UPenn Year 1 Class Schedule

[Skyler]

Hey everyone,
I was just curious how the course schedule was for you first year students. I am wondering how difficult the commute would be for a student living in NJ to drive over to philly, and how bad the traffic is. Does penn offer different sections of classes that begin later in the morning, say, 10a? Or do the classes tend to begin earlier? I am trying to make it easier for my husband to stay with the job he has while I am in school. Any advice/info would be great, so Thank You!!!
-Skyler

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[traxomatic]

Where in NJ do you live? I commuted the last 1.5 years I went undergrad at Drexel from Mt. Laurel, NJ (only about a 20-30 minute drive when there's *no traffic) but it usually took me about 1-1.5 hours in rush hour. It was hell. If you can take a train, take a train over. Or move to the city. I'm getting my pre-reqs at Drexel now and have moved back to the city. I much prefer a short bike ride than sitting in a car any day. Plus, I'd imagine it'd be hard on you to commute when you start to do more things at New Bolton center, which took me about an hour to get to from Philadelphia when I foal sat there.

 

[CoffeeCrazy]

How long would the drive for you be without traffic? I know a couple people in the first year class are going to be living in Champaign while their husbands are in Chicago... the cities are about a 2 hour drive without traffic. No matter what, the time vet school requires will make it hard on a relationship, so you might want to minimize your own stress during the week and not have a really long commute. Then you can focus on making time for one another on weekends.

For the first year, I think it's easier to live close(r) to the school... I hear you'll spend a lot of outside time in the anatomy lab. But if the train is an option, at least you can study while commuting. And the train is a bit more reliable than traffic during test days.

 

[Skyler]

The train sounds like a good alternative (definately anything to make room for extra study time) Right now I am in Bergen County, but we will probably be moving to the Moorestown area. I may end up just renting an apartment for a while and seeing my husband on weekends. It worked out alright when I was undergrad, and while he was on active duty. Just sucks.

I would rather move into the city but its just not an option at the moment. With the New Bolton Center being so far away I really wanted to be a bit closer. Especially because I am interested in Eq. medicine. Oh Well. Thanks for the advice, I appriciate it. Are you working while you're finishing up your pre-reqs? Good luck on finishing everything up!
-Skyler

 

[traxomatic]

Yeah, I work at Drexel and at a vet in Fairmount. I also volunteer at the Philadelphia Zoo. I'm pretty busy.

--Tracy