Just how convenient is...

[cludestyle]

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...Living close to campus in first year?

Let's face it, we all want to cut costs to save repayment in the future. And if there is a significant portion of that that I can reduce, I am willing to take it. Even if it means a 1hr transit time back and forth from home to campus.

Let's take a hypothetical D1 student attending NYU:

Living in Manhattan = $$$$$
Living in Queens = $$
Commute time to/fro Queens-Manhattan = 45min-1hr (feel free to correct me on this one)

Is that an acceptable time to spend on commuting on a rather daily basis (total 1.5-2hrs) taking into consideration the heavy course/workload of D1?

Thanks!!

 

[KittySquared]

Pretty sure you will hate life if you live beyond a 30 min commute. I plan on living ~10 min from school. Get some roommates and live closer to school. Just find like minded grad students. You can afford a longer commute when it's 3rd and 4th year when you're mostly in the clinic and aren't always studying for tests.

 

[UCSFx2017]

You're in classes from 8-5. That leaves just a few hours to study. I wouldn't want to spend 1 hr taking public transportation to class and then another hour coming back. That's just me. I guess you could study on the train.

 

[ATG20]

I decided to live in student housing (it's actually cheaper than surrounding apartments) to save on commute time because I feel DS will already be enough of a challenge. Once I get the hang of things, I'll try to venture away from campus. Now, however, I don't want to waste any valuable study/free time sitting in traffic. I commuted to work every day during my gap year and during undergrad for 40-60 minutes just to save money, but it really starts to take a toll. You'll become irritable after a long commute, and if there's an accident, good luck trying to arrive in time for a test. Study groups and class reviews become harder to attend, and when you get home, the last thing you want to do is study or cook a nice healthy meal (get used to TV dinners). Sometimes you have to pay more for convenience. Meet some cool people during D1, and at the end of the year, go in on a room or something close-by to make it affordable.

 

[Bifenthrin]

...Living close to campus in first year?

Let's face it, we all want to cut costs to save repayment in the future. And if there is a significant portion of that that I can reduce, I am willing to take it. Even if it means a 1hr transit time back and forth from home to campus.

Let's take a hypothetical D1 student attending NYU:

Living in Manhattan = $$$$$
Living in Queens = $$
Commute time to/fro Queens-Manhattan = 45min-1hr (feel free to correct me on this one)

Is that an acceptable time to spend on commuting on a rather daily basis (total 1.5-2hrs) taking into consideration the heavy course/workload of D1?

Thanks!!

You could study while on the train/bus. I live about 45 minutes away from NYUCD by bus, and I don't plan to move to Manhattan. I'll just study on the bus. Or catch up on sleep on the bus.

And if I decide to move out from my parents' house, I'll get an apartment along the same bus route, maybe a little closer to cut that down to half an hour (which compared with 45 minutes is insignificant, but whatever).

 

[IsaacYankem]

Commuting from the outerboroughs to and from Manhattan is one of the most heinous and soul sucking experiences I've ever encountered. To add the workload of dental school on top of it seems like a foolish way to 'save $.'

 

[jeffity]

Don't do it. The waking up at 5:00 on test days is kind of lame (if I sleep at all). Being closer would be awesome. I'm not even on public transit. I carpool with a dude in my class. We even have common taste in music. Wonderful. We rock it hard. The drive home is nice for decompressing and complaining. The last-minute review before tests has been awesome. But it's still not worth the commute. It's what I have to do, though. If I could, I'd be much closer. I'm not even into all the social stuff, but I pretty much went to zero school/class functions this year due to distance. It REALLY sucked when I wanted to hit the cadaver lab too. I just can't find one of those on my side of town. And I didn't get to use the campus gym...most of that was me being lazy though. Maybe next year. Try to work something out to cut cost. It might still be more expensive, but it will be worth it.


Edit: If you're living FREE (e.g., with the 'rents where food is free and you'll have clean socks every day) then it MIGHT be worth doing. Zero vs. $$$$$ is worth entertaining vs $$ vs $$$$$. Versus.

 

[dentalWorks]

I live about 40 minutes away from school (and thats on a good highway)... if highway is backed up, expect 1.5 hours easily each way.

Overall, it didn't effect my performance. Majority of your studies take place on days that you don't have a 8 or 10 hour school day (and no, NOT every day of DS1 or DS2 is 8 to 5). Many days you are only in school for 5-7 hours total. And ofc, there are the occasional days you skip cause that professor doesn't care about attendance (nor do you if they take attendance). Finding time to study while being a dental student is not the challenge, but instead the real challenge comes about in having the drive to study since many just wanna "pass" with least effort

 

[jeffity]

I live about 40 minutes away from school (and thats on a good highway)... if highway is backed up, expect 1.5 hours easily each way.

