Will a 45-minute commute to med school make things very difficult?

[Super_Med]

I was checking housing for the med school I'm currently accepted at, and prices for housing near the med school/hospital are astronomical. However, I am able to find housing about ~45 minutes away that is much more affordable. Will this add unnecessary difficulty to the already difficult med student life? I'm trying my best to only spend on what is necessary.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[doomer_md]

Will a 45-minute commute to med school make things very difficult?

Yes.

/thread

 

[EdgeTrimmer]

I was checking housing for the med school I'm currently accepted at, and prices for housing near the med school/hospital are astronomical. However, I am able to find housing about ~45 minutes away that is much more affordable. Will this add unnecessary difficulty to the already difficult med student life? I'm trying my best to only spend on what is necessary.

will you be driving or taking public transportation? If you are driving how bad is the traffic?

 

[Dr. Foresight]

Yes. Look at it this way, that's 1.5+ hours a day that you won't be able to study, workout, take care of yourself, etc. Your school aid package should cover living around school. Take advantage of that. If you are still trying to save money, are you able to find a roommate with someone in your class? Splitting a 2 bedroom apartment is usually cheaper than a one bedroom alone.

 

[lanzhou_lamian]

I really wouldn't recommend this.

Look at it this way. If you live 45 minutes away from school, then you are driving 1.5 hours a day, 5 days a week. This is 7.5 hours a week or 375 hours a year, just getting to and from school.

Yes, you may save $5k a year on housing. Over 4 years, that comes out to $20k additional dollars. That is less than one month salary for most attendings. It doesn't make sense to waste 375 hours a year to save 1 month of attending salary.

 

[funkyturtle]

I’m going to be the contrarian and say it’s doable. I live about 45 minutes from school without traffic. During rush hour, it’s even longer. I usually listen to podcasts on the way to school related to our lectures - Goljan, divine, and other step prep material. Driving is also almost therapeutic at this point. However, I usually only go to school ~ once a week, so if your school has a lot of required in-person activities, I wouldn’t recommend it. It’ll also probably be more difficult to bond with your classmates if you live so far away, which I’m fine with as an old nontrad w a family.

 

[mmchick]

I’m going to be the contrarian and say it’s doable. I live about 45 minutes from school without traffic. During rush hour, it’s even longer. I usually listen to podcasts on the way to school related to our lectures - Goljan, divine, and other step prep material. Driving is also almost therapeutic at this point. However, I usually only go to school ~ once a week, so if your school has a lot of required in-person activities, I wouldn’t recommend it. It’ll also probably be more difficult to bond with your classmates if you live so far away, which I’m fine with as an old nontrad w a family.

Well here are some important distinctions: this poster is older with a family, doesn't care to socialize with his/her classmates, and only goes to campus once a week. Outside of these circumstances, I would say it is not worth it. As others said, you will be wasting many hours that could go towards wellness, studying, etc. It will make it a burden to get to campus, discouraging you from attending class/getting involved with ECs or socializing/meeting classmates + faculty. Unless your circumstances are like this poster and you do not mind sacrificing class time, participation, social + networking, you should get roommates and pay a bit of higher rent to be involved.

 

[zorcandpals]

You can either pay for housing with money or time. As a med student and then physician, I would say money will come but you cant get time back.

That being said 45 mins isn't super crazy of a commute and probably doable. Is it worth it? Probably not but throw us some numbers on how much you'd be saving and we advise more completely.

 

[LizzyM]

I'm going to recommend that you consider travel times at the times of day that you would be traveling and changes in travel time dependent on weather conditions. Rush hour travel can be double what it is at other times of day. (I knew a student in Baltimore who had not bargained for traffic at rush hour and it was a rude awakening.) Also consider travel home at rush hour and how safe you'll feel traveling home after dark. Another consideration, if you are driving/biking is the location of parking with relation to your classroom/lab.

 

[Goro]

OP, I have seen students try to do this and it universally ended in disaster for their grades. Do NOT do this!

