Thanks for all of your help guys. I actually posted this twice somewhat and ended up with a cycloscross Trek XO1.
Gerv: My components were very low end and got stuck shifting, slipped gears, and the bike overall was heavy. The wheels + tires of the XO were half the weight of the 7000.
bt93: I want a newer bike because my commute so far kills me and yes I know i'll get stronger over the next few months but idk, I just get demoralized when I see all the road bikes around and if I see a mountain bike it's like a trek 800.
As for all the people saying "used bike" yes the 520 I looked at was from 1980's but honestly I learned not to skimp on bike stuff. Hence I just plopped down the money for a new XO1. I will say from what I remember my hybrid was the first time: hybrid was 3x as easy to ride as my walmart rusted mountain bike. My cyclorcross is about 2.5x as easy as my hybrid but will be less because of the rack. When comparing the weights I couldn't believe how heavy my 7000 was! I'll look into lessening the weight. Maybe a Bob trailer? So far the cyclocross is fast and way more agile than the 7000 and worth the investment. With gas being $3.7/gal here it's now $8/day to drive to school.