Overall, it didn't effect my performance. Majority of your studies take place on days that you don't have a 8 or 10 hour school day (and no, NOT every day of DS1 or DS2 is 8 to 5). Many days you are only in school for 5-7 hours total. And ofc, there are the occasional days you skip cause that professor doesn't care about attendance (nor do you if they take attendance). Finding time to study while being a dental student is not the challenge, but instead the real challenge comes about in having the drive to study since many just wanna "pass" with least effort

One of the biggest surprises. I assumed 8-5. With optional attendance, some people spent 10 hours max on campus all week, and that included ~6 hours lab and 1-2 tests.

 

[cludestyle]

I always had the preconception that timewise, D1 schedules were like full-time jobs with overtime and nighttime duty lol...

Interesting, I think majority would prefer to live within walking distance I guess... dat debt 🙁

 

[znny19]

In regards to NYU, a lot of people commute from the boroughs into the city. (Lots of my friends do and they have great gpas). Some people here just talk like they know everything. You won't be in class from 8-5 like its some elementary school...🙄. A D1 posted a schedule of NYU first year on facebook, and there were large gaps in between classes which you could study then.

I plan on commuting from south brooklyn to NYU. Itll prob take me 45 mins each way but its worth it. Its common in NYC to commute just look at the LIRR, thousands of people come in from long island to work int he city.

Those couple of hours won't make or break you as a dental student, it's the ******* advice you'll receive from posters on here that will.

 

[Bifenthrin]

In regards to NYU, a lot of people commute from the boroughs into the city. (Lots of my friends do and they have great gpas). Some people here just talk like they know everything. You won't be in class from 8-5 like its some elementary school...🙄. A D1 posted a schedule of NYU first year on facebook, and there were large gaps in between classes which you could study then.

I plan on commuting from south brooklyn to NYU. Itll prob take me 45 mins each way but its worth it. Its common in NYC to commute just look at the LIRR, thousands of people come in from long island to work int he city.

Those couple of hours won't make or break you as a dental student, it's the ******* advice you'll receive from posters on here that will.

South Brooklyn, high five!

 

[dchoi]

to answer your question... yes, of course it's more convenient to live closer to school. is it necessary to do well? heck no.

 

[Hawkteeth]

If your saving 3 extra money symbols then I think its worth the commute.

 

[ktran17]

^Way to reference yelp🙂

 

[IsaacYankem]

I plan on commuting from south brooklyn to NYU. Itll prob take me 45 mins each way but its worth it. Its common in NYC to commute just look at the LIRR, thousands of people come in from long island to work int he city.

.

The LIRR is a far cry from the Q and transferring to the 6

 

[DentalElle]

The LIRR is a far cry from the Q and transferring to the 6

+1 million

The LIRR is nice. MTA, not so much. I've lived in NYC all my life and commuted 1.5 hrs to school in brooklyn from queens all through high school...commuting to school is the MAIN reason I moved out of NYC. Studying on your ride seems like a good idea, but thats only if you are the only person on the train. Which 10/10 times you probably wont be. And travelling during rush hour, you will probably be standing on a crowded, hot and smelly train for your hr or more commute, 5 days a week. And if there is space to sit on the train, your loud and rowdy high schoolers are also on this train. But i guess headphones might help if you can study with music. NYC transportation is convenient, but not on such scales that you can actually get studying done. The most i've gotten done was reading books for fun. If you can seriously seriously not be miserable with transit travel then go for it. Personally, I would spend the $$$$$ because when I am at school, just THINKING about the commute home used to get me so depressed. But that's just me.

 

[dantemac]

Learn to study on the commute. Here in Philly we have tons of people take the trains in, drive in, or bike far distances. They like the separation from school. I am sure NYU would be the same way. Especially first year where you can do a little bit of distance learning (I remember on the tour NO ONE was in lecture!)

 

[tjung789]

unless you can find really good roommates, I would recommend you get a studio/single even if it means living far away. I have had my GPA wrecked due to bad roommates. The thing is you can never be sure how bad someone will be until you actually start living with them. I would find a single and commute if you have to, and then if you find classmates who you can get along with, then I would room with them closer to school.

Don't take a risk with your GPA/career

 

[znny19]

The LIRR is a far cry from the Q and transferring to the 6

Too bad i'll be taking the F 😀

 

[Bifenthrin]

The LIRR is a far cry from the Q and transferring to the 6

Express buses is where it's at. More expensive but comfortable and no high school kids being rowdy.