How did you pay for interviews?

[trex92499]

I was just wondering how any of you who interviewed for residency paid for your travel costs....I'm interested in a competitive residency with not a whole lot of programs out there and thus would find myself flying all over the country, which is obviously going to cost $$$, not to mention hotel, rental car, etc..

I've checked with my schools fin. aid office and they said that they will not be giving out any money for that, and my only credit card has a max of 2500, so I'm out of luck there.....

I'd like to interview at as many programs as possible to find the right fit for me, which will probably mean between 10-15 programs with each trip costing probably 500-750 (estimated)

Any advice or real life experiences with this?

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[Scrubbs]

Have you looked into the MEDEX loan? It offers upto $10K for 4th year students to fund residency interviews and relocation. Interests rate aren't as good as other MedLoans, but when you need the cash, you can't really complain! Easy to apply for too - you can do it all online!

Medex Loan

 

[Winged Scapula]

Yep most people I know either took out a Medex loan or got additional financial help from family/spouse, etc. Some programs will pay for your hotel accomodations, food while there - although there are still flight costs to consider, etc.

 

[DR]

...or if you went to my school, you went to the bank of Mom and Dad...that's what most of the people did in my class. Me? I just added to the endless debt I am already in. Plus I didn't apply to some places because I simply couldn't add more expense.

 

[anonymousEM]

I have some friends who got GREAT deals on hotels using priceline and hotwire...much better than the specials that the programs offered. Tougher to do with flights since you usually can't be flexible about times so much since you're on a schedule.

Several of my friends applying for many specialties managed to schedule all of their Chicago and Philly interviews at the same times...so the ones in Peds and FP etc who were getting free hotels shared with 3 other people and then they shared other costs.

 

[path1]

I paid for mine via loans and family funding. While we're on the subject of interview financing I'd like to ask a general question. I have a family member who recently graduated from law school, and like medical residencies, also had to fly around the u.s. to look at job opportunities. My question is this:

1. Why is it in medicine you basically are on your own for residency financing (flights, hotels, meals, car etc.) vs. law "residencies" where they pay COMPLETELY for your flight, meals, hotels etc.

2. Why in a supposedly altruistic field are the workers treated like garbage and subject to financial ruin vs. a non-noble field where they are treated and set up like financial gods. Is it just me or shouldn't the roles be reversed?

After my interviews and going through the process and being matched, i wonder if the M.D.'s of yesteryear are partly to blame, there are no doctor "unions" and therefore are splintered into multiple differing voices. If doctors united and stood up to large corporations and insurance companies i'm sure there would be a strong change in events.

 

[DrQuinn]

When you will be looking for a job at the end of your residency, you will be treated the same as your law school friend... the practices/hospitals/etc will be paying for you and your spouse to fly out, rent a car, dinner, hotel... etc...

Supposedly pretty nice! I can't wait... only three more years!

Q

 

[fourthyear]

Try to take a month off during interview season (if your school gives you any vacation months 4th year), so you can better geographically group interviews and avoid multiple flights to the same place. Also, drive to as many as possible to save costs.

I agree with using priceline and hotwire for hotels - I found priceline to have much better deals than hotels.com - use hotels.com to research hotel prices, then offer 1/2 that to priceline, and you'll often get it!

The MEDEX loan is easy to get approved for - contact salliemae.com or your own lender to find out how. You can get up to $10,000 either all at once or disbursed at your choice - and it comes as a check to YOU, not to your school.

Keep in mind, though, you might want to save some of this extra loan money for moving to your new residency - another trip to shop for a place, plus all that new-apartment/new-home expense! Will it ever end?

 

[Andrew_Doan]

Originally posted by trex92499
I was just wondering how any of you who interviewed for residency paid for your travel costs....I'm interested in a competitive residency with not a whole lot of programs out there and thus would find myself flying all over the country, which is obviously going to cost $$$, not to mention hotel, rental car, etc..

I've checked with my schools fin. aid office and they said that they will not be giving out any money for that, and my only credit card has a max of 2500, so I'm out of luck there.....

I'd like to interview at as many programs as possible to find the right fit for me, which will probably mean between 10-15 programs with each trip costing probably 500-750 (estimated)

Any advice or real life experiences with this?

VISA or get a personal loan from the bank.

 

[Future GI Guy]

For those of you who REALLY want to save money, use priceline.