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Depends on how often you have to be on campus or plan to be on campus, your priorities (family, etc), and how okay you are with a longer commute. I have classmates who had 45-60 min commutes in preclerkship who did just fine.

 

[Konigstiger]

My commute is about 30 mins but can get up to 45 mins or longer depending on the traffic. Other than it being a mild annoyance, I've had zero problems so far.

If traffic is bad all the time or if you have to be on campus every day or something ridiculous like that, then you may want to reconsider. Otherwise, it really shouldn't be much of an issue.

 

[YCAGA]

Cost benefit analysis, my friend. This is only an option even worth dreaming of during preclinical years, so we will run an analysis based on two years of potential savings. Having a 45 minute commute during M3 and M4 (during sub-I's/pre-interview rotations) is absolute insanity, so I won't even entertain that discussion.

The most I can see you saving per month is $1000. That is $24,000 over your first two years. You know what is more expensive than that? Failing out of medical school because you spent 1.5-2 hours commuting every day while your classmates were at home studying. Or missing AOA that you would have otherwise got and matched into ortho/derm/insert your favorite $pecialitie$ here. That would cost you more than $24,000 in a single year of salary, let alone over a lifetime of earnings. Or, you aren't competitive for a field or residency location you love, even if the pay difference in this desired field/residency location is not significant. Burning out 10-20 years before you would have otherwise or dropping out of residency is going to cost you a lot more than $24,000.

Now, some people might say I am being dramatic and you don't have to have the shortest possible commute to match ortho/derm, get AOA, etc. And they would be right to say you don't have to. But medical school is too difficult and too competitive (even at a school with a "collaborative vibe") to not optimize things like your commute and living arrangements.

Think of medical school as the foundation for a house you are going to be living in for the rest of your life. Do you really want to spend $200k versus $225k on that foundation, if the cheaper option increases the chance that your house will collapse prematurely? I am cheap but I am not that cheap.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Cost benefit analysis, my friend. This is only an option even worth dreaming of during preclinical years, so we will run an analysis based on two years of potential savings. Having a 45 minute commute during M3 and M4 (during sub-I's/pre-interview rotations) is absolute insanity, so I won't even entertain that discussion.

The most I can see you saving per month is $1000. That is $24,000 over your first two years. You know what is more expensive than that? Failing out of medical school because you spent 1.5-2 hours commuting every day while your classmates were at home studying. Or missing AOA that you would have otherwise got and matched into ortho/derm/insert your favorite $pecialitie$ here. That would cost you more than $24,000 in a single year of salary, let alone over a lifetime of earnings. Or, you aren't competitive for a field or residency location you love, even if the pay difference in this desired field/residency location is not significant. Burning out 10-20 years before you would have otherwise or dropping out of residency is going to cost you a lot more than $24,000.

Now, some people might say I am being dramatic and you don't have to have the shortest possible commute to match ortho/derm, get AOA, etc. And they would be right to say you don't have to. But medical school is too difficult and too competitive (even at a school with a "collaborative vibe") to not optimize things like your commute and living arrangements.

Think of medical school as the foundation for a house you are going to be living in for the rest of your life. Do you really want to spend $200k versus $225k on that foundation, if the cheaper option increases the chance that your house will collapse prematurely? I am cheap but I am not that cheap.

I mean, I agree that a shorter commute generally is nicer, but this is a little dramatic. If you fail out of med school because of a 45-min commute, you had significant problems that weren’t going to be fixed just by having a shorter commute.

 

[JimKimSlim]

Well, I know this is slightly different but I had to commute 90 minutes during college but did just fine. I just studied flashcards in my car during traffic jams.

 

[Angus Avagadro]

Depends on what kind of student you are. My wife went to class to socialize and ended up with a high class rank. A longer commute would not have been an issue for her. Me, it would have been hard to do anything productive in the car. Also, if you are not gunning for neurosurg or derm and looking at a middling class rank and board scores, then it might work. Remember traffic delays on test or lab days could also factor in. Also, those 0500 arrival times on some rotations and you have a 45 min commute could put a knot in your shorts. Just some things to consider. Good luck and best wishes!

