Roomate(s) During Didactic Year

[AllisonH]

I'm in my mid-thirties and starting PA school this next year (yay!!).  I've spent the vast majority of my adult life living alone but recently I've been living with my grandmother who has dementia.  I'm debating between saving some money and having a roommate next year or rooming on my own.   In recent years I've appreciated having somebody around the house, but am concerned that rooming with a/an classmate(s) may cause additional stress in an already stressful year.  

I'd love some thoughts and insight from those of you who have already gone through this journey.    

[MT2PA]

Late 20s/early 30s when I went.  I refused to do the roommate route even though it did cost me more. 

I like to study at home and on my own schedule.  I saw my classmates ALL DAY and really enjoyed having my apartment as my safe haven.  I didn't want to see how much other students were or weren't studying or be trapped into studying with someone I didn't mesh with or feeling obligated to be social when I didn't want to.

I had plenty of classmates who LOVED having roommates.  I have others who have horror stories about typical roommate issues that were just compounded because you see each other all the time.  Our city was very craigslist friendly and a few had roommates that weren't in the program - and honestly that might be the best compromise if you're set on saving some money. 

 

[JD2012]

Have heard of two classmates having to move out, one of them even within the first month of PA school, so beware.  These situations though have been the minority compared to the rest of the class with roommates. 

[PACrankset]

I would counter those thoughts above. I’m late twenties, live in a house with one classmate, a Med student and a friend (would have been 2nd classmate but dropped for family reasons). I wouldn’t change it for the world, I like studying in groups though. It is also nice that our house is low stress, some of my other classmates I could see the stress rubbing off.

i guess it differs by individual preferences.

[karebear12892]

This is a very individualized decision and only you can know what is ultimately the best fit for you. I chose not to have a full time roommate while in PA school. I'm a very independent person and as someone else mentioned above, I don't always like feeling obligated to socialize with someone after a long day of studying or rotations. I am very fond of my quiet, alone time.

You might consider renting out your spare room or couch on AirBnB. I actually did this throughout PA school as a way to generate passive income and this covered more than half of my rent most months. The last few months, my rent has actually been 100% covered by AirBnB. So financially, I fared better this way than I would have if I'd had a roommate. 

I agree with the above suggestion to room with someone who is not a classmate. Also, if you have a pet, make sure this will not be an issue with whoever you choose. 

[Victory1322]

19 hours ago, karebear12892 said:

You might consider renting out your spare room or couch on AirBnB. I actually did this throughout PA school as a way to generate passive income and this covered more than half of my rent most months. The last few months, my rent has actually been 100% covered by AirBnB. So financially, I fared better this way than I would have if I'd had a roommate. 

This is a great idea to make some extra cash, something I've done myself, but make sure that whoever you're renting through allows this. Oftentimes a landlord and/or rental company specifically states that you aren't allowed to rent out an extra room for personal income. Again, this varies but there have been cases of people being evicted for renting out a room when not allowed to. If you want to go this route, I'd just ask up front. 

[SeaBird]

I lived alone during didactic year and absolutely believe it was the best option for me based on what I need for the ideal study/living environment. Most people in my class lived with roommates in our class our outsiders, and in general experiences seemed to range from perfectly fine to stressful (but thankfully nothing catastrophic from what I heard). I'm a fairly social person, but I never felt isolated since I could always invite people from class over at my convenience. For clinical year I am living with two of my friends from my program, and now I definitely prefer it over living alone for the camaraderie and shared expenses. 

Also I agree with the above poster on checking in about AirBnB policies with your lease, FYI. This would absolutely not fly in my building

[AspiringPA2015]

It is definitely a gamble having a roommate. It either can be great or very bad. I was in a similar situation as you and chose to go with a roommate and we couldn't be better of friends. It was great to have someone to vent to and study with when we were sick of individual studying. Try to reach out to people in your cohort that share similar hobbies, interests as you.

[AllisonH]

Thanks everyone for sharing your thoughts!

[PASOS]

It is honestly based on luck. Currently, two of my friends are having issue with their third roommate, but she is lazy and doesn't have the greatest personality. But you never exactly know who you are rooming with. I was debating this last year when I got accepted into PA school. I was set on living alone but then I realized that it would be too expensive so I decided to room with someone in my class. I didn't have my own furniture so I had to buy a lot of things but we each bought certain things for the living room/kitchen and it was a lot cheaper than me having to buy everything for myself. I see her everyday, she sits next to me in class and we hang out with our group of classmates when we have free time. I mostly study at school because I get very distracted at home and she studies in her room. My advice is to set things straight in the beginning and be respectful of each other. For example, since my roommate studies in her room most of the time I try not to put the TV too loud, etc if I am at home. The only problem that I had was that she would leave the dishes in the sink for like a week and I would come home late at night after studying and I would be disgusted. Needless to say, we had a talk and problem solved. You don't have to become like best friends with your roommate, and you are not obligated to study with them either. But it is nice to have another person in the house.