Not every campus is wall-to-wall Greek parties and Division I sports programs. Nor are they all lush, perfectly landscaped gardens with ivy-covered Gothic architecture scattered among the leafy alcoves. Some campuses have more parking spaces than dorm rooms, more students from in-county than rest-of-country. They're called  

suitcase schools

 , and they often have all the allure of a suburban strip mall.

Suitcase schools have dorms, but they're not exactly what colleges tout in their brochures. A large portion of suitcase-school students commute from nearby locales and refer to campus-dwellers as "dorm rats." And in many cases, dorm rats live in these same communities and go home every weekend. They return Monday with a full tank of gas, coolers packed with home-cooked chicken parmesan, and a trunk full of clean, fluffed, folded laundry without a trace of static cling.

What's the problem? For one thing, say students, campus life can suffer. "A lot of organizations feel that if they do plan an event on a Friday or Saturday, nobody will show up," says Bridget Holahan of Adelphi University (Garden City, NY), who does double duty as treasurer for the Student Activity Board and for her class. Usually, there are only one or two big events per semester. "If it's something big, people will hang around for it," she reports.

So what do you do if you, an out-of-stater without wheels, find yourself for the next four years at a suitcase school? What kind of life can you have when half the students don't live on campus, and the other half is hanging with high school friends all weekend? How are you going to respond to your semi-commuter roommate's question, "How was your weekend?"

Plan a Campus Takeover
It's quicker and easier than you think. One of the advantages of attending a suitcase school is it becomes very easy to pump up your resume. It's realistic to aspire to be class or student government president when you spend more time on campus campaigning than most. Even if you concede the top of the ticket, there's probably some future county commissioner begging fellow students to run as her VP or treasurer or secretary.

But why do it? Sure it'll look good on paper when you start serious job-hunting, but there are more immediate benefits - like control of the student activity fund. Each semester, virtually every collegian forks over hundreds of dollars to fund student activities. Much of that money is controlled by a student board that allocates so much to one academic club, so much to another interest group, so much to its own operating budget ... you get the picture. If it's OK with you that the Chess Club and the Shakespearean Players have to have a few bake sales as long as you can pay Ludacris to play at Spring weekend, you can make that happen.

As Bridget attests, students owe it to themselves to get involved in how their activity fees get spent. "If they don't, they're only hurting themselves," she adds.

Acquire Critical Mass
Think yours is the only suitcase school in town? Probably not. They have a way of clustering. The other postsecondary options in your area might be technical schools, community colleges, or other schools like yours. The advantage? You'll have an array of social, networking, and educational opportunities within a reasonable traveling distance.

Simply find out what other schools are in your area, and consider making a visit, or checking their Web sites to see what they have going on. Many campuses host lectures, job or internship fairs, and other events open to the public. You may even be interested in taking a class or two that isn't offered at your institution.

Do Your Best With What You Have
Fine, so you're not in Madison, WI, or Gainesville, FL, or one of those other university towns with a well-deserved reputation for youth culture. You are where you are and you can make your own fun.

While they may not be as visible compared to their big-school brethren, there are Greek societies to pledge at suitcase schools. There are collegiate-level sports teams, even if they don't rate national media attention. There are people interested in fashion, tech, J.J. Abrams shows, and anything else you gravitate toward.

"I decided to go Greek," says Alexsandra Robles, who's pre-law at Northern Illinois University, which draws most of its students from the nearby DeKalb-Huntley area. "If you don't, it's extremely hard to have a social life."

Alexsandra, the Alpha Delta Pi chapter's corresponding secretary, relies on her sorority to provide opportunities for weekend events, intramural sports, and other ways to "make your own fun," as she says. She notes that her sisters have volunteered with neighborhood clean-ups and a women's shelter.

There's nothing like direct action to make you feel good about the contribution you're making. But philanthropy can also be an excuse for a party. A good fundraiser can be the highlight of the campus social season. When I was attending a suitcase school, I chaired the dance marathon committee. Not only did the marathon raise a lot of money for charity and prove to be good for my social and personal development, it also kept hundreds of kids on campus the whole weekend.

If You Can't Beat 'Em, Join 'Em
Let your roommate be your lifeline. The person you're going to spend the next year cooped up with is, odds are, a local. He or she is probably one of those students who lives close enough to commute, but chooses to have a room on campus. If you have anything in common, see how willing your roommate is to introduce you around the neighborhood. If your roommate is as stranded as you are, buddy up with others on your floor who can show you around town.

If none of this is working for you, remember that reaching legal adulthood and living away from home for the first time are both big changes. You're not going to have all the answers. And remember: Many of your fellow freshmen are in the same boat as you. Why not make the best of it?

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