There are many different living arrangements one can have in graduate school, and I touched upon some of these in my recent post about Columbia. Shortly after, a reader asked me which living option is best. While I can’t claim to state there is one best situation for everyone, I have experienced a bunch of different options, and thought it might be helpful to run through them.
Here’s a list of different places you can live in PT school, with my pro/con list:
- Living with classmates. This was by far the most common choice amongst my classmates, and I even did it during my final semester of classes in PT school. I lived with two of my friends, and we had a great time watching TLC shows, especially “Say Yes to the Dress” because I was planning my wedding.
- PROS: If you’re new to the area, this can give you friends to start out with. You’ll also have people to attend orientation and class with at the beginning. You’ll constantly be surrounded by study buddies and people who are on your schedule and understand the stress you’re experiencing. Also, typically having roommates is cheaper than living alone.
- CONS: You get no break from each other. You’re already in class a lot, and living with classmates on top of that is a LOT. Sometimes you just want to go home at the end of the day and talk about something other than PT. It can also be hard to relax if you see your roommates studying.
- Living with a significant other. I lived with my now-husband during my first year of PT school. We lived in a one-bedroom apartment two blocks away from school, and really enjoyed it. We got to explore the city together and both had very short commutes.
- PROS: There’s not a ton of free time in PT school, so this ensures you’ll get to see each other. Plus, if you’re splitting rent, this can be cheaper than living on your own. I made a lot of friends in PT school, and didn’t feel like I was missing out by not living with classmates in the beginning.
- CONS: Not everyone who is in a relationship is ready or able to move in with their significant other, or in the same location as them during PT school.
- Living alone. After my husband got a new job four hours away, I lived alone during my second year of school.
- PROS: It was nice to have my own space and get to experience living alone for the first time in my life. I enjoyed coming home during lunch to get a break from school.
- CONS: It can get lonely at times, and is typically one of the more expensive options. I was busy most weekends studying, visiting my parents, or visiting my husband, so that helped.
- Living with your family. During two of my clinicals, I lived at home with my parents. I also went home a lot to see them on weekends during school when I wasn’t living there. I’m really close to my parents and brothers (and dog!), so it was great to see so much of them, especially because I don’t live as close anymore.
- PROS: I love living with my parents, and it was great getting to live with them again for the first time since high school. For me, it was free, and it was nice not having to worry so much about meals, groceries, etc. It also gave me a much easier commute to my clinicals, although it was a longer commute on days I had to be at school. Traffic into New York City can be horrendous, and I actually almost missed part of graduation because of this!
- CONS: Obviously a lot of people don’t have this option for many different reasons. Many of my classmates lived at home for all of PT school. It was harder for them to get to campus to study and work on group projects, plus they had longer commutes since they all lived outside of The City, but in many areas, this would likely not be the case.
- Living with other people. Some people already had friends in the area or found roommates elsewhere.
- PROS: Again, having roommates is usually less expensive than living alone. I think those who did this enjoyed getting to hang out with people who weren’t focused on PT school 24/7.
- CONS: Any situation with roommates can get tricky, and living without classmates means not always having someone to study with.
- Living in student housing. Not every DPT program will offer this, but if yours does, it could be worth looking into.
- PROS: This can often be another affordable option. It can be a great way to make friends with others in your program or others in the same university. Often it means you’ll have little to no commute.
- CONS: Not everyone wants to relive the dorm experience. Quality can vary widely, and it can be tough to have such little control on things such as choosing roommates or even your room, compared to renting an apartment.
As you can see, there are several living options when it comes to PT school. Options will vary from person to person and school to school, so take your time and consider your choices. The good news is, you can usually switch year to year or even semester to semester.
Am I missing anything?