To think I can drive 4 hours per day, 4 times a week as a newly qualified driver?

I commuted about 90 minutes each way my early 20s and I was knackered.
It was crappy northern trains and they were often late, freezing and full. No chance I could work, I often slept.

Your issue is you need to be home really for a few pointless awake hours. You’ll be going to bed soon after you come in anyway. That’s your real issue.

I don’t think being a new driver is the issue, but even for an experienced driver that is a lot of driving. I think you’re underestimating how exhausting driving can be

it should be fine but it might be costly. Is there a uni closer to your home? If not then practice the drive. Would you have somewhere for a 20min nap in the day? Perhaps in a library or on a friends sofa?

That sounds utterly exhausting on top of a stressful uni course. I would see if you can stay nearby once or twice a week, then it might be doable. I know you say you're needed at home and I don't know what for obviously but in all likelihood you'll be studying or asleep! Good luck

Bus, tube, train, bus?! No way!

Honestly can you rethink the whole thing? I would not personally do the journey that many days, driving or public transport, with the study commitments and placements.

When you are costing it against the train, you also need to factor in the depreciation on your car that sticking so many miles on it will have (and the wear and tear on replacement parts).

I commuted an hour and a half by train when I did a post-grad. I got a lot of work done on the train.

I did similar for years. pretty much from passing my test.
my suggestions is to make a mental note of where supermarkets are for wee stops! use waze to avoid annoying traffic hot spots and pick some decent pod casts or radio to listen to.

winters hardest, and summer feels a breeze in comparison

“the journey would take me 3.5 hours each way, so I’d have to leave my house at about 5:45am and would get home at about 7:30. Do people think this is more sustainable than driving? The obvious benefit would be having lots of time to get work done and being able to relax more once home, but I’m just worried about the public transport commute as it involves a bus, a tube, a train and then another bus.”

That’s a huge amount of standing around with laptop, diary, paperwork etc. on cold, rainy platforms and in bus stations, especially in winter. I sympathise as someone who didn’t learn to drive until age 32. I’d be worried about falling asleep at the wheel on such long drives, though, depending on your degree subject.

Can you drive to a train/tube station that makes it more reasonable journey?
what's the parking situation when you get there? Is it in ULEZ charging zone?

OP a train journey is just as exhausting as driving. I do two hours door to door to London three days a week and I am knackered! What keeps me going is a massive salary and a house in the country to go back to.

Can you not find a similar course close to home? Do not underestimate what this commute will do. You will be too tired to do anything in the evening.

Maybe look at spare room. There are people that rent a room in their house Mon-Thurs/Fri. This would work!

Op says she has reasons for not being able to move. I’m sure she considered it.

7 hours commuting every day involving eight journey segments seems like a recipe for disaster.
I'd stick with your original plan of driving, maybe do one cheap hotel night every week/fortnight to break up the monotony.
£1000 each month for public transport is daylight robbery, I'd expect a chauffeur for that 😁

There’s no reason why anybody couldn’t do that much driving but it would be expensive and tiring! Why not move closer to the university?

@Psych101B

Which university will you be attending, OP?

This. How far is the journey, in real miles (not hours!)? 80-90 miles? I've commuted 65 miles each way, and as others have said, even for an experienced driver, I wouldn't recommend it. It's knackering at the end of a long day, and will almost certainly take longer than you think. The fuel cost would be a lot less than £1000 pcm, though.

I wouldn’t but it’s your choice and you’ve had loads of good advice on the driving element from PPs.

My advice is to download a pdf reader app and do all your uni “reading” by listening to them via the reader in the car. Otherwise that 4+ hours a day is dead time which you can’t afford as a degree student.

Can you drive part of it? I don't know the details of your journey, but for example drive to the first tube station? Or is that so short it doesn't make any difference?
I appreciate you said this isn't going to be easy, but I do still think lodging or sharing an Airbnb is going to be the least tiring option.

Woah I just did the maths.

28800 miles a year!

In doubt they would even insure you for that OP.

Your going to need brand new car to do that and it’s only going to last 3 or so years if a petrol before entering dodgy period.

@Psych101B

Does the University offer places in halls for post-graduates?

That would surely be the better option.

If it’s for a doctorate, how much of your time at uni will actually be contact time?

It doesn’t sound like you’ve got much choice about doing it but four days sounds mental. Can you arrange longer days, but less? If you could get it to three days one week and two the next that would be more reasonable, and do the train for one day on the longer week, and stop over one night a month, that kind of thing.

there is generally a lot more flexibility with your level of studies than an undergrad degree!

As others have said, 28,000 miles is going to be pretty expensive on insurance. One way of keeping the cost of insurance down is to have an annual limit, and that's going to put it way up. You can't just do the mileage, you have to tell the insurance company you will be doing that mileage.

You are obviously somewhere near London as you mention the tube.

I think you need to try to the drive at the time you will be doing it. The traffic can be pretty awful and there isn't much reverse flow traffic around (ie people commute out and in and around London).

I've done regular car commuting and it is totally tedious even for a drive of around an hour. I think two hours is each way is a lot but the train doesn't sound much better. Regular cheap accommodation to minimise the travelling sounds better.

If it’s for a PGCE then you’re shooting yourself in the foot before you’ve even started.

Can you look for b&b’s or hotels that offer decent rate for block weekly bookings? Without knowing your car and its MPG I imagine that costs could be getting for £700 a month and then factor in your car breaking down or delays you can’t control.

It would build your confidence driving but I really wouldn’t do it and I usually drive 25k+ miles a year

Ive just done some rough maths and come out at a conservative 3k in petrol alone for 40weeks of driving. It might be worth checking you expected mileable per day and the cost per mile and working out the cost over the year.

I agree with PP that a train would be better. you can make better use of your time. its safer, potentially faster (when accounting for rush hour traffic) and probably cheaper. 1000 on a season ticket sounds like a lot but only because you are paying at all at once. once you acount for petrol, insurance (as a new driver with no 'no claims' bonus, potential car upkeep, tax, mot, repairs etc, you are probabaly much better off with the season pass.

It’s not necessarily you it’s other people. Drive on the motorway for a few hours and you’re likely to see someone doing a dangerous manoeuvre.

So four hours driving a day and you’re going to be lucky to go a week or two without a near collision. Even if your a good driver there’s plenty of awful drivers out there.

Personally would say it’s too much as a regular commute.