Mermaid Posted January 3, 2016 Share Posted January 3, 2016 Just curious if anyone chose a program that required them to have a long commute. And if you do/did, what are your thoughts? I currently live in a state with a lot of PA programs and the majority of them are more than an hours drive away. A sweet perk would be living at home to save on expenses, but I also want to be realistic. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SalmoTrutta Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 I will be starting PA school this summer and it is a hour away from my current residence, which is with family. The commute will provide an opportunity to decompress and also listen to audio recordings of certain lectures. I did the same thing while retaking the prerequisite courses at another university last year that is located about a hour in the opposite direction of the PA school I will be attending. If it was closer to two hours away, I would have considered something else though. If it is about 1.5 hrs away, that's your call. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UGoLong Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 Managing expenses are important but so is your time (and sleep). I lived 2 hours away from PA school and moved into an apartment there for my didactic year. For a week of it, I had to commute because my wife was in the hospital. While I was glad to be with her, it pointed out how much better it was to live close to school. I would go back to my apartment if I had 2 or more hours before I needed to be back at school. Using your time wisely -- class, studying, getting some exercise, etc -- is huge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PACdan Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 Living near the school is such a benefit to me. I could wake up and walk to class in 10 minutes. Go home for lunch. If a class gets cancelled or moved around, I could go home for a few hours or run errands. Plus you will have days when your only activity is a test in the morning or a practical exam in the lab. We had a few students that commuted, and if you're driving >1 hour, each way, for a 45 minute test...it sucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mermaid Posted January 4, 2016 Author Share Posted January 4, 2016 Thank you all for sharing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dkac1 Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 I'll be commuting for 2 hours during the first few months and then an hour for the rest of the didactic year when I start in the summer. I've definitely been looking for people who have any advice or are in the same boat as me as well! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocketpropelled Posted January 14, 2016 Share Posted January 14, 2016 My home is a 90 minute drive (each way) from campus. I share a 3BR apartment with two classmates, and go home on weekends (or when I can). I can walk back and forth from campus, get a quick nap when I need to, and get back into action. Does it cost money? Sure, but it's pretty modest compared to springing for a 1BR just for myself. But I need the time for study and sanity more than I need the available cash flow. Taking into account that gas has been >$3/gal for a significant portion of my PA school experience, I may not even be in the hole financially. I spent years commuting the same distance for work. While the "decompression" thing is cool some days, spending 3 hours a day on the road was pretty wasteful for me. I was well-compensated to make that commute, and spending other peoples' money for fuel and driving a company vehicle. Transferring those expenses and liabilities (and opportunity cost in time) to my own pocket makes a big difference. YMMV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamalamXO Posted February 28, 2016 Share Posted February 28, 2016 I commute a little over 30 miles each way. And since my program is in NYC, that 30 miles can take as little as 45 minutes or as long as an hour and 45. The GW bridge is a beast that rises up and roars around 6:45 am. To cut my commute to the shorter end I leave my house by 5:30-5:45am, I get to campus with 2-3 hours of study time before lectures (depending on the day of course). The drive home is usually an hour and change, again depending on when my lectures actually end. Majority of my cohort thinks I'm nuts for driving but moving is out of the question for me. Does commuting take it's toll? Sure! Is it's doable? Absolutely! The drive is my "decompression" time as well. I do not under any circumstance listen to lectures, I blast my music as loud as I can, drink my coffee and try to think about anything BUT the stresses that come with PA school. That way once I get to campus/back home, I am ready to buckle down and study. Like PA school, it's all mind over matter. Remind yourself it's doable. Mange your time appropriately and don't waste energy getting frustrated with traffic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidccs Posted February 29, 2016 Share Posted February 29, 2016 maybe its just me but I have never seen driving as a decompression thing... very stressful. Youll be racking up the miles on your car, cause youll be driving to school 5 days a week, and maybe other times for studying, meetings, extra labs, who knows... Live cheaply while in school and you'll probably end up in the same place financially with a car that doesn't have an extra 50k miles (plus all the maintenance that comes with it), and youll have the added benefit of being able to just pop into school if needed for whatever reason. Its only a year of hardcore didactic, itll fly by. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newton9686 Posted February 29, 2016 Share Posted February 29, 2016 I'm living a little over an hour away now after living 500 ft from campus for the first semester of didactic. Its been a challenge but my grades have actually improved in my second semester. Living an hour away has forced me to be more organized and study every day in a very purposeful manner. I make recordings of the lectures and then listen on the way home. The process of saying the slides out loud and then listening in the car has worked very well for me. And I cannot you how nice is to not have to manage a household like I was before. Best of luck when you start your program. You can do anything you set your mind to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kim235 Posted March 1, 2016 Share Posted March 1, 2016 Anyone have a 30 minute commute? The school I got into is like a 30-35 minute commute (without traffic) and the lab is 45 minutes away once a week. From what I hear we get Fridays off and one semester we get Tuesdays and Fridays off so I'm debating if it'll be worth it to move. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anewconvert Posted March 1, 2016 Share Posted March 1, 2016 Anyone have a 30 minute commute? The school I got into is like a 30-35 minute commute (without traffic) and the lab is 45 minutes away once a week. From what I hear we get Fridays off and one semester we get Tuesdays and Fridays off so I'm debating if it'll be worth it to move. I have a 45 minute commute. It's not a big deal on day to day lecturing, but really becomes a hassle if you want to study with a group of people. Frequently the group I like to study with will meet back up a couple hours after lecture to study, so my options are to stay on campus and study solo until they get back, or go home and study solo. Driving home and then coming back isn't a functional option. It also has an effect on being able to participate in social gatherings and after school programs/activities. That may seem trivial, but if you plan on working in the area where you are going to school it limits some of your networking potential. That being said: The program you are going to gives you fridays off?!? How? We are here every day and I still feel like there isn't sufficient time to adequately cover the material. I can't imagine reducing that by 20-40% and expecting to get a full education that didn't rely HEAVILY on me teaching myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kim235 Posted March 1, 2016 Share Posted March 1, 2016 Yeah, I'm not sure! Apparently the Fridays are used to go to clinics to do H&P's and for time to do online work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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