Cuzco Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 I got into an in-state program a 25 minute drive from my parents house. Fortunately, tuition and fees for the 24 months will only be about $36,000 altogether (a steal compared to the private programs I got into) My choices are: (1) Pay 500-700 per month for an apt near the school (2) Live with my parents and commute 25 min each way, paying about 80/mo for parking near the school OR parking free if I'm willing to then walk 20 minutes I have no savings and will be taking out loans for every penny of my expenses What would you do? Will I be missing out on a lot if I don't room with classmates? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator LT_Oneal_PAC Posted March 4, 2016 Moderator Share Posted March 4, 2016 Definitely would live at home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MT2PA Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 Good god. This isn't undergrad. The only benefit to living with classmates is to save on rent. You'll spend all day in class and all night studying with these folks, you don't need to sleep in a room next door, too, to make them your PA family. I had to move to a new town and I purposely didn't live with classmates because I knew I would want a space of my own to escape to every day. Save the money and live with your parents - 25 min is not a bad commute - if you can stand it. I, personally, probably wouldn't find the cost saving worth it compared to the stress of living with my parents. $500 for rent isn't terrible if you really feel you want to live near campus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator LT_Oneal_PAC Posted March 5, 2016 Moderator Share Posted March 5, 2016 Rent, food, utilities, cable, Internet, trash, coin laundry/buying washer. A lot more than 500. I would love at home until I met a sugar momma ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiggySRNA Posted March 5, 2016 Share Posted March 5, 2016 What is it like living at home? I wouldn't be able deal with the stresses of PA school in addition to my family's. Shoot...I couldn't handle it during undergrad and had to leave to keep my sanity. I would love at home until I met a sugar momma ;) I might know someone :D lmaoo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lyndhurst Posted March 5, 2016 Share Posted March 5, 2016 MT2PA hit the nail on the head. You won't feel any less connected to your classmates living only 25 mins away. Much as I love my class I see plenty enough of them to not need to live with them...I see more of them than my wife! Saving money is huge you will never regret that. Stay at home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 8, 2016 Share Posted May 8, 2016 I got into an in-state program a 25 minute drive from my parents house. Fortunately, tuition and fees for the 24 months will only be about $36,000 altogether (a steal compared to the private programs I got into) My choices are: (1) Pay 500-700 per month for an apt near the school (2) Live with my parents and commute 25 min each way, paying about 80/mo for parking near the school OR parking free if I'm willing to then walk 20 minutes I have no savings and will be taking out loans for every penny of my expenses What would you do? Will I be missing out on a lot if I don't room with classmates? Live at home. You will thank yourself later. Also, you might be sent on rotations far away and won't have the option to live at home your 2nd year. Forget classmates and roommates. This isn't college. There were several people in my class (including me) who had terrible time living with PA school roommates because everyone reacts differently to stress. You are in PA school to do one thing: become a PA. If you have a good supportive family, living at home should be a no brainer. You will need the support during most stressful times (which is .... all the time). Roommates likely will not offer support to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Labrat2PA Posted May 11, 2016 Share Posted May 11, 2016 I have verbatim the same situation that you have except its going to be a 30 minute commute AND I will be living with my girlfriends family, not my own. Would definitely live at home, I have way to much undergrad debt to think of anything else. I will however have a sweet set up of my own quiet office to study in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katera Posted October 15, 2016 Share Posted October 15, 2016 I got into an in-state program a 25 minute drive from my parents house. Fortunately, tuition and fees for the 24 months will only be about $36,000 altogether (a steal compared to the private programs I got into) My choices are: (1) Pay 500-700 per month for an apt near the school (2) Live with my parents and commute 25 min each way, paying about 80/mo for parking near the school OR parking free if I'm willing to then walk 20 minutes I have no savings and will be taking out loans for every penny of my expenses What would you do? Will I be missing out on a lot if I don't room with classmates? LIVE AT HOME 100% Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chichamorada Posted October 16, 2016 Share Posted October 16, 2016 If you can be assured a quiet place to study, as well as few expectations of your time, then live at home! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mackjacks Posted October 28, 2016 Share Posted October 28, 2016 If your car isn't reliable or you live in a northern state with potential for crazy driving weather or your family can drive you nuts, I would consider living at school for the first year. There is something to be said for being able to walk to class, have the library easily accessible, and having your own quiet space. Lots of people rack up way more than 36,000 debt so if you don't have dependents/a mortgage you can pay it off pretty quickly after school. Keep in mind this is coming from someone who started with 185K debt.