But when I say use priceline, I mean, go there 2ND. There's another website you need to use first:

It's called:

http://www.biddingfortravel.com

It's a forum, much like SDN, divided into states and cities. People list their WINNING or LOSING Priceline bids in Hotels, Airfare, and Rental Cars. There's also a priceline Vacation section, and a Hotwire section (if you want to get a feel for what is a 4 star Hotwire Hotel).

You can use this site to get a real good idea the absolute lowest price that priceline will accept.

And it's free.

 

[anonymousEM]

Also remember to save all of your recipts. If you drive, log your milage, write down why you were travelling on your gas recipts, etc. When it comes time to file your income tax, you can at least write off all of your interview travel and home searching. (Up to Dec 31 for this year, Jan on for next).

 

[MBK2003]

Just a quick note regarding the last reply. After accumulating all my interview expense receipts, I checked with my accountant and if one is a student seeking first time employment in a new field, then the expenses associated with interviewing are NOT deductible. These expenses are only deductible if you are already working in that field (for example, the expenses of job interviewing after residency).

Oh, and a recommendation for a hotel if anyone is interviewing at Stanford (I have no affiliation with this hotel, found it through word of mouth). Hotel California in Palo Alto is $88 per night, a block from the California Ave Caltrain station, and a free shuttle ride from the medical center campus, plus the rooms are actually quite comfortable.

MBK2003

 

[Andrew_Doan]

Originally posted by anonymousEM
Also remember to save all of your recipts. If you drive, log your milage, write down why you were travelling on your gas recipts, etc. When it comes time to file your income tax, you can at least write off all of your interview travel and home searching. (Up to Dec 31 for this year, Jan on for next).

Great point. I deducted about $5000 from my tax form.

 

[smackdaddy]

Originally posted by MBK2003
Just a quick note regarding the last reply. After accumulating all my interview expense receipts, I checked with my accountant and if one is a student seeking first time employment in a new field, then the expenses associated with interviewing are NOT deductible. These expenses are only deductible if you are already working in that field (for example, the expenses of job interviewing after residency).

MBK2003

that was my impression as well.
that also assumes you have enough to itemize your deductions.
and income to deduct against.

 

[Andrew_Doan]

Originally posted by MBK2003
Just a quick note regarding the last reply. After accumulating all my interview expense receipts, I checked with my accountant and if one is a student seeking first time employment in a new field, then the expenses associated with interviewing are NOT deductible. These expenses are only deductible if you are already working in that field (for example, the expenses of job interviewing after residency).

Oh, and a recommendation for a hotel if anyone is interviewing at Stanford (I have no affiliation with this hotel, found it through word of mouth). Hotel California in Palo Alto is $88 per night, a block from the California Ave Caltrain station, and a free shuttle ride from the medical center campus, plus the rooms are actually quite comfortable.

MBK2003

Good point. I forgot that detail. I was working as a graduate MD-PhD student and had a income. So I deducted.

 

[Samir Desai]

Some great advice to cut down on the interview costs has already been given. I'd like to offer you a few other thoughts:

1) Stay with family and friends (and friends of friends), if at all possible
2) Contact the alumni office at your medical school. Many schools have a list of alumni, living all across the country, who would be willing to host students
3) Drive to interviews whenever you can. A related concept-some students I've known set up a base of operations for a few weeks in one city, and drive or take the train to all nearby interviews-such as staying in a dorm in Chicago and interviewing at all of the Midwest programs.
4) Some students also room with others they meet on the interview trail, or with friends of friends they meet on the interview trail.
5) Check with hospital or med school to find out if it has inexpensive housing available to applicants.
6) Buy your plane tickets well in advance and if possible, spend a Saturday night in the city in which you are interviewing. Quite often, the amount you will save on the ticket will significantly exceed your extra hotel/meal costs. Plus, you will have an opportunity to explore the city.
7) Check with your financial aid office about loans that you can pursue. Here are a couple of links you may find helpful:

http://medome.ucdavis.edu/ome/faid/apply_link3_3.htm

http://www.mcg.edu/students/finaid/resloans.htm

Good luck!

