It's possible to work during school, but unadvisable. If you are going to, I don't recommend working over 10 hours a week, and I'd find a job that allows you to study a little while you work (ie. work study jobs in the library, etc.). Of course, when I interviewed last year at Albany I heard about some guy who never went to class and managed a Starbucks 40 hours/week. Frankly, I think that's impossible, and is a recipe for disaster. Just my opinion, and I don't even pull crazy marathon study sessions on a regular basis as I've heard many students mention. Keep in mind, with class and study time, med school CAN be a 60-80+ hour/week "job" for some (although this is a high estimate... others devote much less time). Do you want to tack on another 20 hours to this? Shouldn't your financial aid budget cover appropriate rent in your area? Again, it's not like it's impossible, BUT I'd HIGHLY recommend against it. Even if you can pull it off, you will probably have virtually NO social life and will be constantly tired... (just what I imagine residency to be like 😉 ).