Commuting to medical school?

[Bunson31]

I'm getting ready to start a DO program in the fall and my family and I live about an hour away (without traffic) and 2 hours one way (with traffic) from the medical school. My step daughter is happy in the school she is in and we don't want to move her from the school. Do I move alone closer to medical school or live where I am now and commute??? How realistic would it be to live so far away??? Has anyone out there done this??? Any input would be great!!!
THANK YOU!

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[JonnyG]

depends on what school. at pcom, u have to be at school maybe twice a week (if that) after the first trimester. I finished my classroom learning and dont know what many of the professors look like. The downside of this is i am rotating with a few of them during the third year. Hopefully they have pics online that i can find

 

[group_theory]

I'm getting ready to start a DO program in the fall and my family and I live about an hour away (without traffic) and 2 hours one way (with traffic) from the medical school. My step daughter is happy in the school she is in and we don't want to move her from the school. Do I move alone closer to medical school or live where I am now and commute??? How realistic would it be to live so far away??? Has anyone out there done this??? Any input would be great!!!
THANK YOU!

It's possible. You will have to make some sacrifices - having to leave earlier than your classmates for class ... arriving home later than your classmates. There are some risks involved ... car breakdown, traffic jams, highway closures, etc. especially on test days (and making sure you get there on time)

With the price of gas these days (and expect the cost to go up in the future), it might be cheaper to live with a roommate near campus during the weekdays and go home to your family on the weekends.

 

[DragonWell]

I'm getting ready to start a DO program in the fall and my family and I live about an hour away (without traffic) and 2 hours one way (with traffic) from the medical school. My step daughter is happy in the school she is in and we don't want to move her from the school. Do I move alone closer to medical school or live where I am now and commute??? How realistic would it be to live so far away??? Has anyone out there done this??? Any input would be great!!!
THANK YOU!

Can you get lectures/mp3 online?

Some of your answer will depend on how the curriculum is set up. In general, though, I think 2 hours is probably pushing it...I live about 30-45 minutes from school, have a PBL curriculum where I don't have to be on campus that much, and I still find myself wishing I lived a bit closer at times (although it's nice to be close to the beach ). If you have a one hour lecture in the morning and then a meeting at 5 pm, it kind of sucks to have to hang out on campus all day.

 

[fedUP]

bunson, it's going to be hard.
med students are already perpetually tired.
a 1-2 hr commute on top of everything is only going to make you more tired. you might even study less because of less energy/time. plus, since you have a family and kids, have you considered how this additional stress might effect your mood or your relationships?

of course, commuting is not impossible.
initially it might be difficult, but it will get easier with time as you adjust. i can think of 3 people in my class who commuted long distances (~1 to 1 1/2 hr). these individuals only showed up to class on required/mandatory days. most of our lectures were available online (audio not video). although this sounds great, i personally find that showing up to class is a lot easier than listening to audios of lectures later -- i always pause the audio to take more notes than i would if i went to class. it's kind of hard to determine what your study habits will be like in med school since you haven't started. for instance, in undergrad, i always went to class. in med school, my decision to go to class or not depended on subject, instructor, upcoming exam studying, exhaustion... etc.

if you do decide to commute, it'll help to be organized and disciplined. maybe you can get to school earlier to beat traffic and leave later for the same reason and use the extra time to study. this way when you get home, you'll have a lot of work done already.

 

[Amaranthan]

I just finished up my first year and have been commuting about 45minutes to school. (an hour if there is traffic) I didn't find it bad at all. I actually went to 95% of lectures!!! A good tip is to find out if your class records the lectures. That way you can listen to them online if you can't make it to school. You can also make good use of your time in the car. I bought a little voice recorder and pumped it through my car stereo to re-listen to the lectures while I drove. You could also make yourself "audio flash cards" with the recorder where you ask questions into it, pause for a sec, and then say the answer.

To tell the truth, I actually love living farther away from the school. It really forced me to use my time wisely. (Even if you have to stick around for a meeting later at night, you could always go to the library and kill some time by studying!!) Oh, the only bad thing was getting up early on exam days. I'd leave for school 3 hours early to compensate for any disasters -- which was good because I actually had a flat tire on the interstate before a test and still made it there in time!!) Living farther away has allowed me to leave all of the drama and stress that occurs at school behind at the end of the day. It's like I have my "school life" and then go home to my husband and have my separate "family life." Good luck and just ask of you have any more questions!

