Getting through vet school without a car?

[Shoudini]

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Is it absolutely necessary to have a car in vet school? I'm thinking about all of the ways to cut living expenses and owning a car can certainly be a big one. Does anyone have any experiences about the different schools and their on campus transportion system and/or location in general that makes owning a car vital? Are there some schools where it is possible to be car-free (including going to rotations, etc)?

 

[AuburnPreVet]

It's going to vary greatly from school to school. Most vet schools are in somewhat "out of the way" areas, so it's a bit more difficult to go through vet school without a car than it would med school, etc.

At Auburn - theoretically you could survive. There are housing options within biking distance of the vet school & the main campus offers a transit system that has stops at most of the student-populated complexes, and wal-mart etc... but we don't have any significant public transportation systems. Personally I couldn't do it - but I'm sure it could be done.

 

[PAThbrd]

You could survive plenty fine at Penn without a car, although the increased cost of living (and tuition) over some of the more rural schools might offset that.

 

[nyanko]

Davis is a bicycle town. I'm not a vet student here, but plenty of students of all kinds here get along without a car. I don't have a car. 🙂

 

[NoleDevil]

I've been thinking about this topic myself recently. Going with or without a car is obviously going to depend on many variables. For example, it might serve you well to go without a car in an area with a mild climate, school and food store nearby where you live, etc. - you could probably get by with a bike or a scooter. In an area with a cold climate, however, you might want to re-think about having to bike or take a scooter to school/food store/etc. during the winter! I suppose you could always ask a friend who has a car to take you somewhere when it's snowing or whatnot, but that might be burdensome. Or taking public transportation, like you mentioned, could be useful when the weather is sour and you need to get somewhere.

I personally think going without a car in vet school would be a great idea if it's feasible! 👍 I don't know how feasible it will be for me, though, if I get in to Iowa... but I'd like to think I could make it work!

 

[twelvetigers]

You could manage at OKSU, but it wouldn't be ideal. The bus system does go quite a few places in town, but one place that it doesn't stop: the vet school. 🙂 You'd have to go a few blocks and wait for the Black bus at some undergraduate housing, ride to the Student Union, and then transfer onto the green bus for Wal-Mart, the Blue one for Boomer Lake, the Brown one for downtown... etc. And they often stop running at 6ish.

 

[Angelo84]

Unless you lived near a market and the commuter line (goes staight to school) this wouldn't work well at Tufts.

 

[CanadianGolden]

My boyfriend doesn't have a car and won't at Penn (but he can steal mine to drive around). I have to have a car because I have animals.

 

[msmrtrthnyllb]

Seems like it would be very possible at UF. They've got gobs of free busses that run everywhere at all times of day.

 

[pressmom]

It seems like the common thread here is college towns on the smaller side and large cities with well equipped public transportation systems. Probably the places where it would be the most difficult are small to medium sized cities (like Knoxville or Raleigh) and really cold places without good public transport. Also, even if they do have good public transport, you should ask yourself how cold you can let it get and still bike or stand at the bus stop. (Like when you have to be at class at 8 AM and get on the bus at 7 when it's 10 or 20 degrees outside!)

Also, with rotations, if you're on emergency, it may be hard to get there at 2 AM or something, but it could be possible for you to live without a car for the first 2-3 years and buy a cheap one for your 4th year.

 

[Nexx]

Seems like it would be very possible at UF. They've got gobs of free busses that run everywhere at all times of day.

UF is 'meh' with public transport. They do have plenty of bus routes if you live close-ish to the university. But then you pay higher rent and live in questionable areas. You also have to hope that the morning buses aren't full and blow right past you.

If you decide to get a car, you have to worry about parking... which is limited to say the least, gas, etc.

I found that despite living just down the road (2 miles) from UF and on a bus route that I wanted to have a car to make things like shopping, travel during breaks, and visiting friends a whole lot easier.

 

[StealthDog]

There are enough places to live close to campus at Minnesota that you could do without a car, although it does get pretty bitterly cold in the winter. My boyfriend and I made do with one car between the two of us, and that worked well. I took the bus to school while he drove to work during the day, but I had access to the car for things like late-night clerk duty shifts or weekend ER shifts. It would be much easier to go without a car for the first couple years when your schedule is pretty constant than the last year when you're in clinical rotations.