Is it possible to air travel two weekends a month while in medical school?

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streampaw

streampaw

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Like, if I were to go to medical school in a state that's on the other side of the country from my home state, and if I wanted to come back to my home state every other weekend to spend the weekend there. Let's say I had enough money to buy the airline tickets. I would go to my home state on friday evening, and go back to medical school state on sunday afternoon, every other weekend via airplane.

What problems could arise with this? Will there be problems such as, if flight is delayed on sunday, I might not be able to show up to med school class on monday? I am really worried.

I wouldn't be able to afford first class/business class tickets, just economy tickets, if that matters. I am planning to take 2 years off after college to save up money for it, and if I get into my state med school, then I will just use that money to decrease my debt (to pay for some tuition or living expenses). If I get into an OOS med school, then I will use that money for airline tickets every other weekend.

But I am just wondering, what kind of problems would I have with this? Is it doable?
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Why on earth would you do this? You'll be studying those weekends. You don't want to be jet-lagged during that. This seems like a path that only leads to trouble (not to mention, it seems relatively fiscally irresponsible)
 
Weekends are prime study time, and you lose a lot of time traveling. And yes you could also miss required classes if your flight is delayed. It would be feasible if you limit your travel to post-exam weekends or weekends that are otherwise "far" from an exam, but every other weekend is pushing it and it won't be a reasonable thing to plan to do without looking at your schedule. I do know people who travel a lot on weekends, but they are very much in the minority, and I have to wonder if their school performance suffers as a result.

Fwiw, I live a 4 hour drive from home and I have a car...I almost never go home unless it's a long weekend or post exam weekend. I can't justify losing 8 hours just to spend 36 hours sitting at home, unless something important is happening at home.
 
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streampaw said:
Like, if I were to go to medical school in a state that's on the other side of the country from my home state, and if I wanted to come back to my home state every other weekend to spend the weekend there. Let's say I had enough money to buy the airline tickets. I would go to my home state on friday evening, and go back to medical school state on sunday afternoon, every other weekend via airplane.

What problems could arise with this? Will there be problems such as, if flight is delayed on sunday, I might not be able to show up to med school class on monday? I am really worried.

I wouldn't be able to afford first class/business class tickets, just economy tickets, if that matters. I am planning to take 2 years off after college to save up money for it, and if I get into my state med school, then I will just use that money to decrease my debt (to pay for some tuition or living expenses). If I get into an OOS med school, then I will use that money for airline tickets every other weekend.

But I am just wondering, what kind of problems would I have with this? Is it doable?
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This sounds like a receipt for disaster. Better to take extra time to make your application as strong as possible, strong enough for schools on the side of the country you want to be on.
 
I'm guessing you either feel inseparable from a significant other, or to your family?

Your best bet would probably to go to the state school. Air travel 2x a month seems both expensive and time-consuming!
 
I just don't want to have an 8 year long distance relationship... That would really suck. So I am thinking to compromise with that by taking 2 years off after college to save money for air travelling every other weekend during med school. And when I do residency, I can just use the money I earn as a resident to air travel.
 
I'm not sure how rigid your schedule for home visits needs to be but I can imagine a number of tough circumstances around exam dates, potentially required lectures, and lab attendance (depending on the school). When you get to your clinical years some rotations might make biweekly home visits very difficult.

Also, if this is in relation to your question about maintaining a relationship in med school.... just connecting the dots here....would the idea be that you can see your SO every other week? I was going to comment on your other thread but I guess this is a continuation of your previous concerns: Please seek advice from people who know you, who knows your SO, and who can speak to your values. Based on what I've seen from your posts, I think my opinion would mean very little to you and I'm not going to give you a straw man to cut down. The fact that you are on these threads asking for personal advice indicates that something is bugging you. Take time to reflect on your own priorities and enjoy the next few years. I only decided to go to med school 2 years ago and I've been very lucky this cycle. You don't need to plan each detail out so much, logistics will figure themselves out. You do, however, need to practice some self reflection so that you have a strong sense of your priorities before making so many huge sacrifices of time, finances, and - yes - even relationships.
 
You would burn out if you did this. I live 4 hours driving from my dad and still only visit every other month or so, when I have a long weekend, so I can spend more than 24 hours there before driving back to school.

Save up the money if you want, but I really suggest you focus on making your application good for medical school first, then getting into medical school, before you plan on flying across the country every other weekend. You have 5 years before this happens--a lot can change in that period, and you may end up having a different trajectory in life.
 
streampaw said:
I just don't want to have an 8 year long distance relationship... That would really suck. So I am thinking to compromise with that by taking 2 years off after college to save money for air travelling every other weekend during med school. And when I do residency, I can just use the money I earn as a resident to air travel.
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???????? You can't be serious? You want to take 2 years off just to work and pay for air traveling?