 

[Static Line]

I'm getting ready to start a DO program in the fall and my family and I live about an hour away (without traffic) and 2 hours one way (with traffic) from the medical school. My step daughter is happy in the school she is in and we don't want to move her from the school. Do I move alone closer to medical school or live where I am now and commute??? How realistic would it be to live so far away??? Has anyone out there done this??? Any input would be great!!!
THANK YOU!

There are a few in my class that live 45 minutes away and they do fine. I lived 45 minutes away from undergrad and always found the time driving to and from school a good time to decompress. When it comes time for board prep you may also find it good time to listen to good review prep series material like, Gouljian or PASS or something like that. You'll be able to do plenty of things with that 2 hours.

Downside: If you show up to school and have to be back there later in the day for something then you have to hang around. I hate being at school so that would irriatate me.

Big City traffic sucks!! I'll never do it again (Hopfully).

 

[DaveinDallas]

In a word - move.

I was in a similar situation. Family near BOTH sets of grandparents, wife has a good job she's been at for years, living in the only house the kids have known, a five minute walk from school and 10 minute walk from church.

I commuted 1.5 hours one way my first time through first year. Notice what I said. Now, some other factors - I hadn't been in school in 20 years and didn't come from a bio background. Heck, my undergrad was from DeVry with prereqs at the local CC. Yes, the sundial moved back 3 degrees when I was admitted.

That said, I was up at 0500 to be out the door by 0600 and then at school by 0745. I tried to stay until 18:30 and then drive home in time to tuck the kiddos in and then grab 2 hours of study time until 22:30-23:00. And then it started all over again. I was generally studying all day saturday with 2 hours of 'family time' and then pretty much all day sunday (from after church/lunch until about 23:00). One of the real problems was that I didn't get long blocks of study time until the weekends and then I tried to cram the entire week into those two days. I tried to get as much done as I could during the week but it just didn't work. I barely passed everything and failed the last class of the year by 3 points. The dean/performance committee did me a big favor by allowing me to repeat the year. I moved across the street from the school and my grades have picked up by an average of 10 to 15%. I generally rack out at 02:00 and am up at 07:00. Now I can have time to let the brain relax and absorb the material.

It's rough but doable. Make the sacrifice on a small bachelor pad and go home on the weekends when you don't have a test the following Monday.

Now - having said that - there was another guy with a family who was successful making the commute. It just didn't work for me.

Med school is hard enough. Don't make it harder......

 

[1_Accept_Away]

Dave,

I'm looking at a similar situation as you...not 100% where I will be in the Fall...right now, I'm accepted to a DO that is anywhere between 30 minutes away (with absolutely no traffic) or up to an hour away (with traffic). I would not move bc my husband's job is very time-intensive and our only source of income right now and it doesn't make sense to ask him to to do the commute, which would be more burdensome since it would be going with the traffic. My commute would be reverse traffic. We just don't have the money to take two apartments. Obviously, if I was single and had no other considerations, it would be more ideal to live minutes from school, but I am not. This is your dream and your family is incredibly wonderful to support that dream, but you need to consider them too. You just have to do what it takes...even if it is not ideal.

I am on the high tier waitlist to an MD that is about 200 miles away (3.5 hours with no traffic). In that situation, I would get an apartment near the school and hopefully have my husband request a transfer or arrangement to work out of two offices. Also, that school is a state school, so tuition would be about $10k less. I also don't have children, but would like to at some point during medical school.

I personally have struggled with this situation and have heard the current students at the school that is 45 minutes away advise against commuting and to get an apt. nearby, but again, I don't have the luxury of only thinking about myself and what is the best for me. So I would say that maybe you should try out the commmute...and if you find it is too taxing or hurting your performance, then maybe you should bite the bullet and get an apartment near school and make a commitment to come home just about every weekend.

I know a guy who did that during post-bacc..his wife and baby were in Va (outside of DC) and he was in Philly...and he got a very cheap place near school and go visit his wife and baby. I personally felt that he didn't make enough of a commitment to go just about every weekend...if you have a baby/children, I think seeing them twice a month is a little sad. Anyhow, it worked for him, but it was definitely taxing for him and I imagine even harder for his wife who was for all intents and purposes a single mother.

 

[DaveinDallas]

Not trying to be a wiseguy - I'm in the middle of a really boring
lecture right now....naming carcinoma/benign -omas....