 

[YCAGA]

I mean, I agree that a shorter commute generally is nicer, but this is a little dramatic. If you fail out of med school because of a 45-min commute, you had significant problems that weren’t going to be fixed just by having a shorter commute.

I have seen a long commute heavily contribute to someone dropping out/failing, so I am not just making this up as a hypothetical.

You are missing a point though. Look at living close to school and having a safe, clean apartment as a modifiable risk factor like exercise and smoking cessation. Some things you can't control, like the death of a family member during medical school or getting in a car crash the week before a final. So it is in your best interest to optimize the things you can control. I am not saying you should take out personal loans at 20% interest to stay in the Ritz across the street from campus, but taking out max loans federal loans to live 10-15 minutes from campus is a no-brainer.

There is a significant portion of every medical school class that I would argue is one misfortune away from having to repeat a year. C = MD is not true at a lot of schools, mine included. You need at least a 2.25 GPA to progress from M1 -> M2 and M2 -> M3. The line between students consistently getting C's with a few B's and getting all C's or worse is pretty thin. These students normally are already maxed out in terms of effort, so stuff that seems easily overcomable for those in the top 3/4th of the class end up sinking these marginally passing students.

Now, I am not saying OP is destined to be in the bottom 1/4th of their class. What I will say is it is extremely hard to predict how you will perform in medical school. You don't really know until you get there.

If OP really wants to save money, I would say go for the expensive rent during M1, see how their grades are and how much time they spend studying. For me personally, a 45-minute commute would not sink me, because I know I only needed 4-5 hours of solid studying per day for preclinical classes. But I can only say that in retrospect. If OP ends up being a 12 hours in the library group studying per day kind of person, it will be too late to change their living situation for at least a year.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

I have seen a long commute heavily contribute to someone dropping out/failing, so I am not just making this up as a hypothetical.

You are missing a point though. Look at living close to school and having a safe, clean apartment as a modifiable risk factor like exercise and smoking cessation. Some things you can't control, like the death of a family member during medical school or getting in a car crash the week before a final. So it is in your best interest to optimize the things you can control. I am not saying you should take out personal loans at 20% interest to stay in the Ritz across the street from campus, but taking out max loans federal loans to live 10-15 minutes from campus is a no-brainer.

There is a significant portion of every medical school class that I would argue is one misfortune away from having to repeat a year. C = MD is not true at a lot of schools, mine included. You need at least a 2.25 GPA to progress from M1 -> M2 and M2 -> M3. The line between students consistently getting C's with a few B's and getting all C's or worse is pretty thin. These students normally are already maxed out in terms of effort, so stuff that seems easily overcomable for those in the top 3/4th of the class end up sinking these marginally passing students.

Now, I am not saying OP is destined to be in the bottom 1/4th of their class. What I will say is it is extremely hard to predict how you will perform in medical school. You don't really know until you get there.

If OP really wants to save money, I would say go for the expensive rent during M1, see how their grades are and how much time they spend studying. For me personally, a 45-minute commute would not sink me, because I know I only needed 4-5 hours of solid studying per day for preclinical classes. But I can only say that in retrospect. If OP ends up being a 12 hours in the library group studying per day kind of person, it will be too late to change their living situation for at least a year.

You are making a ton of assumptions here that may or may not be true.

 

[YCAGA]

You are making a ton of assumptions here that may or may not be true.

The percent of students that are barely passing is based on the data in my school's MSPE. What assumptions did I make? That it is hard to predict medical school performance before you start? That is a fact based on research.

 

[DrRiker]

You can do this if your first two years have recorded lectures with minimal to no mandatory sessions and you only need to be on campus 1-2 times per week. This is rarely the case. Also, this will not work when you have clinical responsibilities.

