Books and school supplies are already expensive for the typical college student, and with the price of gas rising exponentially within the past couple of weeks, the cost of living continues to rise.

Rising gas prices are frustrating for everybody, but it affects college students the most, especially the ones that commute to school.  I commute to Sonoma State University every day Monday through Thursday from Windsor, which means I’m already filling up my tank more often each month.

It takes me about 20 to 40 minutes to get to campus depending on traffic, and compared with my other classmates, this is a very short commute. I have a classmate that commutes from South San Francisco, and another that commutes from Monterey. These heightened prices are frustrating and are making it harder to balance work, school and a social life on a limited budget.

I drive a Honda Accord, which has 16 gallons in it. Before prices rose, I was filling up my tank at least twice a month, but now I fill it up three to four times a week, depending on my schedule. I typically drive mainly to work located in Healdsburg and to school.. The last time I filled up my tank was prior to the rise in gas prices, which was on February 25.

That was the last time I filled up my tank from when it was completely empty. I filled it up at Costco, and on that day the regular gas price was $4.359. It cost me $66.98 to fill my tank up completely. On March 17, 2026, gas was listed at $5.67 at Chevron in Healdsburg, and it cost me $23.95 to fill up 4.22 gallons. Gas has become so expensive that it makes me not want to drive anywhere.

The price of gas is outrageous and it makes it harder for college students.  Most of us are not working right now. If we are, it is likely only part-time, with a few students working full-time while attending school. This insane price limits the freedom we have as students to enjoy extracurricular activities outside of class and our ability to make it to campus.