Other OT-Related Information How far would you commute?

[Teacher84]

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Good morning everyone!

Question: How far would you commute for the OT program you get in to?

I am trying to decide what my limit should be, but I want to hear other opinions.

Thanks!

 

[Fbomb10]

No more than 45 minutes. But that's just me. I know people who travel 1.5 hours or so.

 

[Teacher84]

No more than 45 minutes. But that's just me. I know people who travel 1.5 hours or so.

I am trying so hard to decide what to do. I do not want to take out loans to live in addition to tuition as well, so moving back in with my parents for two years seems so much less stressful to me. Going from a salary job to virtually nothing is scary enough, so this would alleviate the additional stress. The only downside is a heavy commute, but even if I stayed near campus sometimes in a hotel (yes I would even do that), could work from time to time. You gotta do what you gotta do sometimes right?!

 

[jka252]

I think 45 min - an hour is a good commute. Especially if you are in a city and taking pubic transit, that's pretty standard. I'm originally from NYC, where I know many people who commute to their job or school for up to an 1.5 hours one way. I even went to an info session of an NYC program that said that was the norm for both students and staff taking the train. (But I agree - that is way too long, especially if you are in school. Even if I applied to schools in NYC, my top choices were elsewhere).

I too am going from working full-time to attending OT school in the fall. The lack of an income is gonna be hard, but I know it will be worth it!

 

[elischeesecake]

I wanted to bump this conversation from last year up. I am currently deciding between 2 OT programs- one where I'd move and live right by campus, another where I wouldn't move but I'd have a pretty long commute (at least 1 hour, sometimes much longer). I worry about the time I'll spend commuting impacting my studies (and other parts of my life) so I'm looking for other folk's perspectives/reasoning/thoughts about committing to a program that has a really long commute (that I'd be making M-F). Thanks in advance for your thoughts and ideas!

 

[PNW_OT]

I wanted to bump this conversation from last year up. I am currently deciding between 2 OT programs- one where I'd move and live right by campus, another where I wouldn't move but I'd have a pretty long commute (at least 1 hour, sometimes much longer). I worry about the time I'll spend commuting impacting my studies (and other parts of my life) so I'm looking for other folk's perspectives/reasoning/thoughts about committing to a program that has a really long commute (that I'd be making M-F). Thanks in advance for your thoughts and ideas!

I wouldn't commute more than an hour, personally. If traffic can make that more lengthy, that's really hard to do twice a day M-F. I opted against applying to a program that would result in more than an hour drive every day. Even though I could live at my moms, the tuition and commute wasn't worth it to me.

 

[othopeful93]

I'm moving from LI to Brooklyn to avoid a 1.5 hr commute. I'm looking at 30 mins.

I also don't want to go from living in a dorm to home, so that was a factor too.

 

[RUNNING_OT]

I live super close to my campus, but there are students in my program that commute up to an hour and a half. Could be worse with traffic. I would rather live closer because there are so many other things you miss out on when you live so far. There are always on campus activities and sometimes you may have to go out in the community to do service projects.

 

[OTHopeful6601]

This is an awesome thread! I just got into a school that is roughly 45 minutes away from my home and I'm trying to decide if I should commute or not. My problem is I don't know how long my car will last if I do that commute twice everyday, but it might be worth it to not pay more for living expenses.

 

[elischeesecake]

I live super close to my campus, but there are students in my program that commute up to an hour and a half. Could be worse with traffic. I would rather live closer because there are so many other things you miss out on when you live so far. There are always on campus activities and sometimes you may have to go out in the community to do service projects.

That's a good point- I know those extracurriculars and opportunities might not appeal to everyone but they definitely appeal to me! I hadn't really thought about that.

 

[elischeesecake]

This is an awesome thread! I just got into a school that is roughly 45 minutes away from my home and I'm trying to decide if I should commute or not. My problem is I don't know how long my car will last if I do that commute twice everyday, but it might be worth it to not pay more for living expenses.

Yeah, planning for car maintenance costs is hard to predict. One of my school options would allow me to sell my car and not have to worry about those costs--- so appealing!

 

[FutureOT17]

What's everyone's thoughts about commuting 1 hour and 20 minutes or so, but with public transportation (subways, not busses) to NYC? This might be my reality next year. I'm thinking that maybe I could at least get work done while commuting since I won't be driving.