 

[YCAGA]

You can do this if your first two years have recorded lectures with minimal to no mandatory sessions and you only need to be on campus 1-2 times per week. This is rarely the case. Also, this will not work when you have clinical responsibilities.

Exactly. If you go to a unicorn school then you could have this long of a commute. You would also need to have virtual anatomy lab in addition to recorded lectures. Also no in-person clinical skills teaching. Not sure how you can learn that virtually though but some schools must have done it the past year.

 

[Redpancreas]

I was checking housing for the med school I'm currently accepted at, and prices for housing near the med school/hospital are astronomical. However, I am able to find housing about ~45 minutes away that is much more affordable. Will this add unnecessary difficulty to the already difficult med student life? I'm trying my best to only spend on what is necessary.

The only reason to live that far away is if you’re living at home. Get a roommate. I’m sure there are others where you live in the same boat.

Yes it will add to the difficulty. Like others have said, that’s 1.5hrs/day you’re not studying, eating/sleeping, etc. There were several at my instate medical school that did this. Our school was in the city and many commuted to the suburbs where they lived at home where they came home presumably to dinner and had many other things that offset the commute.

Living further out to save on living is just a bad idea if it's greater than a 15-20 minute commute. Not to mention it’s a new area for you don’t know anyone. Your classmates will all be closer to the school. At least if you're doing it find someone you know (probably someone who's looking for a house that has kids already) who you can share notes with. Still don't think it's a good idea though.

 

[Redpancreas]

You can do this if your first two years have recorded lectures with minimal to no mandatory sessions and you only need to be on campus 1-2 times per week. This is rarely the case. Also, this will not work when you have clinical responsibilities.

Unicorn 🦄 school indeed. Most schools are pressured my the LCME to have multiple in person activities. If you have anatomy lab at the beginning, that’s already 3 times a week.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

The percent of students that are barely passing is based on the data in my school's MSPE. What assumptions did I make? That it is hard to predict medical school performance before you start? That is a fact based on research.

Uh no, that wasn’t what I was talking about. You’re assuming a lot about the neighborhoods, peoples situations, finances, etc.

 

[YCAGA]

Uh no, that wasn’t what I was talking about. You’re assuming a lot about the neighborhoods, peoples situations, finances, etc.

Neighborhoods?? I think you are reading too much into what I said. If you are talking about "clean and safe apartment" then I will be more specific. I have lived in everything between a roach and bedbug infested ****hole where the cops were practical tenants themselves and a "luxury" apartment. I can assure you that spending the extra money in loans/disposable income is worth it. That is all I am saying.

In regards to finances, 99% of medical students have access to federal loans that can pay for an apartment significantly less than 45 minutes from campus, so not sure what you mean there.

People's personal situations don't really apply to the question at hand. The one situation I can see justifying a 45 minute commute is if you are living with a significant other and a 45 minute commute is the midway spot for your two jobs/schools. Living with my SO would be worth that commute to me. Not much else would be.

 

[LunaOri]

I would suggest speaking with current students. They can fill you in on where to find the best living situations. Do you have your financial aid offer yet? Housing costs are factored in to your offer--schools know how much you should have to pay to live locally.

 

[Redpancreas]

I would suggest speaking with current students. They can fill you in on where to find the best living situations. Do you have your financial aid offer yet? Housing costs are factored in to your offer--schools know how much you should have to pay to live locally.

Agreed. Most schools have class FB pages with spreadsheets for roommates, curated apartment guides, etc. Find all that.

 

[BruceWaynMD]

Hello, for the first 2 years it’ll be fine just watch lectures online if possible and only go to class when necessary. Third year will be hard as you have to be in the hospital surgery was very difficult but I managed. 4th year is dependent mostly on your electives but it was easy after my internship just took as many online classes as possible

 

[JMS54]

I was checking housing for the med school I'm currently accepted at, and prices for housing near the med school/hospital are astronomical. However, I am able to find housing about ~45 minutes away that is much more affordable. Will this add unnecessary difficulty to the already difficult med student life? I'm trying my best to only spend on what is necessary.

