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will need to commute about an hour if i actually go next yr b/c i can't move right now. thinking if this is a good or bad idea.

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You'll make it work. Don't listen to this peon

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Corsair wrote:

ChrisMike624 wrote:You'll make it work. Don't listen to this peon

Don't make me peon you.

Yeah, everyone should live in a tiny ass dorm room at school, THEY do the best...

Please, I'll enjoy commuting from my beautiful house located within a private golf course community...

ChrisMike624 wrote:

Corsair wrote:

ChrisMike624 wrote:You'll make it work. Don't listen to this peon

Don't make me peon you.

Yeah, everyone should live in a tiny ass dorm room at school, THEY do the best...

Please, I'll enjoy commuting from my beautiful house located within a private golf course community...

Carl? Carl SPACKLER?! Please do your "Cinderella Story" routine!

what if instead of doing that i told you about the time i caddied for the dalai lama?

littleboyblue wrote:will need to commute about an hour if i actually go next yr b/c i can't move right now. thinking if this is a good or bad idea.

There is someone in my section who commutes 3 hours each day (round trip). She's doing fine and staying on top of things.

littleboyblue wrote:will need to commute about an hour if i actually go next yr b/c i can't move right now. thinking if this is a good or bad idea.

It's definitely going to be a liability and not an asset. But, it can be done. This guy claims to have done it, and then some:

http://top-law-schools.com/forums/viewt ... =2&t=36635

There is someone in my section who commutes 3 hours each day (round trip).

That could be me, except I am a he. Worked just fine for me; I finished my first year in the top five percent.

I read Contracts on the bus. During the second semester, I slept on the bus. I recommend the reading over the sleeping, as far as studying is concerned.

I am a 2L and commuting 2 hours each way (4 hours total). It is difficult because I can't take some of the classes that I want, but besides that, it seems to be working okay. I am forced to wake up early to catch the bart/bus, but I can read on the bus. It's not that bad, but we'll see in a month or two though.

I posted this in another thread


I've pretty much decided I'm living within walking distance of my work. Even a short commute is probably something around 6 or 7 hours of time per week (travel distance + getting gas + occasional traffic, etc) and $400/mo (gas, maintenance, wear & tear, depreciation). If I put half that time in the office and the amount of money I'm saving from the commute into it- I'll probably have a nicer apartment/loft/condo/townhouse/whatever with more time and far less stress (ugh, fuck the morning commute). Plus I
can run home and power nap for lunch. Booya!

think of all the stupid stuff you will waste money on to get you some extra time. This, at worst, will cost you $250 more a month if your apartment is really downtown (unless you're in a city like manhattan). Seems like a great way to save 40-45 hours a month- being very conservative (30 min commute, no weekends-5/7 days, no bad traffic or weather days, no parking problems, no getting gas, no dropping the car off for service, etc). In the end it works out to less than $5/hr. Just work an extra 5 hours a month, make up the $250 and have 40 hours to spare. It's like getting a whole week of vacation every month

I commute a little over an hour each way to school by train into Boston. I did it last year as a 1L and I am doing it again this year as a 2L.

There are pro's and cons to this situation...

The Pros

1. It gives me an hour before classes and an hour at the end of the day where I can unwind and get away from Law school. If you are not careful law school can become consuming and might take over your life (sometimes you just need a break)

2. Commuting has allowed me to stay in touch with my non law school friends (again see #1)

3. Because I am taking a train I have time if I want on the train to do some school reading (I prefer not to but I can brush up a bit on the cases, etc...)

4. Commuting gives my day some structure, because I need to plan when I arrive and when I go home I cannot waste time while at school. This gives me the structure I need to get work done in an efficient manner.

The cons

1. Requires a lot of planning. I need to plan my days out for the entire week (because of train schedule) but even if I was driving I would need to plan for traffic and delays in commuting.

2. Availability of after school activities. Because I commute I have discovered that I miss out on a lot of talks, groups, and fun social activities (going to the bar with law school friends to have a drink and watch the sox)

3. Early morning classes. This semester I am taking a Basic Federal Income Tax class at 8:15 am. Because I need to commute I must wake up at 5:30am to get to this class on time. My classmates who live in Boston do not need to wake up until 7am


In summation, I think commuting is a good idea if you can pull it off. It has saved me money, and allowed me to keep in touch with my old friends. THis has provided a needed escape from the all consuming top-law-schools.com.

I hope I helped a bit.

Depending on where you live, it could be a helluva lot cheaper than riding one's go-mobile to class everyday. From personal experience in DC, public transportation runs smoothly enough that a car isn't a necessity. If you can train yourself to wake up early, then the only disadvantages might be problematic evening classes and missing out on beer & pretzels time with fellow students (which might not be a bad thing if they're jerkwads).

I'll have to do this if I can start next year.

having a commute can actually motivate you to get your work down as soon as classes end. my commute isn't an hour, its maybe 40 minutes to get across the city. i am usually at school from 9:30 to around 6pm or so, which isn't too bad, especially since by the time i get home i have no more work to do and can just chill

littleboyblue wrote:will need to commute about an hour if i actually go next yr b/c i can't move right now. thinking if this is a good or bad idea.

It depends on where you live. If you have to drive it may become an issue. When I lived in NYC mass transportation was readily available so I would read on the subway, which was notbad at all. In AZ where I am now, it would be difficult to do much having ttravel so much. thats two lost hours, since mass transportation is not great in AZ

voltron wrote:

littleboyblue wrote:will need to commute about an hour if i actually go next yr b/c i can't move right now. thinking if this is a good or bad idea.

It depends on where you live. If you have to drive it may become an issue. When I lived in NYC mass transportation was readily available so I would read on the subway, which was notbad at all. In AZ where I am now, it would be difficult to do much having ttravel so much. thats two lost hours, since mass transportation is not great in AZ

i would most likely have to drive since i live in a suburb of the city which the schools i am applying to are located.

I'm commuting a little under an hour each way. It sucks WRT planning (when there are club meetings at inopportune times, it throws me for a loop), but it's fine most of the time, provided you can read on the train.

I had a 40 minute or so commute to school last year. I found there were advantages and disadvantages to this setup. In addition to the cost savings, I found that I was induced to focus more on my work because of the effort required to take part in law school events or socializing. I spent most of my first semester holed up reading and briefing cases. If you're primary interest is in doing well, living far from school may actually help you, assuming you don't have other obligations that require you to travel frequently. However, I lived 3 blocks from a metro. I wouldn't have wanted to drive every day.

Currently, I'm living 4 blocks from campus. I chose to do this because I wanted to take part in the law school and University community. There are numerous on-campus events, speakers, lectures etc. that I wanted to be able to attend without the difficulty of a long commute. In addition, New Haven housing is cheap so I was able to get an affordable studio very close to campus. At GMU, the law school was at a satellite campus, and thus there was no community. It was just a building, so I felt little reason to be close.