Do you need a car in medical school?

[PooshBag]

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Hello SDN,

Just a quick question. Do you think it is helpful or necessary to have a car in medical school? Would it make life easier or be something completely unneeded and a waste of space? I'm still far from matriculating and being accepted, but I was just curious.

And, if you do have a car, I'd love to hear what you drive, just for the fun of it.

Thank you!

 

[deleted480308]

depends greatly on the city and the location of clerkships

 

[eteshoe]

^ This. Plus what kind of answer were you expecting? If you live close to the med school/hospitals and can walk, then you walk. If there's good public transit, then use that. If you live too far away for a reasonable walk and parking is not too insane, then you drive.

I drive a Toyota Corolla, so gas expenses are pretty low for me.

 

[PooshBag]

Fair enough. Thanks for the replies.

 

[btb93med]

I'd say if you already have a car, keep it for school. If not, it's not worth the extra money.

 

[Palindr0me]

Also, it really depends on where you go to school... For example, Rochester quite literally requires you to have a car because the public transit there isn't the best. On the other hand, going to a school like Stanford means that you'll probably just need a bike and money for the BART (public transit).

 

[darkjedi]

There are very few schools that you can get away with not needing a car at least at some point. I was lucky enough to not need one, but it was because I was lucky with my rotations and was never placed in any away locations that needed a car. I still bike to the hospital/class everyday and it's great. I do however plan to get a car for residency, since I'll finally be able to afford one then.

 

[Pagan FutureDoc]

If you go to a Med school in a major metropolitan area with good public transportation you should be able to do years 1-2 without needing a car.

 

[Optimus-Prime]

motorcycle, chix dig em

 

[justadream]

If you go to a Med school in a major metropolitan area with good public transportation you should be able to do years 1-2 without needing a car.

If the public transportation is so great, then why wouldn't that apply to years 3-4 as well?

I'm thinking schools like NYU, Cornell, Sinai, Columbia.

You could probably get by without a car ever at those schools.

 

[22031 Alum]

If the public transportation is so great, then why wouldn't that apply to years 3-4 as well?

I'm thinking schools like NYU, Cornell, Sinai, Columbia.

You could probably get by without a car ever at those schools.

1) Some places have good public transportation that isn't 24/7. So, the line you need isn't running when you need to go in for Surgery pre-rounds.

2) Some schools in places with good public transportation, have a few rotations at more distant hospitals. So the transit doesn't go out that far, or doesn't run at the times you'd need (see #1)

 

[Mansamusa]

It also depends on you. I'm perfectly fine walking up to 2 miles (rural, suburbs, urban, doesn't matter) and biking 10-15ish miles to get from home to class, so a lot of places I would only use a car if weather requires it

 

[The Buff OP]

If a car is too expensive at the moment...then I recommend this bad boy.

 

[deleted647690]

Does anyone longboard/skateboard to class?

 

[QofQuimica]

I didn't have a car in med school and the school worked with me to set up rotations I could get to by bus or walking. So it's possible. In general, I would say that you will often not need a car for the first two years, and you sometimes will need one for the last two. I did rent a car for one month as an MS4 since I didn't want to be taking the bus to the county hospital at odd times of the day and night.

 

[URHere]

I got along without a car just fine in MS1/2. I bought a car for MS3, mainly because I had a few rotations that were a 20-30 minute drive from the main campus and because buses didn't run to my part of town before 5am. I use this car for 2-3 months out of the year. The rest of the time, I still take public transit and save myself the gas and parking costs.

That being said, in my city many people just bike to the hospital. I have zero biking skills and didn't want to end up as a trauma admit, so I bought a car.

 

[redferrari]

In Texas, yes. In NYC or Boston, maybe not. Way too much variation between locations.

 

[f4reignbeauty]

We're "required" to have cars, although you can get through 1st and 2nd year without one.

I drive a Nissan Altima 😉

 

[Nerdeka]

It depends... Like I doubt you'll go to school in downtown Chicago with a car.

 

[Dr.NickRiviera]

In NYC, most all of the the trains and buses run 24/7, though the late night buses and trains are less frequent. Also, parking in NYC is an expensive nightmare so for any of the schools in NYC, a car is highly discouraged.

 

[redferrari]

In NYC, most all of the the trains and buses run 24/7, though the late night buses and trains are less frequent. Also, parking in NYC is an expensive nightmare so for any of the schools in NYC, a car is highly discouraged.

God bless Texas.. I couldn't imagine life without a car hahaha

 

[mimelim]

As others have said, it depends entirely on the school and city. I didn't have a car until a little more than half way through MS3 and that was only because my in-laws got a new car and just gave us an old Accord. Made it work between public transit and walking in a less than public transit friendly city.

Now, I gave my new Mazda 3 to my wife and am running to the hospital again. Totally worth it.

 

[Dr.TonySoprano]

We're "required" to have cars, although you can get through 1st and 2nd year without one.

I drive a Nissan Altima 😉

I drive nissan altima too 😉

 

[WedgeDawg]

In NYC, absolutely 100% not. Elsewhere, can't really help you. It really depends on how far you live from the school and what the public transportation system is like / whether you would like to bike instead.

 

[piii]

^ This. Plus what kind of answer were you expecting? If you live close to the med school/hospitals and can walk, then you walk. If there's good public transit, then use that. If you live too far away for a reasonable walk and parking is not too insane, then you drive.

I drive a Toyota Corolla, so gas expenses are pretty low for me.

lol

Do you need a car in med school?
Sometimes.
K.

/thread