I spent my whole first year commuting an hour to and from school. I actually woke up at 5 AM, drove to school, worked out, then went to class. My second year, I planned to get a place closer to school but then COVID19 happened and most of our stuff was distance learning so I stayed put. Bottom line is that it can be done and it won’t effect you too much but you have to take into account that 45 minutes each way costs time and time is precious in med school. It actually allowed me some time to listen to things on the radio and do non-medical stuff. I was able to unwind before getting home. Its definitely doable first year and if you don’t like it you can always get a place closer to school for second year which is MUCH more demanding.

 

[ShinySephiroth]

I think a lot of people underestimate how much time they waste everyday not being productive. Take a serious look at what you do every day, take out the fluff, and that will take care of the time "wasted" driving to and from school. There is a lot of time in the day if you know how to use it properly.

 

[MedScat]

It depends on the type of person you are. I commuted during college ~35-40 mins and also during medical school. Sometimes I commute as far as 1.5 hours if I don't have a lot to study and I feel like going home to see my husband lol. I like driving and i like listening to music while driving, catching up on phone calls with family and friends, etc. to unwind. I am also very happy being an average/slightly above average student (not a superstar genius). It's all about your priorities. My priority is my family and commuting longer was a compromise I had to make to be closer to them. I'm sure there's horror stories about people failing because of commute but, it's really dependent on the kind of person you are and what YOU know you can handle.

 

[curr4410]

I know several people in my school who drive 30-45 minutes each way. I personally drive 25 each way. I have to get up a little earlier, but I use it as a way to transition into studying/out of studying. Others listen to lectures during their drive. I think it depends on the type of person you are and what you need to do for self care. For me as a single mom, those drives were the only time of the day where I had quiet and could do something just for me - including turning my music way up and being that jerk at stoplights. 🤪 otherwise it was studying or caregiving. As long as the traffic isn’t unpredictable, I’d say it’s definitely possible, especially if you need that transition time

 

[syringes]

I can't tell if people in this thread have just never lived outside of a college campus before...? 45 minute commute is very normal and doable. Especially with public transit, it wouldn't be bad or out of the ordinary. I'm from the Midwest too though so to me a 45 minute drive isn't that bad either haha. I just checked my commute where I'll be moving in the summer in a big city and its 36 minutes by bus and its only 2.5 miles.

I once met a guy who worked at the Center for Victims of Torture in the Twin Cities and he lived like an hour away from his work and he said that commute gave him time to decompress and do some thinking and soul-searching and things like that. So just saying. While you're commuting you're not necessarily just wasting time it can be good self-care for many people to have a longer commute.

 

[Lee]

I was checking housing for the med school I'm currently accepted at, and prices for housing near the med school/hospital are astronomical. However, I am able to find housing about ~45 minutes away that is much more affordable. Will this add unnecessary difficulty to the already difficult med student life? I'm trying my best to only spend on what is necessary.

For MS 2-4, I had a 45+ min each way commute without issues. But that worked because I lived close during the first year.

Generally, I recommend being as close as possible. There are many benefits to being close to the school, especially during MS-1. Remember, at most schools, your classmates and friends will probably live close to the school.

 

[dochan213]

i was in nyc, saved money by living at home and my train ride was at least 1 hour. I would say that for me there was definitely a difference. I had some classmates taking the train from
PA or Long Island, I’m not sure how it affected them but I found the 2 year daily commute stressful, especially during exams/ practicals or when there was train issues. You do need to be more efficient with your time and depends on how you best study. I found studying on the train to be less effective than sitting in a quiet place and long blocks of time. Also living far away made it harder for me to collaborate and learn from my classmates. I was always running to the library to study and never got to know when until clinical rotations. As a result I found my preclinical years to be stressful and fairly isolating. But because of how expensive Nyc i made the calculated decision to do it, but in reflection it’s not something I would recommend.

 

[EvryDayImHustln]

No

These days you rarely have to show up for anything ...

