how far do you drive for school

Mtru11 · Jan 12, 2011

I got accepted into a program that was about an hour and 20 minutes away from my house. The commute wasn't terrible, it actually gave me time to relax a bit, but it was the cost of gas and having a vehicle that wasn't always reliable that made me change my mind. Now my school is so close that a vehicles reliability and the cost of gas don't matter because I can walk to class :)

bethieanne · Jan 12, 2011

It takes me about 30 minutes. My advice would be to leave your self a time buffer so that if you leave the house a few minutes late, or there is some unexpected traffic, you won't have to stress as much.

ErinRN2B · Jan 12, 2011

My drive is about 15-20 minutes under ideal conditions, but Indiana just got hit with a big snowstorm and today (on the first day of the new semester!) it took me about 40 minutes to get to school, and even longer to find a parking spot. Good thing I left my house early!

I go to Ivy Tech, which is Indiana's only public community college system. There are many campuses all over the state, but I still know a lot of students who have to drive 45 minutes or more to get to class or clinical every day - and that's in the summer. I can only imagine how bad they've got it right now.

NurseLoveJoy88, ASN, RN · Jan 12, 2011

I live 30-40 minutes away from my school. Sometimes I listen to class lectures while driving.

RLtinker, LPN · Jan 12, 2011

My drive is about 15-20 minutes under ideal conditions, but Indiana just got hit with a big snowstorm and today (on the first day of the new semester!) it took me about 40 minutes to get to school, and even longer to find a parking spot. Good thing I left my house early!
I go to Ivy Tech, which is Indiana's only public community college system. There are many campuses all over the state, but I still know a lot of students who have to drive 45 minutes or more to get to class or clinical every day - and that's in the summer. I can only imagine how bad they've got it right now.

That was not fun at all :crying2: I drove from Avon to Lawrence to get to my 8 am class this morning, left early and still ended up being 20 minutes late for class. Not a good first impression. But at least when I got there he was still going over the syllabus so I didn't miss much.

But with that said the most I have drove is 90 miles round trip which was basiclly driving to Indianapolis then to Green castle and then back to Avon. Its about an hour each trip so a total of 3 hours commute. Just not all at once. The roads you take have a big effect on driving time. For you guys that are not familiar with central Indiana, the distance from Indianapolis to Green castle is twice that of Avon to Indianapolis, the travel time is only the same because the speeds of the roads and time of day. When you drive that much you really don't notice it that much, but it tends to eat up the gas.

pitaya · Jan 12, 2011

I'm thinking about applying for a school that's a little over a hour away from my home. So I'm thinking my total commute would be about 2 and a half hours a day. Do anyone drive far to get to school and how does it effect you?

Wow. I was living with my parents 65 miles away and I decided that was too much for me, so I moved into a cheap apartment 1 mile from campus and the drive is just a few minutes. It was a great decision. If I were you, I would move. You'll be spending so much on gas money that you might as well get a cheap place to live, which would be a lot less stress.

ashleyisawesome, BSN, RN · Jan 12, 2011

it takes me about 45 minutes to get to school, and we go 5 days a week. its actually not as bad as i thought it would be! the only bad thing is on days like today, when we get 4-5 inches of snow and they refuse to close school, i have to leave a lot earlier because i am a wuss in the snow and drive super slow.

otherwise, ive found it pretty beneficial.. it gives me some time to wake up and drink my coffee in the morning, and sometimes i record my lectures and listen to them on the drive home to help them sink in better.. so its not so bad..

also, my school will rent out dorms for 10 bucks a night, so if it snows really bad i can just stay there.. i am just hoping i dont have to do that ever. haha. i like my own bed!

lcr499 · Jan 13, 2011

For 5 months, I commuted an hour and a half (one-way) 4-5 days a week. I'm in a direct-entry/accelerated program and honestly, it was tough. It didn't bother me too much at first, but after a couple months doing it, I felt like I never had any time to myself. With it now being winter and with a crazy clinical schedule for next semester (12:30 to 9:30PM on Thursday nights & then again at 6:30 AM - 3:30 PM Fridays.... I honestly felt like I had to move to keep myself sane and have enough time to prep. I moved in November and was shocked how much it actually helped.

Whatever you end up doing, best of luck!

pitaya · Jan 13, 2011

also, my school will rent out dorms for 10 bucks a night, so if it snows really bad i can just stay there.. i am just hoping i dont have to do that ever. haha. i like my own bed!

What a great idea! All schools should have a similar hotel-like program. :)

bhanson · Jan 13, 2011

I just finished two semesters where my round-trip commute was about 3 hours.

It sucked. It wasn't impossible but to do it every single day took a significant amount of available sleep time away.

I moved into an apartment 1.5 blocks away from my school and now it takes a few minute walk to get there. Since school is my first priority I decided to actually make it my first priority and to suck it up and move. I was "comfortable" in my old house and didn't want to move--plus this new place is a definitely a downgrade in lifestyle, but school trumps all for me.

bhanson · Jan 13, 2011

also, my school will rent out dorms for 10 bucks a night, so if it snows really bad i can just stay there.. i am just hoping i dont have to do that ever. haha. i like my own bed!

At $10/night I would just move into the dorms.

texasmum · Jan 13, 2011

I commute a hour each way. But I do live in a rural area, so not much choice if I want to go to university. However, it's all driving with no traffic (and very little then) until I get almost to school. Makes a big difference!