How To Utilize My Commute?

[WisPAC]

I would really appreciate some advice on how people take advantage of their commutes! I have found several great podcasts and know that many suggest recording/listening to lectures. Are there any other suggestions, or even any good CDs anyone knows about? (My car has a CD player  )

[UGoLong]

I don't know how far from campus you are but I would recommend moving close if you can.

I lived 2 hours away for PA school and never considered commuting. I had commuted my first year as an undergrad and knew from the first week it was not the same as living near campus.

For PA school, I lived about a mile away and walked to school when the weather permitted. I could go to campus at the drop of a hat to review skeletons, etc, plus it gave me the added benefit of mixing with my fellow students, have study groups, etc. And it was a year in a new town. I did return home for the clinical phase, as well as when my wife was in the hospital and our daughter had her first child (who is now in college himself.)

If you are slated for a long commute, I would recommend that you think it through first.

[68WEMTto65DPAC]

How far is your commute going to be?

[WisPAC]

Thank you for your responses! I'm thinking of going to the school with a ∼40 minute commute. One of my other options that I've been considering is ∼25 minutes away, but is nearly 30k more expensive, is 28 months instead of 24, and has more than double the class size. Plus, with the city traffic downtown, it might end up being a similar amount of time spent commuting anyways. I will be living at home and regardless of which school I choose, I've realized that I'd still leave the house ∼1hr. early (even for the closer one to give myself time with traffic/parking/walking to class. The school that is farther has on-site parking so I wouldn't have to worry about that). My undergrad commute was about 30 minutes, sometimes longer with the downtown traffic, but I didn't mind it! 

Edited March 20 by WisPAC

[68WEMTto65DPAC]

20 minutes ago, WisPAC said:

Thank you for your responses! I'm thinking of going to the school with a ∼40 minute commute. One of my other options that I've been considering is ∼25 minutes away, but is nearly 30k more expensive, is 28 months instead of 24, and has more than double the class size. Plus, with the city traffic downtown, it might end up being a similar amount of time spent commuting anyways. I will be living at home and regardless of which school I choose, I've realized that I'd still leave the house ∼1hr. early (even for the closer one to give myself time with traffic/parking/walking to class. The school that is farther has on-site parking so I wouldn't have to worry about that). My undergrad commute was about 30 minutes, sometimes longer with the downtown traffic, but I didn't mind it! 

I think that’s a reasonable commute. I think you can use it to decompress from school, honestly. Call family/friends, listen to music, errand calls, a fun/entertainment podcast, etc. it’s short enough to where you won’t take significant time away from studies. If it was like a 1.5hrs-2hr commute then definitely finding a podcast about what you’re currently taking in school or listening to lectures would come in handy since you would be taking a good hour or two from studying at home. But under an hour you can just do something else to avoid burnout and maximize other important things.

[SedRate]

There was a review course that I listened to when I commuted to my rotation sites. It was succinct and reviewed PANCE topics. I'll see if I can remember the name. If not, find something like that.