Don’t Drive By These Four Tips for Commuting to Law School

Don’t Drive By These Four Tips For Commuting to Law School

It is very common for law students to decide that they don’t want to live on campus during school.  Perhaps rent in the city is too expensive, or you live close enough that you just don’t want to move.  Commuting to law school really is an excellent option, and it’s not as annoying or gruesome as you might think!  The cost of gas money probably is cheaper than rent anyway, so don’t feel ashamed if you choose to live at home for a few years.  It really is a great way to save money!

It is just important to remember that commuting to law school will be an adjustment if you have never lived off campus before.  You will no longer be just a few blocks away from your classroom buildings. You’ll need to adjust your timing, planning, scheduling, etc. accordingly.  While it might sound daunting, commuting becomes much smoother once you get used to it after a few weeks.  You just have to adjust!

Don’t Drive By These Four Tips For Commuting to Law School

For those of you who are, or thinking about, commuting to law school, here are four great tips to make the transition easier:

1. Plan your class schedule accordingly.

Those who are commuting to law school should probably approach planning their class schedule a bit differently than those who live on campus.  Remember that you won’t have a dorm room or an apartment to return to during shorter breaks between classes.  Make sure you are thinking about how long your breaks are and what you can be doing during that time.  In all likelihood you don’t want to drive all the way back to your place just to return to school a few hours later. Therefore, maybe a six or seven hour break in between classes every day isn’t the best idea. Unless you are confident you can make worthwhile use of that time, of course.

Now, that isn’t to say you should not take a class you are really excited about just because of the timing.  You can make it work.  But you also need to be conscious of whether or not you’re wasting precious hours of the day.  If you find you do have to spend numerous long days at school, maybe try to work things out so that you only have classes four days a week.  That way you can save driving time and gas money, plus give yourself an extra full day to get things done you couldn’t during the week.

2. Consider carpooling with others commuting to law school.

Unfortunately, one of the trade-offs of commuting to law school is that it requires lots of gas money.  You can help keep the total down by carpooling with friends.  Perhaps you take turns driving each week and then split the gas money.  If you choose to do this, it will need to be with someone who has a comparable schedule.  Carpooling with someone who has all night classes while you have all day classes obviously doesn’t work.  Your schedules don’t have to match exactly, however.  Waiting an hour or two for someone isn’t a big deal if you use that time beneficially.  It is a great way to force yourself to get some reading done!  Carpooling might be easiest during your first year when everyone’s schedules are so similar.  Regardless, keep this option in mind if you are commuting to law school and are worried about driving getting pricey!

3. Always bring change for a parking meter.

Parking around your classroom building, especially in a big city, can be quite unpredictable.  The number one essential for someone commuting to law school is a parking structure permit.  However, that might not always work.  Depending on what time you get there, or if there are special events going on, the parking structure could be full.  It is important to always have a backup plan.  Typically, that will be a parking meter.  You should always keep change in your car just in case you have to park at a meter for a few hours.  Hopefully you won’t have to stay there too long, you can always run out and check the state of the structures in between classes.  But you really don’t want to have to miss class because you can’t find a place to park.

4. Give yourself plenty of extra time for road conditions.

Commuting to law school is probably going to involve driving in rush hour at some point during your three years.  Unless you’re really lucky, it’s unavoidable.  Therefore, prepare yourself for sitting in traffic.  Even during non-rush hour times, you never know when you might run into a problem area on the road.  Construction will become the bane of your existence.  An accident will happen at the worst possible time.  If you live in the north, the weather conditions will make your trip stressful.  These are all things you’ll have to deal with if you are committed to commuting to law school.

Thus, make sure you always give yourself plenty of extra time to get wherever you need to go.  In the mornings, leave with enough time so that you won’t be late even if you run into a problem.  If you have something scheduled after school, make sure to plan extra time in case of delays.  Especially during the winter, professors are generally understanding that commuters might run into some difficulties.  But you don’t want to make a habit of being late.  Even the nicest professor can’t overlook that.  Be prepared for anything on the road. Remember, there’s nothing wrong with being early to class!

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