Is there a difference between a residential student and a commuter student?

While residential students live on-campus during the program, commuter students live off-campus and commute to class. Although there are some slight differences in program offerings, both communities offer a full Stanford experience and reflect the experiences of commuter and residential Stanford students.

Please see our Find Your Community page for a detailed comparison of the two options. 

We strive to offer Commuters as many of the regular Summer Session experiences as possible.

Many Academic Programs and program-wide events will require additional commute time to attend. Most excursions are designed to introduce the local area and are open only to Residential students who pay a higher program fee. For Commuter students who are likely familiar with experiences off-campus, we've focused on creating connections to the academic and cultural life of campus.

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