I remember times when I showed up once a week, for a micro lab that they didn’t even take attendance for !

Lectures are all online

if you do drive 45 minutes you can listen to them or other great podcasts as you drive

plus a long commute gives you time to decompress and clear your thoughts

no one rushes home to study!

 

[syringes]

Not to discredit you but you're still a premed... I had a 35 min commute that turned into 1+ hours in the winter. I listened to physio lectures on youtube but I'd find myself wandering or losing track of where I was at when there was heavy traffic so I would maybe get through a 15 min video in that 1+ hour. Nowadays I'd rather have a 10 minute commute and use that 50 minutes in a focused/quiet environment to do 30 minutes of anki and watch a 3x 15 min lectures on 2x speed.

If 40 years from now my net worth is 8,500,00 instead of 8,900,000 then so be it. I'll take my shorter commute

Yeah, you're right. I think I deserve to be discredited lol. I really don't have a true understanding of the level of workload. I'm used to working normal jobs! I don't think I'm the type of person to study and work on the bus ride home from school...maybe someday

 

[JustaBread]

I was checking housing for the med school I'm currently accepted at, and prices for housing near the med school/hospital are astronomical. However, I am able to find housing about ~45 minutes away that is much more affordable. Will this add unnecessary difficulty to the already difficult med student life? I'm trying my best to only spend on what is necessary.

From some one who have been commuting to school as an M1 (about 50 mins - 1 hour drive). I would say yes. HOWEVER,
1) My school does not require me to attend live lectures which mean I don't have to drive 5 days/week.
2) I am staying with my parents, so it saves me more $$$ than your case, and I'm willing to scarify my time/sleep for it.
3) Due to possible traffic, I do have to leave 30 - 45 mins early than the actual drive.
4) If it's a packed/busy week, I do have to listen to lecture while driving.
In the end, you have to take various factors into account and ask yourself questions like how much would it save me? is it worth my time? can I deal with long commute during stressful week? Are there any other options (ex. roommates)? Something like that. I hope you find solution soon. Good Luck!

 

[hopkinsgal2022]

This sounds like a terrible idea to me. I'm at the end of my third year of medical school, and whatever the difference in rent for you between living close to campus vs. living 45 mins away, I guarantee I would personally happily pay that difference in rent to get an additional 1.5 hours added back to my own day every day for the last three years. This isn't just about grades; it's time for all the other things that will make you a well-rounded student and future physician and subsequently match much more strongly, i.e. research/shadowing/mentorship/extracurriculars/physical fitness/hobbies.

As an aside: I did have required in-person class pretty much every day even in preclinical; I would only consider living so far away if you only needed to be on campus max 1-2 days/week. And even then, I'd expect to need to move much closer to campus for your clinical rotations. For days when you only have 8 hours off to sleep between shifts, you can't afford for 1.5 of those 8 hours to be spent driving.

 

[Trefoil]

Yeah don’t do that. You will constantly be playing catch up because you had an hour less sleep and an hour less to study. On your surgery rotations you will be leaving your house at 0230 and driving back at 2100. Get a bunch of roommates if you can.

 

[whopper]

Unless medschool's gotten easier I would live as close to if not on the campus. Several study-alliances are made. Propinquity is an important factor. If you don't know what that term means look it up. It's not just the saved time. It's the mental eustress that helps you to go the extra distance of being in the heart of the maelstrom. Going off campus will put in back into the real world-that world being of most people not studying anywhere near as much as you do and psychologically this could limit your performance.

If the travel time is public transportation add to that (At least for me) that I often times felt zombified if on a bus for more than 30 minutes. That takes time to recover.

How precious is time in medschool? People time how long they sit on the crapper. That's how serious and intense the study time can often be. I remember one of the joys of doing the #2 was I was able to sit down and avoid fear of not doing work cause when you got to do a #2 you got to do a #2. Otherwise anytime I wasn't studying I was living in fear of not doing enough.

