Amtrak

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richardlo

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Hi everyone - has anyone taken Amtrak to go to your interviews? I'm planning to take one to Philly in January but am not sure if the travel condition is "pleasant" (in terms of timeliness/ cleanliness). Thank you.

P.S. I hope it's not like some of the greyhounds I have seen.
 
I live and go to school in the North East, and I always use Amtrak to go between school and home except when I'm moving in/out at the beginning/end of the year and have waaaay too much luggage. I've also used Amtrak for all my NYC interviews. I've found it to be far more comfortable and convenient than flying, driving or taking a bus, which is my main reason for using it (no fumbling around with ziploc bags, or searching in vain for a parking spot, or getting cramp in my legs from sitting too long with little legroom, etc.). It's usually a little less expensive than flying, but more expensive than a bus; just make sure to book in advance to get the best deals. In terms of timeliness it's also usually quite good. Hope this helps.
 
Amtrak is great. More resistant to poor weather than buses and a whole lot less stress. You can get up and move when you want to, and more room than a bus. A little more expensive than a bus, but more comfortable and on the right coast you can go just about anywhere you need to.
 
I took Amtrak from DC to Philly on an interview last year, and it was a good experience. It's pretty reliable on the Northeast Corridor, and I think they even have outlets if you want to plug in your laptop or something.
 
Sorry to be the bearer of not-so-great news, but my roommate and I took Amtrak from New Haven to Boston for an interview, and it was miserable. Due to what they called "leaf oil" (the product of the trains crushing leaves on the tracks), the train moved very slowly, and what should have been a 2-hour train ride turned into 4 1/2. We missed the tour of the school and the "getting to know you" session at the beginning, and got there right before everyone left for dinner. (It was nice and clean, though!)

From what I've heard, though, that's not a typical experience... but I had to share. Watch out for leaf oil, kids!
 
Yeah, that's really unfortunate, clover, and I'm sorry you had to go through that; it sounds awful! That said, I can attest to the fact that this sort of delay is quite rare and that the system on the whole works quite well. I've been using Amtrak about 10 times on average each year since freshman year, and I've already used it quite a few times specifically for interviews this semester. In all this time, I've only faced major delays due to weather-related or technical reasons once or twice in my memory. In fact, I've had far more trouble with flights while interviewing - quite a few of them have been cancelled due to winter storms in the North-east, leaving me scrambling to get onto a later flight at the last minute and worried about missing my interview altogether. Really stressful. 🙁

I guess what I'm trying to say is that freak things (like what clover86 described) do occur, but they're not typical by any means.
 
I had a 5 hour trip from DC to NY turn into an 8 hour nightmare due to some downed trains whose passengers we had to "rescue." I was late for NYU's pre-interview dinner and missed all the sushi!

T'was an unmitigated disaster.
 
My trip (also DC to NYC) for a conference was delightful. The train really is quite nice. I don't think that you're going to find a mode of transportation that's completely idiot/weather/leafoil-proof, especially this time of year, but the train is probably less prone to delay than airlines, and you don't have to worry about losing your luggage or your shampoo as a national security threat.
 
MrMunkily said:
I had a 5 hour trip from DC to NY turn into an 8 hour nightmare due to some downed trains whose passengers we had to "rescue." I was late for NYU's pre-interview dinner and missed all the sushi!

T'was an unmitigated disaster.
Click to expand...


But the sushi comes after the interview day....right? Did they switch things around? Mmmmm...sushi!
 
One of my friends is applying to MD only, and he told me of this guy he met at interviews that is currently doing something abroad...and crammed like 7 interviews in a month, going from city to city solely using the Amtrak... Imagine going cross-country on a train for a month of your life!
 
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