This calculator was designed to help students better estimate the cost of
attending California State University, Northridge. On a campus like ours where
many students commute in daily to take courses, and the cost of fuel has risen
dramatically, so to has the cost of going to college.
Carpooling is a good means to avoid incurring a signficant fuel cost. Online
courses may help as well, especially if you are a great distance and commuting
time removes you from otherwise productive work, like a part-time or full-time
job. This latter cost is your opportunity cost. It's always worth considering
how much your time is worth, in addition to the costs associated with fueling
your car.
In the future, we'll add a carbon footprint, so you can begin to estimate the
external costs of commuting...you don't pay, but everyone else does.
Steps: If you don't alredy know how far you commute one way to campus, use
the Google Map function embedded below to figure it out. Type in the address
from which you commute and the map will calculate the distance you must drive,
plus estimate the time it will take. Make a note of this information and place
it in the appropriate response box below.
Map
Instructions: Click once on the icon below. A dialog bubble will open. Click
on the To here link in the bubble. Enter your street address and click on the Go
button. A a new window will launch, providing you with turn-by-turn directions
to campus, plus an estimate of the distance you and the time it will take. Enter
the distance in step 1 below and the time in step 6 below.
Enter data that matches your commuting situation. Press tab after you enter
each data item. When you have come to step 9, click the "calculate button".
If you make a mistake or want to change a value, make sure to re-enter the
values from the top and press tab to move through the subsequent boxes. This
calculator works only in a sequential fashion, so you must complete (or redo)
the first calculations first, or subsequent calculations will produce errors.
Clear the data by clicking the button below.
Some Concluding Remarks:
California State University, Northridge does what it can to reduce the cost
of attendance for students, including offering a wide selection of online
classes for those who cannot afford the time or the money associated with
commuting. This calculator may help you make the decision.
Technical Considerations :
There are a number of assumptions built into this model. First we assume that
you would not be commuting at all if you were not commuting to school. Second,
this calculator does not factor in other, sometimes significant costs associated
with driving, such as insurance, car payments, maintenance, parking fees, etc.
Feel free to include those costs as you see fit. Third, we assume that you would
be doing something productive, perhaps even making money at a job if you were
not commuting to campus, so if you don't see yourself working during those hours
or minutes you spend commuting to school, then feel free to place zero in the
"Wage per hour" box. We also did not factor in other considerations such as
taxes, licenses, etc. that you may find appropriate.
Thanks to http://www.texaswebdevelopers.com/ for providing some javascript
ideas for this calculator.
