anyone with a family ever had to attend school "alone?"

[pinkzebra]

just wondering if any of you have had to leave your families behind in your hometowns as you venture off to school.

i ask because i am facing the prospect of having to do so and would love thoughts/opinions.

the school i want to attend is in philly, while we currently live in boston. i would be able to come home on many weekends and definitely for vacations. my in-laws live in NY, so meeting there sometimes is an option for us, too.

my husband has a great job here and says the job market there for what he does isn't nearly as good. we really like our condo, our town, and our daughter's school (she is 7, 1st grade). we want to put down roots in boston and live here in the "long run."

the thought of leaving them is very tough and something i never thought i'd have to face, but luckily my husband is being very supportive about it.

would love to hear what others think. thank you!

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[FrkyBgStok]

When I applied, I wanted my hometown school but planned on moving the family if I didn't get in. I drove down to Kansas City the morning before the interview and drove back after the interview (about 3 1/2 hours one way). I realized that I really didn't want to do that because I would commute. It would suck.

Does the school have required attendance? Do they put lectures online? How far is philly from boston? I know a guy that moved to south dakota from des moines for PA school. Can you get back to boston for rotations during the 3rd and 4th year. How likely is it that you could potentially get a residency in boston? There are a lot of factors to help decide and if none of the stuff seems that bad to you, I am sure you could do it. The only problem I personally had is possibly not seeing my kids for weeks if i had tests and stuff. And KCUMB had required attendance so I couldn't really "telecommute." If you can do that, it would make it much easier.

 

[pinkzebra]

it is actually not for medical school. i only ask on here because i used to be pre-med (my story/journey is in my blog, which is linked below) and spent a lot of time posting on this board. however, i did not end up pursuing med school. i also know that a lot of people here have faced similar difficult situations and give great unbiased advice.

the program is a Nurse Anesthesia program at UPenn. i have my BS in Biotechnology; the first part of the program is the 18 month BSN portion. i am then required to work (federal law) as a RN in a critical care setting (ie, ICU or NICU, etc) for a minimum of 12 months and a maximum of three years. i can complete this part anywhere, ie back home in boston. Penn holds my spot, and i then return to complete the 2 year CRNA portion and automatically enroll as part of their class.

in a nutshell: it is 3.5 years in length, broken up. so 18 months...then home for a year...then back for two years.

it is a 5.5 hr train ride (or drive, but i doubt i would take my car), not too bad, especially because it is as little as $88/way.

it is about an hourish plane ride.

it is a tough decision, but i really fell in love with the school when i interviewed there. when i applied, my husband was much more open to moving. he has since gotten a generous raise and truly loves the work that he does as a web developer at his company in boston. he is 100% supportive of me going alone, but im just wondering if that's something i feel that im strong enough to do, mainly because i won't be there to see my daughter everyday. she is 7 and in first grade.

just wanted to see if anyone else had faced a similar dilemma or had any words of wisdom. it's difficult to discuss with family/friends because they don't understand.

 

[stolen_biscuit]

I cannot offer advice, but I can sympathize. I am applying in May/June and really hoping I can stay local. If not, we will have to consider going separate ways. My husband has a rewarding job that is location-specific (although he could hold a different job anywhere with his degree), my kids go to great schools, we are able to live inexpensively, and we have a an awesome support network of friends to help out (no family here).

I am actually okay with that if it's a relatively short distance...maybe a few hours that I could drive to come home on weekends. Studying during the week sure would be easier if I was only responsible for myself! If I had to go out of driving distance, I would have a really hard time. I certainly couldn't fly home multiple times in a month, so I would have to go long periods without my family. So if that happens, I would prefer we would all move, but my husband wants to leave it up for discussion when it comes.

Crossing my fingers and jumping through hoops to stay in town!!! Good luck to you!