Commute to medical school

[newdoctobe]

I am posting here because I imagine that nontrads will have more experience in this issue although anyones input is appreciated. I am a nontrad recently accepted to medical school in a smaller city close to the suburb I currently reside. I have a wife and two kids in elementary school. I am now looking for the best possible option of going to school and have come up with three possible solutions, each with its own pros and cons. While I understand that everyones situation is different and ultimately I will have to do what is best for my family, I just wanted to see if someone has been in my position and what they ended up doing. For the sake of the post, I will call the three different areas I am considering as place A, B and C.

Options:
1) Remain at place A. Currently paying a mortgage on my property in a very nice suburb with excellent schools - so continue living here and commute to medical school:
Distance to school - 65 miles
Driving time without traffic - 90 mins. Traffic will generally not be an issue since I would be against the flow. Most people commute the opposite direction for work heading from the smaller city to the major metro area.
Pros - excellent schools, one of the best areas to live in this state, kids not uprooted from what they are used to and wife will be happiest here. Continue to pay towards the mortgage and build equity, relatively lower payments compared to what I would have to pay to rent elsewhere, meaning we will be using less of our savings, potentially less student loans and ultimately come out of medical school in a financially better position than any of the other options.

2) Move to place B.
Pros - slightly closer to school. Distance to school - 48 miles. Drive time - 60 mins. There is also a park and ride about 30 mins away that goes straight to the medical school. Elementary and middles school for kids - Decent, Not as great as option A but ...decent.
Cons - would have to sell my current home and rent in this area, whereby rent is higher than my current monthly housing payment. Kids would be uprooted but the area is decent and I'm sure they will be okay. Wife is generally happy with the area as well and does not mind it either.

3)Move to place C
Pros - the closest place to school where I would consider moving to. Distance to school - 28 miles. Drive time - 35-40 mins. There is also a park and ride that goes from this town directly to school. For kids, the elementary and middle schools are not that great and worst of the three areas I am considering. Pros - close to med school, would likely continue living here during 3rd and 4th year and would not need to air b&b during the tougher rotation. Less time spent commuting means more time home to spend with family and studying. Cons - the school district is the poorest for my children's education. I would need to sell my current home and rent here as well. similar rent prices compared to place B.

So my fellow nontrads, has anybody needed to commute and make a choice that will affect their kids as I see mine would? What choices did you make and how do you think it turned out for you? As background, I have been working for the last decade, a majority of which i have commuted 60 mins door to door each way. I enjoy the commute and that is the price I had to pay to live in this part of the usa !

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[ChangeOfPlans]

I’m not headed to med school for another year or so, but I am a non-trad with children so I can see your predicament.

I know the commute would be awful, but I would personally go with option one. If my spouse and children could have there lives remain somewhat normal and they’d be happy, I’d drive whatever the commute is within reason. And honestly it looks like you’ll have some kind of commute any way you look at it. The down side is how much time you’ll loose for studying/family time due to driving.

Is it an option to rent a cheap studio apartment near campus and commute back home when feasible and stay at the apartment when it’s not feasible?

 

[deleted1005514]

Does the school for option A have mandatory attendance? If not, and you can be disciplined enough to stream classes, commuting 1-2 days a week that you have mandatory stuff might not be awful.

 

[Cornfed101]

All of these sound like bad options to me... 28 miles is the closest you would be willing to live? I'm a little confused. Is the school in a smaller city or you? You have to do what makes your family happy, but you also have to live on COA+savings. It makes a difference if you wife is working/not working.

I don't think the school district is the most important thing because IMO elementary and middle school are just glorified daycare and your kids can learn everything they need to know in just a few hours a day.

 

[deleted1013752]

I don't think the school district is the most important thing because IMO elementary and middle school are just glorified daycare and your kids can learn everything they need to know in just a few hours a day.

It’s not what they need to learn, but what they’re exposed to at a worse school. Also a pipeline issue.

 

[deleted1005514]

All of these sound like bad options to me... 28 miles is the closest you would be willing to live? I'm a little confused. Is the school in a smaller city or you? You have to do what makes your family happy, but you also have to live on COA+savings. It makes a difference if you wife is working/not working.

I agree with this part. My commute is 15 min each way and some days that feels like a lot.

I disagree about the school thing. School is more than glorified daycare, and good school districts usually mean better neighborhoods too.

 

[Cornfed101]

It’s not what they need to learn, but what they’re exposed to at a worse school. Also a pipeline issue.

I disagree about the school thing. School is more than glorified daycare, and good school districts usually mean better neighborhoods too.

I guess I haven't really lived in a place with bad schools... my advice would change depending on how "bad" they actually are.