Anyway - we don't have the money either and we have 2 kids to
support. My parents help out where they can and my in-laws
can't. I've taken out extra loans to fund it and am living
in a very small apt. during the week. It's around $500/mth
total. It gets a little interesting during late spring and late
summer as I've got window a/c in Ft. Worth,Texas. Eating
whatever is on sale and going to as many free lunch deals
as possible. Sams is your friend. No cable,internet (I use
the one at school) or other amusements.

I see the family on weekends whenever there's not an exam
the following monday. I've gone up to 3 weeks w/o seeing
them and will probably not see them for the month of june
due to testing constraints.

This might be a case where you and hubby decide to
run a long distance relationship. It's only 4 years
and it's over. Then comes residency. You may have
to move for that one.

Get a roommate or rent a room from someone who
has a house. How bad do you want it?

Dave,

I'm looking at a similar situation as you...not 100% where I will be in the Fall...right now, I'm accepted to a DO that is anywhere between 30 minutes away (with absolutely no traffic) or up to an hour away (with traffic). I would not move bc my husband's job is very time-intensive and our only source of income right now and it doesn't make sense to ask him to to do the commute, which would be more burdensome since it would be going with the traffic. My commute would be reverse traffic. We just don't have the money to take two apartments. Obviously, if I was single and had no other considerations, it would be more ideal to live minutes from school, but I am not. This is your dream and your family is incredibly wonderful to support that dream, but you need to consider them too. You just have to do what it takes...even if it is not ideal.

I am on the high tier waitlist to an MD that is about 200 miles away (3.5 hours with no traffic). In that situation, I would get an apartment near the school and hopefully have my husband request a transfer or arrangement to work out of two offices. Also, that school is a state school, so tuition would be about $10k less. I also don't have children, but would like to at some point during medical school.

I personally have struggled with this situation and have heard the current students at the school that is 45 minutes away advise against commuting and to get an apt. nearby, but again, I don't have the luxury of only thinking about myself and what is the best for me. So I would say that maybe you should try out the commmute...and if you find it is too taxing or hurting your performance, then maybe you should bite the bullet and get an apartment near school and make a commitment to come home just about every weekend.

I know a guy who did that during post-bacc..his wife and baby were in Va (outside of DC) and he was in Philly...and he got a very cheap place near school and go visit his wife and baby. I personally felt that he didn't make enough of a commitment to go just about every weekend...if you have a baby/children, I think seeing them twice a month is a little sad. Anyhow, it worked for him, but it was definitely taxing for him and I imagine even harder for his wife who was for all intents and purposes a single mother.

 

[1_Accept_Away]

Not trying to be a wiseguy - I'm in the middle of a really boring
lecture right now....naming carcinoma/benign -omas....

Anyway - we don't have the money either and we have 2 kids to
support. My parents help out where they can and my in-laws
can't. I've taken out extra loans to fund it and am living
in a very small apt. during the week. It's around $500/mth
total. It gets a little interesting during late spring and late
summer as I've got window a/c in Ft. Worth,Texas. Eating
whatever is on sale and going to as many free lunch deals
as possible. Sams is your friend. No cable,internet (I use
the one at school) or other amusements.

I see the family on weekends whenever there's not an exam
the following monday. I've gone up to 3 weeks w/o seeing
them and will probably not see them for the month of june
due to testing constraints.

This might be a case where you and hubby decide to
run a long distance relationship. It's only 4 years
and it's over. Then comes residency. You may have
to move for that one.

Get a roommate or rent a room from someone who
has a house. How bad do you want it?

Assuming I get in off the waitlist as planned and I go to the school that is 3.5 hours away, the plan is that at least for awhile we will be a commuter marriage. Either he or I would try to travel to each other on the weekends, when exam and his work allows. He would also approach his employer to see if he can work out two offices - the one where he is now and the one in the city of the school.

If I go to the osteopathic school nearby (45 minutes to 1 hour away), I would not get an apartment. But I'm leaning towards the MD school 200 miles away...and try to making work with the hubby and his work.

 

[RTRDO]

Hey, just thought that I would give my two cents. I am in my second year in a DO school. I currently have a 3.785, I am a father of three children. I
commute 40 minutes to school and from school. I keep up my mother's home, and mine. I take every friday and saturday off from to spend with my family. Sunday is study all day. Usually, I study two days before exams. I'm in class everyday. It can be done. You will probably do well, but will get pissed at all the singles at your school who show up late to class and piss and moan about everything. If you can't afford an apartment close to the school, then don't rent one. Medical school is not hard, it is just a huge amount of material thrown at you at once. I have never felt that it was hard, just ovewhelming at times.