I've seen some people have some very odd lifestyles in medical school and they made it fine but these people were oddities. E.g. someone who had a full-time job and somehow still did medical school. Holy crap I would never recommend that but this guy's like "yeah well I did it." Okay Dr. Egocentric you're not the rest of the population. Something about you made you different and your advice doesn't apply to everyone.

 

[sylvester500]

I was checking housing for the med school I'm currently accepted at, and prices for housing near the med school/hospital are astronomical. However, I am able to find housing about ~45 minutes away that is much more affordable. Will this add unnecessary difficulty to the already difficult med student life? I'm trying my best to only spend on what is necessary.

I will say this as someone who has not yet been to medical school but is deeply regretful of time wasted on a commute in high school. I spent 2.5-3 hours commuting each day during high school (75 mins there, 90 mins back). I lived rural as hell and went into the deep city every day. I really feel it robbed me of a normal high school experience. I could never hang out with friends after school, or even on weekends really. I never had a girlfriend. I woke at 5:30 AM to get to school on time, left school after 2-3 hours of sports (I was a 3-season athlete), arrived home at or after 7:00 PM every night, never had dinner with my family because I would get right to homework for 3-4 hours. Wash, rinse, repeat every day for 4 years. I feel these repercussions still affect me now, 6 years later.

Although it's high school rather than med school, after reflecting on this experience, I committed myself to never living more than 15 minutes away from a brick-and-mortar establishment of my employment/education. Do not underestimate the value of your time — seriously. Find something close by. Link up with a classmate (or multiple). I'm living with 3 others and that drives down the cost big time, even in the big expensive city I will be living in for the next 4 years of med school.

 

[Bonehead718]

I was checking housing for the med school I'm currently accepted at, and prices for housing near the med school/hospital are astronomical. However, I am able to find housing about ~45 minutes away that is much more affordable. Will this add unnecessary difficulty to the already difficult med student life? I'm trying my best to only spend on what is necessary.

I did my SMP in DC and decided to live 20 minutes off campus in Alexandria VA to save money. It was a last mi

I was checking housing for the med school I'm currently accepted at, and prices for housing near the med school/hospital are astronomical. However, I am able to find housing about ~45 minutes away that is much more affordable. Will this add unnecessary difficulty to the already difficult med student life? I'm trying my best to only spend on what is necessary.

I did my SMP in DC and decided to take up a great leasing offer 20 minutes away from school in VA. Well.

the only way to get to school from this apartment was the highway. And I had no idea that a 15-20 minute drive would easily become an hour during rush hour. Not to mention parking was almost impossible to find, and I got a handful of tickets when I did park. I was socialized than my peers because I was so out of the way, and test day was always an enormous amount of stress just getting there.
So I will tell you. Unless the rent is free, it is not worth it. I am starting school this summer, and found myself a nice spot that is a 10 minute bike ride away. Pricier? Sure. The peace of mind of being in the city and vastly more accessible to school? 100% worth it.

that’s it. You’re in school. Now is the time to put your education on the forefront, which means making the necessary sacrifices. Find a roommate and move on.

 

[ballet01]

Have you factored in prices for gas? Depending on your vehicle's mpg you may be spending close to what you would've been if you lived closer. My vehicle isn't very economical, so just knowing that it would be a no-go for me, specifically.

 

[Kaustikos]

Well,
I'll chime in since I decided to do this not just for 3rd/4th year...but RESIDENCY.
Yes, it is ABSOLUTELY freaking insane to even contemplate doing it. Leaving at 4 am and coming back home at 7pm means I literally only had 1 hour to do anything (studying/etc). Thankfully I was wired on coffee/espresso...but now that I'm almost done - I would NEVER, EVER ABSOLUTELY NEVER IN A MILLION YEARS recommend this. How I managed to get through residency, get my step 3 and get into a Fellowship makes no sense. Thankfully it was IM. If it were Surgery; I would've died.
And, yes, I did surgery as a student and THAT was barely passable.
OP - I've been there/done it. It's not safe, it's potentially going to destroy your chances at succeeding and good GOD will it make you more irritable and annoyed.
I'd also like to mention that 45 minutes was being LENIANT. My commute home was 1 hour and 15 minutes with mild traffic.
Nights - 1 1/2 hours
So, No. Just No
No
No, no no no no no no no no

Don't do it.