Samir Desai, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Baylor College of Medicine

 

[surg]

Many years ago when I interviewed, I got all my plane tickets through Council Travel (I believe they are now owned by STA travel) which catered to students. They sold me tickets on US Air and America West that allowed me to make circle trips for an average of $100-200/leg (can't remember exactly). A circle trip is one where you leave a city and stop in multiple cities before returning home. For instance you could go Minneapolis-Pittsburgh-Baltimore-Atlanta-St. Louis-Minneapolis. They allowed flights that didn't have Saturday night stayovers and they were changeable right up until the time of flght without penalty, but you did have a reserved seat (these were NOT standby seats, which obviously would have been a bad idea!). You could buy the tickets up to 2 days before your first flight. The only stipulations were 1) you had to be able to prove you were a student (no problem), 2) you were stuck with those airlines (back then this wasn't a problem, although USAir is smaller now so I'm not sure if it's a problem or not), and 3) you had to use Council Travel (who did not have a 24 hour phone line but did have offices in most college towns) if you had a problem. The one odd quirk about the circle trips were that you had to either go clockwise or counterclockwise but once you started in one direction based on your end destination of each leg, and you couldn't backtrack. (e.g. you couldn't go Minneapolis-NYC-St.Louis-Atlanta-Minneapolis) This problem was easily solved by using two different circle trips at any given time, one heading clockwise, the other heading counterclockwise.

As far as hotel rooms: biddingfortravel definitely is a great resource. Also, don't forget to use all your resources. Many of the people on the general surgery trail back then struck up friendships and shared rooms or hosted. I remember AMSA had a book of people willing to host people as well.

One final note that I tell all my students: You spent probably $100,000 getting your medical education, don't wimp out now on the last $5.000 and end up with the wrong job. Beg and borrow whatever you have to so you don't have any regrets about where you matched. Stay at a decent hotel the night before your interview that is walking distance or take a cab. Don't screw up an interview to save $25.

Good luck!

 

[Brewster]

Originally posted by flindophile
I suspect this is an artifact of the match system. Somehow, the match system must give an advantage to the interviewers. Otherwise, interviewees could opt only to accept "paid for" interviews as is done in the rest of the world.

Perhaps it is due to the fact that most departments in most hospitals don't have the money to be flying applicants from all over the country to their city and putting them up in hotels. Remember, medicine is not a giant money maker...many hospitals are in financial difficulty. These law firms and businesses, however, have the cash.

In addition, residency programs are interviewing many more applicants for many more positions every year than these other firms are, making it unrealistic for them to pay the travel expenses of all the applicants.

 

[gluteus maximus]

Dont you think the programs can interview almost ten times their quota because they save this money. The fact is not only the programs but the applicants benefit from this arrangement too.
just my 2 cents
gm

 

[anonymousEM]

Reality check flindophile,
You'll be lucky to have even a couple of your interviews paid for. In some specialties you'll have more hotels and nicer meals, but I think I only heard of one place that gave a plane ticket amongst all of my friends' interviews (Certainly none of mine! We were lucky to get a nice lunch!)

 

[Dr. SS]

i was working. saved some cash. drove to every interview i had.. i went to about 15 or so interviews... longest trip was from chicago to NYC 11 hrs... 950 miles....

i got about a G from my old man to...

 

[DocOnDuty]

My plan is the following:

Start with 0% credit card because I have no idea how much fellowship interviews will cost me

At the end of the 12 months whatever balance I haven't paid off convert into line of credit or personal loan versus open another 0% CC and transfer the balance until I can pay it.

I'm almost done with residency and applying for a two year fellowship so hopefully this will keep me from harming my credit too bad by the end of it all.

Any thoughts on this?

 

[Winged Scapula]

My plan is the following:

Start with 0% credit card because I have no idea how much fellowship interviews will cost me

At the end of the 12 months whatever balance I haven't paid off convert into line of credit or personal loan versus open another 0% CC and transfer the balance until I can pay it.

I'm almost done with residency and applying for a two year fellowship so hopefully this will keep me from harming my credit too bad by the end of it all.

Any thoughts on this?

My thoughts are you are replying to a 11 year old thread.

 

[wannabie]

Any thoughts on this?

My thoughts are: consider NOT doing a fellowship because the opportunity costs are insane.

 

[Chicago2012]

How did I pay for my interviews? You're not a cop, right? You know you have to tell me if you're a cop...

 

[operaman]

I know this is a necrobump, but in case it gets searched:

No school will include interview expenses in their COL and adjust your loans accordingly. That said....

You get 7 loan checks total before interview season. Save some. 8-10k is a nice goal, so divide that by 7. Easy.

If you go for a competitive field and have to do 15+ interviews, you'll be glad you have it. If not, you still have it and can put it toward moving expenses, etc. This can help you stick to federal loans which have the many repayment options available.

I do wish schools talked about this more at the beginning.