If you’re joining the ranks of medical students after pre-med college then there are probably some questions you have about living alone or with a roommate. There are benefits to both, but the main things to consider are money and studying. While it’s always nice to have a place to yourself, having a roommate could drastically improve your quality of living, especially if they are another medical student. Regardless, if you decide to have a roommate remember you’re going to be spending most of your time studying. This means that you need to find someone with a similar lifestyle and someone goal-orientated to boot.
Why Having Roommates during Medical School is Beneficial
Being a medical student often means having the ultimate college life experience. Having a roommate can significantly offset the cost of certain expenses. It’s also a lot cheaper to rent an apartment than living in the dorms. However, it’s still pretty expensive for someone with limited time and resources to work in addition to attending medical school.
You’ll want to make sure that your roommate is reliable and responsible. Another medical student would be the best choice, especially if it’s someone you’re friends with. Your rent will be cut in half and you’ll have a friend in close proximity when you have that rare moment of free time.
Another good reason to have a fellow medical student as a roommate is that they will have a similar schedule, homework, and deadlines as you. You can feed off each other to accomplish more than you ever would alone. Also, it can be nice to have someone else looking at the same material in case you don’t know something or get confused, they might understand something a little better.
Warning about Having Roommates during Medical School
Despite all the benefits listed above about having roommates during medical school, there are also some negatives that may arise. First, if your roommate isn’t a medical student or even a student, you could end up losing a lot of studying time from their distracting hobbies or having their friends over.
Another thing to consider is that if the person is also your friend you will most likely become distracted on a day-to-day basis. You need to thoroughly consider all of the aspects of having roommates during medical school and decide if that will be something to help you on your journey.