 

[Kaustikos]

Have you factored in prices for gas? Depending on your vehicle's mpg you may be spending close to what you would've been if you lived closer. My vehicle isn't very economical, so just knowing that it would be a no-go for me, specifically.

Also, this
The gas and TOLLS. AND - maintenance; you're going to be changing your oil, changing tires and getting service ALOT more frequently.
Holy ****.
Again, take it from someone who probably needs a psych eval; it's not worth it.

 

[Suzin]

Had a number of medical students stays lodge with me over the past few years. All were doing rotations. I live in Stamford CT their policy is to provide housing for med students. They even provide housing for rotation students at Stamford Hospital. It's the strong opinion of P&S/Stamford CT that saving money on housing in medical school is a foolish mistake. You've got the loan so go ahead and spend on the things that will ease your achieving a diploma.
Although my apartment was comfortable enough to study etc: the commute to Fairfield and other areas is a dredge. You have to really need to save money.

 

[berzel]

I was checking housing for the med school I'm currently accepted at, and prices for housing near the med school/hospital are astronomical. However, I am able to find housing about ~45 minutes away that is much more affordable. Will this add unnecessary difficulty to the already difficult med student life? I'm trying my best to only spend on what is necessary.

yes. yes. As someone who did a 45 minute drive for nearly 10 years of my life for high school, then university, then grad school + work, the mental toll that it takes on you is just as terrible as the physical toll. If you have no other option and will be seriously putting yourself in 100k+ more debt for it, then maybe it's worth it. But from experience, I can say that the times it's ACTUALLY 45 minutes are 20% of the time and the rest is going to look more like 1 - 1.5 hours each way at least. This may vary if you're living in a place with 0 traffic, but based on you saying that there's such a difference in price, I'm assuming you're living near a city or more heavily populated/traffic area. I can't emphasize enough how much of an exhaustion it is. It's not just the drive, it's the prep pre- and post- drive that you have to make and plan for. When you get home, you'll be drained and need another hour to mentally ready yourself for the work you still need to do. You'll need to wake up earlier to account for traffic. Just don't if you can avoid it...

 

[oldman]

I was checking housing for the med school I'm currently accepted at, and prices for housing near the med school/hospital are astronomical. However, I am able to find housing about ~45 minutes away that is much more affordable. Will this add unnecessary difficulty to the already difficult med student life? I'm trying my best to only spend on what is necessary.

During the 1st 2 years of med school I found housing at a medical fraternity that was very inexpensive. See if your medical school has fraternities (these were all co-ed fraternities). After that I moved further away from campus as I had to drive all over for different rotations anyway(I moved back home with parents).

 

[hokuMD15]

I was checking housing for the med school I'm currently accepted at, and prices for housing near the med school/hospital are astronomical. However, I am able to find housing about ~45 minutes away that is much more affordable. Will this add unnecessary difficulty to the already difficult med student life? I'm trying my best to only spend on what is necessary.

This will be me for med school, and I will tell you why. I am attending my in-state med school, and I will be living with my dad. With no traffic, I can get to school 25-30 min; with traffic, about 40; and with BAD traffic, up to an hour or even more. The thing is, I have been doing this commute for a while (high school and grad school), so I am fairly used to it. Also, the med school I am attending is in a pretty gentrified area with rent being fairly high, even with roommates (an MS3 is currently trying to get someone to take over his room in a shared apt, which he pays $1800/month). Additionally, my state just has a very high cost of living. I am more than happy to make that commute given these circumstances. Additionally, since I have been doing it for so long, I have used the commute to listen to podcasts or to relax. At the end of the day, it's knowing yourself and knowing what you can put up with.