Dude. Just put a ring on it!!!!
 
roundza said:
I'm not sure how rigid your schedule for home visits needs to be but I can imagine a number of tough circumstances around exam dates, potentially required lectures, and lab attendance (depending on the school). When you get to your clinical years some rotations might make biweekly home visits very difficult.

Also, if this is in relation to your question about maintaining a relationship in med school.... just connecting the dots here....would the idea be that you can see your SO every other week? I was going to comment on your other thread but I guess this is a continuation of your previous concerns: Please seek advice from people who know you, who knows your SO, and who can speak to your values. Based on what I've seen from your posts, I think my opinion would mean very little to you and I'm not going to give you a straw man to cut down. The fact that you are on these threads asking for personal advice indicates that something is bugging you. Take time to reflect on your own priorities and enjoy the next few years. I only decided to go to med school 2 years ago and I've been very lucky this cycle. You don't need to plan each detail out so much, logistics will figure themselves out. You do, however, need to practice some self reflection so that you have a strong sense of your priorities before making so many huge sacrifices of time, finances, and - yes - even relationships.
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+1

Just took a look at your recent posts, OP. You need to sloooowwwww down and stop getting ahead of yourself. You're a sophomore in college, and you're starting to think in terms of the mechanics of your relationship when you're in med school and residency? Just no.

I know it's hard because becoming a doctor is such a long term plan. But you need to understand that you're very young, you have lots of time, and some bridges you can't decide how to cross until you come to them.

Work on building a strong application so you can go to school in the geographic area you want to. But understand that right now, as, again, a sophomore in college, you don't actually have a way of knowing exactly where that will be. You don't know where you or your SO's (assuming you stay together) careers are going to take you. Much of life is learning how to go with the flow.

Instead of posting lots of questions on SDN, take a deep breath, go study, and maybe even hang out with friends.
 
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Lollygag said:
???????? You can't be serious? You want to take 2 years off just to work and pay for air traveling?

Dude. Just put a ring on it!!!!
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I am a female, by the way.
 
Why can't he/she move with you? Why can't you just not apply to those schools on the other side of the country.... These are the things you have to sacrifice since you chose to be in a relationship.
 
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Oh geez, the OP is 17 years old. That certainly explains a lot.
 
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Is this your first boyfriend that you feel you can't live without him? That would explain it too..

First, you need to finish college, and apply to medical school, and then GET INTO medical school, hopefully near your home if it's important.

This planning is senseless and a waste of time. You haven't even applied to medical school, much less gotten accepted, yet you're planning out your weekends?
 
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Just noticed this is the second relationship thread that OP has made in the past two days... Urg. Sounds like a major clinger. That said, OP, the relationship probably won't last so please stop worrying about this.
 
is this a joke?

I wouldn't do that for my wife and kids.
 
notbobtrustme said:
is this a joke?

I wouldn't do that for my wife and kids.
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Aren't you barely 18?

lol, OP, relationships and people will change. I don't know anyone who was with their high school sweetheart and are still together even after med school, with the exception of one person. They got married, had a kid, were happy for a while, and ended up divorced.

Don't limit your options, especially your future and your choices for someone else. Relationships are supposed to help you both grow and mature as people to maximize your own potential. Sticking with what's comfortable now won't benefit anyone in the long run.
 
streampaw said:
I just don't want to have an 8 year long distance relationship... That would really suck. So I am thinking to compromise with that by taking 2 years off after college to save money for air travelling every other weekend during med school. And when I do residency, I can just use the money I earn as a resident to air travel.
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From your other posts, you're a 17 year old girl dating a law student. Please, this is not something you need to be posting about now. No one would recommend you traveling 2 weekends a month while in medical school. But please, stop posting all these ridiculous questions when you're not even applying in the next few years. It may be that you'll realize medicine is not for you. Who knows. Take some time to figure that out before you post all these hypotheticals on the internet. This doesn't all have to be figured out now, you have time. Live life and enjoy it.
 
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Hypothetically, by the time you enter medical school, your SO will graduate from law school and will (maybe, given the job market) have a job. Why can't you have him travel back and forth for you? Sounds like a one-way type of relationship here.
 
i actually have a classmate who does this with his girlfriend
they switch off
it's very expensive and i wouldn't recommend it
 
streampaw said:
I just don't want to have an 8 year long distance relationship... That would really suck. So I am thinking to compromise with that by taking 2 years off after college to save money for air travelling every other weekend during med school. And when I do residency, I can just use the money I earn as a resident to air travel.
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Um you might want to do a little research into resident lifestyles. They rarely get two days off in a row.
 
