<p>I was wondering if anyone else will be commuting to grad school. I wasn't lucky enough to get an assistantship this semester and housing is too expensive. My commute will be 45-60 minutes 3 times a week. I might try to car pool when I meet more people in the Fall.
I talked to a few others that commuted to NY, one to Fordham by train, and they said, "you do what you have to do to get by and save money".
Anyone else commuting or doing things to save money?</p>
<p>My son is, saving 10.000 in loans the first year and hopefully will be able to live closer the second year. A few of his friends didn’t care, after 20,000 in loans, some think, what’s some more, but it does add up, you should always be aware of the end numbers.
His commute is about the same, but he was able to get all his classes in the beginning of the week and have 2 days off to work.</p>
<p>I just completed my Masters and commuted about 40 minutes into New York everyday to attend Columbia (5 days a week). However, my commute was by train, which allowed me to do work and reading. It looks like you might be traveling into NY, and I certainly recommend bus/train over car. One, parking will kill you in the city. Two, you will probably start each day with major road rages trying to take on of the handful of bridges/tunnels over. Three, reading during the commute really makes your time more efficient.
Certainly my days were longer, and when I had to stay late for various reasons I would get home very late, but the savings in rent were worth it and then some.</p>
<p>I agree, re the train. My son doesn’t have that option, where he is going is somewhat remote and there isn’t a train. That said, I worked many years at a large hospital that had workers coming 45-60 minutes to work every day (and didn’t want to move closer) and they adjusted. The gas can get expensive, but doesn’t come close to all the bills an apartment would entail or even a dorm. I know someone that got her masters at Fordham and commuted by train 3-4 days a week, she never regretted it.
I’m glad it worked well for you, if you calculated your savings overall, you probably would be very impressed.</p>