 

[deleted1013752]

Option A given the available choices. The difference in commute times you’re proposing doesn’t really justify sacrificing your family. Also echoing what another user asked - what’s attendance like at your school? Will you just be in person for anatomy, simulations, and exams, or will you need to attend all lectures? Also how do envision your study plan? Hang at the school all day and finish all studying so you can be fully present when at home? Go to the minimum required stuff and then study around the house? Lastly do you know how the school organizes clerkships? Will you primarily rotate at one site or can you pick locations closer to home? If so, this could just be a concern for preclinical years. And you might be used to commuting so it may not seem like an issue, but all that time is totally lost to your family and ineffective for school unless you are a fully capable auditory learner and fill that time with recorded lectures or podcasts or whatever else. Really can’t live closer?

 

[deleted1005514]

I guess I haven't really lived in a place with bad schools... my advice would change depending on how "bad" they actually are.

I’ve lived in places that the schools were in dangerous areas. I homeschooled back then.

 

[HKSZYU]

Fellow non-trad here. I think I'd choose B? 90 minute commute each way is brutal. I used to have one, and my quality of life suffered immensely. I wouldn't wish that on others.

With Option B, it sounds like the spouse and kids are still fine, but you save 1 hour each day (5 hours each week, ~250 hours each year) on commuting. That's a lot of study/family time. Plus, park & ride is a big deal. A train commute is so much less stressful than driving. You can study on the train (Or sleep. Or just rest. At the very least, it's not wasted time like driving is.)

 

[operaman]

Yikes not any great option there.

As noted above, much hinges on mandatory activities in the first couple years. At my school I could have probably managed a long commute during the first two years, but it would have been hard. We didn’t have that many mandatory activities though so I could have done most things from home. If your school offers this then you may be ok for the first 2 years. If you have to commute every day then you would be at high risk of academic trouble. Losing 3 hours of study time per day is huge.

The clinical years are going to be much more challenging, especially on busier rotations. In surgery plan on pre rounding sometime between 4:30 and 5:30am with rounds typically starting 5:30-6ish, so a 90 minute commute plus time to get dressed means you may be setting your alarm for 2:30am. Days frequently go til 6 or 7pm so plan on actually getting home 8-9pm. It’s grueling enough when you live close; cutting out 3 hours of sleep per day in lieu of commuting may not be doable. Other rotations aren’t quite that bad but they aren’t that much better either.

I’d look around for additional options and see if you could get even closer. Of the options listed I’d go with C. B sounds like a possible alternative assuming that park and ride has trains going at the hours you would need. At least that allows you to turn some of that commute into study time.

 

[Osteosaur]

Even if you could listen to most lectures I could not imagine the stress of needing to drive 90 mins, and betting on good traphic, to take an exam. You are setting yourself up for failure. The one student I know of who tried a 90 minute commute to medical school took an LOA after the 1st semester.

I can understand that you don't want your kids to go to a school where they won't be safe or able to connect with the other students. Is it possible for your spouse to drive them to a better district?

Are you sure there is no place closer to your school with a better school system? The doctors working at the school have kids too you know. This is going to require some sacrifice on the part of your family to make work. I know you're programmed to self-sacrifice to keep your family comfortable, but you are going to be a mess with this commute.

 

[newdoctobe]

Thanks everybody. My school does not have mandatory classes and from what I hear, many students do not really attend the lecture. However, I was planning on spending M-F like a long work day at campus and getting all the studying done over there. So in theory, I would wake up at 5 am and be out the door by 6 am. This would mean getting to campus at 7.30 and staying there until around 6-7 pm. Get all the work/studying done while over there and than drive back home to get in by 7.30-8.30 pm? During clinical years, I could air b&b for tougher rotations or possibly get a cheap studio or something closer. Is this something that sounds feasible at all?

 

[deleted1013752]

So in theory, I would wake up at 5 am and be out the door by 6 am. This would mean getting to campus at 7.30 and staying there until around 6-7 pm. Get all the work/studying done while over there and than drive back home to get in by 7.30-8.30 pm?

Does this mimic your current commute/work routine? Would it work for your family? I imagine that plan fully omits you from family day-to-day stuff. Spouse okay with that?

 

[deleted1013752]

Why is the closest you would consider living 28 miles from your school? Is the place truly awful or is it a cost of living issue? It’s an incredible distance for the amount of time you’ll need to devote to school itself.

 

[acstylin]

Option D? Maybe wait a little until more students are accepted then reach out to the entering class and current students to see if anyone lives in the area. Carpool where each driver takes a week?
Option E? Try it for a year and if it doesn’t work, move during the gap between year one and two.

 

[newdoctobe]

Does this mimic your current commute/work routine? Would it work for your family? I imagine that plan fully omits you from family day-to-day stuff. Spouse okay with that?