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So the boyfriend will be a law school graduate and gainfully employed by the time that you are applying to med school? If the relationship is still around after you graduate from college and take your planned gap years (4 years from now), then the two of you could come up with a plan.
 
If you're still together at that point, the two of you will be committed enough so that one of you will move for the other. Until you've reached that point, don't worry about it.
 
SunsFun said:
Hypothetically, by the time you enter medical school, your SO will graduate from law school and will (maybe, given the job market) have a job. Why can't you have him travel back and forth for you? Sounds like a one-way type of relationship here.
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I hear there are lawyers all over the U.S. If he's graduated from law school by the time you get into medical school, he should be able to find a job in the city where you go to school. He'll have a LOT more flexibility job-hunting than you will medical school-hunting. And as a newly-minted lawyer, his hours will suck almost as much as yours.

You're clearly a very intelligent person to be a sophomore in college at your age. Probably much brighter than most of your classmates -- which may well be why you feel such a strong connection with lawyer-dude, as he presumably is pretty bright too. But once you get into medical school, you'll meet a ton of students at an even higher average intellectual caliber. Give yourself a chance to comparison shop before choosing a life partner.

And yeah, the advice about if you tip your hand that you're planning your life around him at this point in the relationship making him bolt? -- Right on target, I'm afraid. Or worse, he'll stick around and use the relationship-power-differential (the 'you-love-him-more' angle) to his advantage and your detriment. If this relationship is going to make it, he'll have to be every bit as committed as you.
 
My advice to the OP...I won't ridicule you for being naive and what not, we all have been there and maturity just comes with time and growing up.

What is your priority? School or SO? How serious/long has this relationship been? There is no reason that if you and the SO are actually committed that you could go to the same part of the country with a law school and med school. Law schools are EVERYWHERE. Not that it means they're all worth paying for lol.

Anyway though, relax. You don't need to stress yourself with something this far ahead and so dependent on if the relationship works and if you/SO make it to med/law schools.

Focus on your classes, enjoy the moment. Keep an eye on the future, but don't stress!

and obviously, as others have said...flying that much is not feasible and you would have a high chance of flunking out.
 
Bottom line, the answer is no.

Even if you were a millionaire and were willing to blow thousands of dollars every couple weeks, it wouldn't be feasible to do more than once a month even with careful planing.

Lost time studying, weather issues, flight delays, required monday morning/friday afternoon classes would be a few reasons.

During M3/M4 it would be absolutely out of the question.
 
SunsFun said:
Hypothetically, by the time you enter medical school, your SO will graduate from law school and will (maybe, given the job market) have a job. Why can't you have him travel back and forth for you? Sounds like a one-way type of relationship here.
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Glad I wasn't the only one thinking that. Let the rich lawyer boyfriend do all the travelling!
 
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rain4venus said:
Glad I wasn't the only one thinking that. Let the rich lawyer boyfriend do all the travelling!
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Hey guys, I fixed it now, I am so happy bc my bf might move with me to whereever I go to medical school! Thank you for all your support :) I am so thrilledddd!! :)
 
streampaw said:
Hey guys, I fixed it now, I am so happy bc my bf might move with me to whereever I go to medical school! Thank you for all your support :) I am so thrilledddd!! :)
Click to expand...

you are 17 and a sophomore...take a deep breath and put this relationship in perspective
 
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streampaw said:
Hey guys, I fixed it now, I am so happy bc my bf might move with me to whereever I go to medical school! Thank you for all your support :) I am so thrilledddd!! :)
Click to expand...
He *might* move with you when you hypothetically start med school in almost 5 years? I recommend getting that nailed down at least before the next semester starts.

You really don't want these kinds of stressors weighing on you when you need get straight A's so you can get into a top school.
 
Word of advice, don't try to control every second of your life. Stop planning for things 5 years from now because things change, people change. You especially can't be sure you will have the same boyfriend.

You will find that MANY things are out of your control in the field of medicine, and you will need to learn to deal with uncertain situations/outcomes.

I know you are just thinking about your future, but sometimes that hurts more than it helps. Focus on today. Study for any exams you have coming up. Go catch a movie with your bf. The rest of your undergrad and medical education will simply fall into place as you mature and experience life.
 
you might have to use those 2 years off from college to grow up and be a big boy so you don't need to come home every week. It makes absolutely no financial sense to do this.
 
streampaw said:
Like, if I were to go to medical school in a state that's on the other side of the country from my home state, and if I wanted to come back to my home state every other weekend to spend the weekend there. Let's say I had enough money to buy the airline tickets. I would go to my home state on friday evening, and go back to medical school state on sunday afternoon, every other weekend via airplane.

