So I'm interviewing Wednesday May 2 (check in 11:15) and there are no student host options. Couple of questions:
Is there any public transport from the airport to the school? How much is a cab ride?
How helpful/important was the student info session on Wednesday night? I am inclined to cut out right after the interview cause I don't want to take more time off work, but I would like to meet students etc also.
Would it be totally stupid to take a red eye the night before to save myself money and time? Does the admissions office have a decently good bathroom I could get ready in?
MY APOLOGIES if these have already been answered, I browsed through some forum pages and didn't find the answers. Thanks!
A cab will be about $20. Probably the most convenient way to get to the school/medical center, but if you're concerned about cost...
For public transportation:
http://www.cdta.org/rider_guide_airport.php Your best bet would be the 737, and then walk from around Henry Johnson/Central or Washington/Lark (it's probably 15 minutes and by May I imagine it will be a beautiful walk through Washington Park, as long as it's not too muggy or anything). You could transfer to the 100 at Livingston/Henry Johnson or the 13 at Washington/Lark, but I bet it's faster just to walk since those bus routes reach the medical center in some non-direct way. (Livingston/Henry Johnson is also in a worse part of town if you want to avoid that)
If you walk down Lark street (between Washington and Madison) you'll get a nice glimpse of the local bar/restaurant scene.
May 2nd is right before an exam for the first years; in fact we don't really have class that day (we have a single hour-long review session in the morning, which I'd guess most people are skipping in favor of studying on their own). The 2nd years will already have ended their academic year, and they're busy holing up and studying for boards. So it's going to be a little difficult to find students to meet. You'll have a couple of students to talk to during the lunch tour. I found the info session to be really useful personally, but it's really only going to be a half an hour to an hour with a couple of first years and then whatever questions the group of interviewees come up with. If you're concerned about flight times/cost/etc, I'm always happy to answer any questions. (I'm one of the people signed up to lead discussion that night anyway, so you'll probably hear the same sort of things whenever you talk to me. Just shoot me a PM)
There are two single/unisex bathrooms in the Admissions lobby. I've definitely seen other interviewees change and touch up in there, I think you'd be fine.
It's a 20-30 minute drive to the airport, so if you catch a red eye, just make sure you have about an hour of travel time budgeted just to make it on time regardless of whether you take a bus or taxi, plus whatever prep time you need.
Good luck!
I loved my day at Albany 