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FamousAmos Posted February 2, 2017 Share Posted February 2, 2017 Hello all, I'm looking for some input on a potential(ly long) commute for PA school. I currently live in South Jersey with my parents and was recently accepted to a program in Philadelphia. The drive without traffic is about 25 minutes, at rush hour it can easily go over an hour. I'm wondering if living at home and commuting to school is really worth the money it would save me. The stress of PA school is one thing, but to add an hour commute over a bridge with a questionably reliable car (its over 200K miles), that's a different story. All in all, I expect living at home to save me around $35,000. Any advice is greatly appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmdpac Posted February 2, 2017 Share Posted February 2, 2017 Hello all, I'm looking for some input on a potential(ly long) commute for PA school. I currently live in South Jersey with my parents and was recently accepted to a program in Philadelphia. The drive without traffic is about 25 minutes, at rush hour it can easily go over an hour. I'm wondering if living at home and commuting to school is really worth the money it would save me. The stress of PA school is one thing, but to add an hour commute over a bridge with a questionably reliable car (its over 200K miles), that's a different story. All in all, I expect living at home to save me around $35,000. Any advice is greatly appreciated. It can be done successfully. A buddy of mine lived in Upper Deerfield Township and commuted to Drexel. Some days he drove. Some days he took the bus. (The bus required a drive to the pick up and then a ride in. I don't remember total travel time.) Time on the bus was used for studying. With his commuting schedule he was routinely there earlier than the rest of us. This was in part because he found it easier to drive before traffic hit. It was also due to bus schedules. Regardless, he was able to enjoy some decent, uninterrupted study time before the rest of us would arrive. As an aside if you are concerned about the reliability of your car you should probably look into that sooner rather than later. You will need reliable transportation to get to your rotations sites once clinicals start. Congrats on your acceptance. All the best for your academic success. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FamousAmos Posted February 2, 2017 Share Posted February 2, 2017 It can be done successfully. A buddy of mine lived in Upper Deerfield Township and commuted to Drexel. Some days he drove. Some days he took the bus. (The bus required a drive to the pick up and then a ride in. I don't remember total travel time.) Time on the bus was used for studying. With his commuting schedule he was routinely there earlier than the rest of us. This was in part because he found it easier to drive before traffic hit. It was also due to bus schedules. Regardless, he was able to enjoy some decent, uninterrupted study time before the rest of us would arrive. As an aside if you are concerned about the reliability of your car you should probably look into that sooner rather than later. You will need reliable transportation to get to your rotations sites once clinicals start. Congrats on your acceptance. All the best for your academic success. Thank you! I've been back and forth about whether or not it would be worth it to stay home. My car is a concern but I am currently considering my options about that. I like the appeal of being able to just wake up in the city and have a short walk/subway commute, but then there is the dark cloud that is debt hovering over my head. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PA-C-to-be Posted March 3, 2017 Share Posted March 3, 2017 I haven't started my program yet, so take this with a grain of salt. I've moved back home for a 2-year period before going to PA school and have been dealing with an hour commute each direction for work and have taken some classes during this time at a local university as well. It's a pain at times and definitely doesn't help my aging vehicle but I've saved quite a bit of money and have zero regrets. If you can live civilly with your parents it's really nice to have the support system there at the end of each day (it's helped a ton through the stress of application season) and if you can tolerate the stress of the commute I'd recommend it. Pro-tip if you do decide to live at home: spend the commute listening to lecture recordings, medical videos, or PA podcasts. It's a great use of that time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FamousAmos Posted March 3, 2017 Share Posted March 3, 2017 I haven't started my program yet, so take this with a grain of salt. I've moved back home for a 2-year period before going to PA school and have been dealing with an hour commute each direction for work and have taken some classes during this time at a local university as well. It's a pain at times and definitely doesn't help my aging vehicle but I've saved quite a bit of money and have zero regrets. If you can live civilly with your parents it's really nice to have the support system there at the end of each day (it's helped a ton through the stress of application season) and if you can tolerate the stress of the commute I'd recommend it. Pro-tip if you do decide to live at home: spend the commute listening to lecture recordings, medical videos, or PA podcasts. It's a great use of that time! That's definitely helpful, thank you! You're the second or third person to recommend listening to lectures and audio over the commute and I'm definitely going to try to do that. Only thing is that my car is so old and basic that I don't have bluetooth or an aux cord input, so I'll have to look into another way to do that without draining my phone battery and data. I plan on going early and staying late to avoid traffic during rush hours, so I'm looking forward to being forced into getting into a routine of studying and going to the gym. Thanks again & best of luck in your program coming up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.