What problems could arise with this? Will there be problems such as, if flight is delayed on sunday, I might not be able to show up to med school class on monday? I am really worried.

I wouldn't be able to afford first class/business class tickets, just economy tickets, if that matters. I am planning to take 2 years off after college to save up money for it, and if I get into my state med school, then I will just use that money to decrease my debt (to pay for some tuition or living expenses). If I get into an OOS med school, then I will use that money for airline tickets every other weekend.

But I am just wondering, what kind of problems would I have with this? Is it doable?
Click to expand...

To give a generalized answer independent of the OP's personal situation, the answer is yes….at certain schools.

People at Michigan do this all the time. It takes a lot of discipline to be ready to take and pass the quizzes/finals first thing on Fridays, but it doesn't take Herculean effort. It's also not too hard to miss Monday classes or to get permission to take the quiz/exam late (i.e on Tuesday, when it's supposed to be taken between Friday and Monday morning). I'm sure Michigan isn't the only place that offers this flexibility. For sure, Yale does as well. If you focus your applications on these schools, you might get lucky to be accepted to the place with the lifestyle you want.
 
2 round trip coast to coast flights a month (at $800/flight): $19,200 a year
Over 4 years: $76,800
Seeing your boyfriend every 2 weeks: Priceless. But not really.

Your options are:
1. Get a very high paying full time job for 2 years and blow all of that money over the next 4 years
2. Get same job, disregard boyfriend, acquire Mercedes.
3. Not do this.

Your income needs to be $38,400/year to save up the necessary money. However, I assume you will be alive during this time. That means food, rent, gas, insurance, utilities, etc. If you lived in a monk-like state, you could spend about $1200/month = $14,400/ year. Your net income needs to be $52,800.

Uh oh, taxes.

You could (barely) make the money you need if your job paid $66,000 (25% federal tax bracket for this income). If you don't have a car yet, add in a few G's for a used corolla. If you ever want to see your friends again, throw in another couple thousand for (really crappy) entertainment. You could maybe scrape by with a $70,000 job.

But someone mentioned you're 17. So if you're already making $70,000/year as a 17 year old, I would advise you to not go to med school maybe.
 
TreadLightly said:
2 round trip coast to coast flights a month (at $800/flight): $19,200 a year
Over 4 years: $76,800
Seeing your boyfriend every 2 weeks: Priceless. But not really.

Your options are:
1. Get a very high paying full time job for 2 years and blow all of that money over the next 4 years
2. Get same job, disregard boyfriend, acquire Mercedes.
3. Not do this.

Your income needs to be $38,400/year to save up the necessary money. However, I assume you will be alive during this time. That means food, rent, gas, insurance, utilities, etc. If you lived in a monk-like state, you could spend about $1200/month = $14,400/ year. Your net income needs to be $52,800.

Uh oh, taxes.

You could (barely) make the money you need if your job paid $66,000 (25% federal tax bracket for this income). If you don't have a car yet, add in a few G's for a used corolla. If you ever want to see your friends again, throw in another couple thousand for (really crappy) entertainment. You could maybe scrape by with a $70,000 job.

But someone mentioned you're 17. So if you're already making $70,000/year as a 17 year old, I would advise you to not go to med school maybe.
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/thread :p
 
I have officially decided to put the OP on ignore.
 
Hey guys I've already figured it out, my bf might move with me so it's fine. Can we close this thread? Thanks guys
 
streampaw said:
Hey guys I've already figured it out, my bf might move with me so it's fine. Can we close this thread? Thanks guys
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Insert lord of the rings "one does not simply....close a thread" meme
 
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streampaw said:
But I am just wondering, what kind of problems would I have with this? Is it doable?
Click to expand...

During my interview at UPenn, an MS2 student told me that he had a classmate who spent every other weekend in TX visiting her SO. He said that the reason she could do this is that she went to a school where exams only happened every 4-6 weeks, as opposed to weekly or bi-weekly as some other schools have it. Such a schedule, I'm told, gives students more flexibility to put off work and load up on work as they want. In the same group of students, an MS3 told me that, as a rule, she never opened a text book the weekend (or even two) after an exam during her first 2 years. She chose to get serious in the last 2-3 weeks before an exam and only do light week day studying for the first 1-3 weeks.

Bottom line, it can be done. You have the be the right type of student and you have to be at the right type of institution. It's clear from this thread that these experiences are not the experiences of the majority of med students.
 
streampaw said:
Hey guys I've already figured it out, my bf might move with me so it's fine. Can we close this thread? Thanks guys
Click to expand...

You wouldn't have to close the thread if you didn't make a new thread every time a thought vaguely related to medicine and/or your future occurred to you.
 
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