Driving distance to nursing program

ms_sgr, BSN, NP · May 5, 2012

I am considering applying at a school an hour away. Just wondering, how long is your commute to your nursing program going to be?The weather in my small city is kind of unpredictable. So I am kind of nervous about it. I live in Tennessee. Do you think that's to far?

My commute was 1.5 hours. I did it for 2 years.

i♥words · May 5, 2012

Mine is roughly 40 minutes depending on traffic and weather. I'm doing a 4 year BSN program (one year down after next week!). I think you can handle it. I've become a fan of radio talk shows and books on CD. :) And an iPod is a must.

I actually like the drive because it gives me time to calm down before I get to school and calm down/relax/process before I get home.

NICUmiiki, DNP, NP · May 5, 2012

Mine is about 20 minutes now that I have my own apartment. For the years I lived with my mom, it was about an hour.

caliotter3 · May 5, 2012

My commute was also an hour and a half, but I used to drive above the speed limit and often would get there faster. It is doable as long as you can keep your car in good shape. Car in the shop, miss school. Miss school in some instances, run into big problems. A friend that was planning on attending the same program had the idea to get an apartment next to the school and we were going to share it, but she moved away. On many occasions though, before a clinical day, I would rent a motel room. Always good to have enough money to go that route if necessary.

cubanrob · May 5, 2012

For the ABSN program I will attend in the fall, my commute will be about 2 hours round trip. It inludes a combo of driving and train. I figured I can add about 1.5 hours of study time to my day by taking the train and not driving the whole trip.

mzrainydayz, BSN, RN · May 5, 2012

I am currently waiting on an acceptance/denial letter. The out of county school is a hour away for me, but if I drive above the speed limit (a little) I could get there in 45 min. The school that I did my prereqs at (I didn't get accepted there) was my first choice, it would only take me 20-30 min to get to school. If I do get accepted at the out of county school I would be happy, I don't mind the drive because classes are only two days Mon, and Tues. I have a older car so last month I ended up getting like 1300 dollars worth of repairs. Make sure your car is in good working order so you don't end up on the side of the road. I am currently working and saving up money for gas, it cost me about 15 dollars minimum round trip a day.

jm08168 · May 5, 2012

I have about 20-25 minute drive depending on traffic, add on 10 minutes to find the street only parking and I'll be leaving about 35 mins early for classes

Everline · May 5, 2012

If I were to stay where I currently live, it is less than ten minutes away. However, we are planning to move, so at that point it will be about a 25 minute drive.

Ldial1 · May 5, 2012

My drive will be about 40-50 minutes when I start in September.

CrufflerJJ, BSN, RN, EMT-P · May 5, 2012

I commuted about 75 minutes each way during my ABSN program. Leave early, give yourself extra time "just in case." I think I was only late to clinicals one time. That was caused by a huge pileup on the final stretch of road to the hospital, and also delayed half a dozen other students.

summer1044 · May 5, 2012

My drive to school was an hour long. It's not the best-case scenario or anything, but you'd be surprised at how quickly you'll get used to it.

Do you have anyone in your area & in your class that you can carpool with? I had two people to carpool with my first year, and one my second year. It was nice to have someone to review with on the drive down before a test, and to blow off steam with after a long day.

If not, another suggestion of mine would be to record lectures and use your commute time to listen to the recordings.

Weather in washington here is also pretty tricky, and I was very nervous about snow days in particular. It did snow several times, and I had to miss a day or two of class - but friends helped me w/ their notes/recordings, and for the most part the school shut down for snow.

As I'd said above, it's not great (esp if you're not used to longer commutes) but it is VERY doable- don't let the hour drive deter you from the program.