commuter students to attend games and support their classmates.
“I think going to games are definitely worthwhile, and you get to cheer on your classmates, especially if you have met other commuters that are also on the sports team; you get to cheer them on, and yeah, it’s pretty cool.”
A local path to the Simpson experience
As the North State Promise brings Simpson’s affordability within reach for more students from Northern California, the university is also creating opportunities for local students to build their college experience in a way that fits their circumstances.
For some students, that may mean living in a residence hall and experiencing campus life around the clock. For others, it may mean returning home each evening while spending much of the day learning, studying, competing and building friendships on campus.
For Junokas, the combination has allowed her to stay connected to home while embracing the Simpson community.
Her experience illustrates that being a commuter does not have to mean being on the outside of campus life. With intentional effort, support and opportunities to connect, local students can make Simpson University their college home—even when they sleep somewhere else.