It’s funny that you say that, but yes I do have a pretty long work schedule/week. And because I have been saving up for medical school for the past 6 years, I also have two part time jobs. But part of me always hoped that once I get to medical school, at least the first two years, I would get to spend a little more time with the family than I have. I leave home about 10 am and return 11.00 pm at night for seven days straight. And then I have seven days off in which I normally work about 3-5 days at the part time job (8 hr shifts) a couple of which are from home. My kids are somewhat used to not seeing me for long hours and stretches of days at a go, but than when I am home I devote all my time to them, which I imagine will not be the same for medical school.

Why is the closest you would consider living 28 miles from your school? Is the place truly awful or is it a cost of living issue? It’s an incredible distance for the amount of time you’ll need to devote to school itself.

Yeah the town is kind of small and dead to be honest. Living there is out of question unfortunately.

Option D? Maybe wait a little until more students are accepted then reach out to the entering class and current students to see if anyone lives in the area. Carpool where each driver takes a week?
Option E? Try it for a year and if it doesn’t work, move during the gap between year one and two.

Yes that does sound like something I should do. Both options actually !

 

[operaman]

Thanks everybody. My school does not have mandatory classes and from what I hear, many students do not really attend the lecture. However, I was planning on spending M-F like a long work day at campus and getting all the studying done over there. So in theory, I would wake up at 5 am and be out the door by 6 am. This would mean getting to campus at 7.30 and staying there until around 6-7 pm. Get all the work/studying done while over there and than drive back home to get in by 7.30-8.30 pm? During clinical years, I could air b&b for tougher rotations or possibly get a cheap studio or something closer. Is this something that sounds feasible at all?

Possibly. Everything is going to hinge on how many other activities get plugged in to your days and how well you function on limited sleep over a long period.

Hypothetically during m1-2:
8-12p- lectures
1-3: lab or small group or some mandatory activity
3-6: study the 4-5 lectures from that morning, prepare for the upcoming 4-5 lectures, possibly make anki cards, review boards stuff, annotate first aid, etc.
6-8: drive home
8-9: dinner/family time

Obviously you don’t do ALL those study things every day but over 2 years you’re going to find that 3 hours a day outside lecture is not enough time to assimilate 4-5hours of lectures not to mention all the other things you’ll have to do. So your option is really to study more at home, which eats into your sleep. You may be able to catch up on weekends if you can do 10-12 hours of study each day but that’s going to cut into family time and mental health time. Remember that Med school is described as drinking from a fire hose by people who live on campus and have no families and no commute. They frequently complain about not having enough time to learn the material well.

The average medical student would struggle to pass their classes with such limited study time outside of lecture. The very top students would struggle but could probably eke by, though their class rank and board scores would suffer and it would greatly limit their career choices. Some key points to consider are your own goals within medicine and whether you aspire to a more competitive specialty. If you know you’re probably going to be a 95th+ percentile Medical student AND you’re ok with a primary care field, you may be able to reach that goal while essentially living in another city.

You could rent out your current house but still keep it as your address for school district purposes. Live close to campus and have your wife drive the kids to/from school each day. If that sounds insane, just remember that your kids aren’t doing the driving and could even do their homework on the way. You doing it makes even less sense.

It’s a high risk move. Even if you can pull it off it still limits your career options due to the inevitable impact on your grades and boards.

 

[deleted1013752]

You could rent out your current house but still keep it as your address for school district purposes. Live close to campus and have your wife drive the kids to/from school each day.

Had some friends do something similar. She matched to a program in a small town and he didn’t want to leave his job, so they bought a house in the middle. They each had an hour commute but that saved them from having a two hour commute by living at either extreme.

 

[Osteosaur]

Under your model there's no reason to drive 3 hours a day if you're going to treat school "like a job" and study there. Although there is anatomy, where most students live in the lab the week of the exam. That you'll need to show up for.

The big problem with your school is it leaves no wiggle room. Not for being sick. Not because you're tired and need a 15 minute cup of tea, or need to review the lectures outside of class. Medical school is hard when you're comfortable. You already have a ton of distractions and discomfort baked in. Keep looking.

 

[Cornfed101]

Yeah the town is kind of small and dead to be honest. Living there is out of question unfortunately.

Why does it matter? You could live there and drive the 90 minutes for a date or something once a week. I mean you do you, but I would love to live in the middle of nowhere because it would be cheap and you’d have plenty of room for your kids.

 

[Osteosaur]

Yeah the town is kind of small and dead to be honest. Living there is out of question unfortunately.

What is the issue with being any closer or in a 'dead town'? Your spouse's job? Schooling? Entertainment/culture?

 

[newdoctobe]

What is the issue with being any closer or in a 'dead town'? Your spouse's job? Schooling? Entertainment/culture?

yes, school and job.