Whether or not to commute is a question on many students’ minds as they embark on their dental school journey. For a sizable portion of the student body, the question does not disappear after D1 – roommate situations change for many, new opportunities present themselves, and many consider what it may be like to live in a different area. I am here to tell you, briefly, why I believe that commuting has been the right choice for me.
I did not grow up in New York City, but moved here a few years after college. Commuting is something that quickly became very normal, as during my first two years living in the city I spent 5 hours each day commuting by train to a job in New Haven, CT. While this situation was far from ideal, I did not have many options at the time – as a young father trying to apply to dental school, I needed the job and it was an excellent opportunity. My wife was about to finish graduate school in the city and having two places just did not make sense. So, I commuted and used those hours to prepare my dental school application and study for the DAT. Compared to that situation, no other commute seemed daunting.
When I was accepted to NYU, I did explore living options near school. Some apartments were amazing, some were too small, but ultimately, my son was going to start Pre-K and Kindergarten and we really wanted to make sure that he was in an adequate school district, as in New York City, it is zone-based. Enter: the Upper West Side. Living in the Upper West Side has been amazing. The sidewalks are less crowded and wider, there are plenty of dining and entertainment options, most school districts are great, Central Park and Riverside Park are just blocks away, and I have made many friends in the neighborhood. However, the commute is something that continues. There are several inconveniences to commuting, which have somewhat changed over my time in dental school.
During the first two years, it was waking up extra early to make it in time to 8am classes or 7am ICP presentations (I have since become accustomed to it). I was late on a few occasions and had to adjust for the unexpected and uncontrollable events, such as someone getting sick on the subway, or service running with delays. Even though my commute was about 40 minutes long, I gave myself an hour. I found that I actually arrived on campus earlier than my peers who lived two or three blocks away. Another inconvenience was that during any extended breaks between classes and labs, going back home was seldom practical. Additionally, during the pandemic (particularly as we resumed on-campus classes) the idea of taking the subway became very unattractive.
Then, there are all those minutes spent on the subway – what to do with all that time? Personally, I reclaimed that time and learned to allocate it as needed – reviewing flashcards, listening to podcasts, formulating mnemonics, or just zoning out and staring at a random advertisement for way longer than it is reasonable to do so.
I do not think commuting is for everyone. However, for me it is what made the most sense and I have made the most of it. Speaking from personal experience, commuting is definitely doable. If you are new to the city, I think living close to school would make the most sense; but if you have family in the city or a different reason to live in a different neighborhood, different borough, or different state (NJ/CT), give it a chance. You may find that it is during those minutes on the subway that you can best make some time for yourself.
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