I have spent well over $2,000 on applications, flights, bus fares, hotels, and that's just the tip of the iceberg. I still have 4 more interviews to go to and they're all in different corners of the country. Initially, I thought it would be fun to get away from my family and be in a different place for professional school. But now, with the painfully high prices in airfares and hotels, I'm really regretting it. Anyone else going broke even before receiving any acceptances? 🙁 Do you people, who went through this already, have any advice on how to get discounts and good traveling rates? Thanks.
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Anyone else going broke??
Started by keepingthehope
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1. Get on a frequent flyer plan.
2. Ask hotels if your school has negioated special rates
3. share a room
4. share a rental/cab
I spent close to 3k this application cycle and sort of regret attending all those interviews now. I didn't think I was competitive.
Look into programs through each school where you stay the night before your interview with a student host. This saves on hotel costs and you have a first hand source of what the school is like, so you may be able to go into the interview with even more knowledge about that school. Win win.
Have you heard back from any interviews that you may have had already? It would suck more if you have interviews with schools that are not your top choice and you get accepted, depositing your money for those schools, and find out later you got accepted to your top choice school. Look at Touro, they have a deposit of $2000.
Last year I spent around $1K/interview (3 interviews) in addition to applying to various schools. Where I saved money was looking at flying from different airports (I'm within 3 hours of 4 airports), using multiple travel websites, the cheapest one usually being hotwire.com (not a promo, I just had great experiences with them), and not worrying about where I stay. Typically I'd pay <$100/night. Also, telling my wife not to travel with me cut my costs in half 😛. I paid $400 for flight, hotel and car for 3 days, 2 nights in Oklahoma from Seattle, which was fantastic. I just kept telling myself it'd be worth it when I got accepted. That should be enough to keep you going.
I have 47 cents in my B of A checking account as of now. I feel your pain--my god do I feel it. The economy only contributes to this cluster f*** making it one hell of a battle to obtain employment. I was turned down at multiple jobs because of my pharmacy school acceptance--they knew I would be leaving. So I finally had to just remove that from my resume entirely and resort to lying about my future endeavors. Now I'm a hired caregiver and SAT prep course tutor. Job market's a bitch aint it...
I'm now down to $1.37 in my Bank Account, pitiful isn't it?? Gosh, I will probably have to camp out at the school I'm interviewing to save on hotel money *weeps*
Between application fees and all, this year has been very expensive for me.
Now i'm off to buy my microbiology book....120bucks poof
Now i'm off to buy my microbiology book....120bucks poof
I spent around $3,000 interviewing last year (6 interviews in all corners of the nation) but think it was money well spent. All my flights were $300-$400 because pharm schools give you short notice on interview dates and there is only a small regional airport near me. Hotels all ranged between $60-$100 for the most part. My only tips are to use the conventional websites and see what you can get - other than that I just have optimistic words of advice.
Remember how much cheaper it is applying to pharmacy school than some other professional schools and that might cheer you up. Also, to attend a school for 4 years in some city I've never been to I can say it was definitely worth the time flying to all my interview sites to explore the campuses and cities. I did however cut a few interview invitations to try to save money when I knew a school wasn't my top choice and I had been accepted to another school that was higher on my list.
Nonetheless, I encourage you to keep your options open. The interview experience for me was by far the largest part of my decision making and I don't regret spending all that money. In a depressing way, just think how little $3,000 is compared to how much debt you'll take on when you get to pharmacy school (50K, 100K, 150K)
keep your heads up high! enjoy the travel! once you've graduated and are out in the work world you have to take some of your limited number of vacation days to do this type of thing!
Remember how much cheaper it is applying to pharmacy school than some other professional schools and that might cheer you up. Also, to attend a school for 4 years in some city I've never been to I can say it was definitely worth the time flying to all my interview sites to explore the campuses and cities. I did however cut a few interview invitations to try to save money when I knew a school wasn't my top choice and I had been accepted to another school that was higher on my list.
Nonetheless, I encourage you to keep your options open. The interview experience for me was by far the largest part of my decision making and I don't regret spending all that money. In a depressing way, just think how little $3,000 is compared to how much debt you'll take on when you get to pharmacy school (50K, 100K, 150K)
keep your heads up high! enjoy the travel! once you've graduated and are out in the work world you have to take some of your limited number of vacation days to do this type of thing!
I am going broke too (I understand your pain! 😉) especially with out-of-state interviews. The financial inconvenience of an interview though may pay off later if this ends up being the school you go to!
I agree with you Captain. Tuition for pharmacy school is relatively cheaper too than some professional schools (I won't name which ones). It's great you got so many interviews.
I agree with you Captain. Tuition for pharmacy school is relatively cheaper too than some professional schools (I won't name which ones). It's great you got so many interviews.
wow its great to see people are in the same boat as me! (not so great that we are all going broke, though) I have spent a ridiculous amount of money this time because I wanted to make sure I would get accepted this year. I applied last year and didn't even get any interviews. This year I have already had 5 interview invites, and they have ALL been outside of California. Why don't the california schools like me? 
Damn reading this reminds me of Touro and the 2000 deposit...
Just when you think that once your accepted into pharmacy school it gets cheaper, think again! The colleges encourages you to attend national and regional pharmacy meetings which can easily be $600-700 per trip once registration fees, flight, and hotel are calculated. I will have spent close to $1,000 this year just on attending annual and midyear meetings. I'm one of the fortunate ones because I live close enough to Orlando that I could just drive down to attend ASHP's Midyear meeting last December.
Count me also in the economically challenged group! You all have a large debt to look forward to.
Count me also in the economically challenged group! You all have a large debt to look forward to.
Going broke?
I've been broke and I haven't even applied to pharmacy school. 😳
I've been broke and I haven't even applied to pharmacy school. 😳
If you think your poor now, just wait until you get into school. You'll be writing 20k+ checks each semesters...
Where at?
i am getting worse than broke right now, im even eating into my car insurance funds and hv used up all my allowance for this semester!!
geez~! and i cant work off campus so i hv to mange this crap amount they pay per hour,,, i think ill just go for one interview no matter how many i get and call it a day !😀
geez~! and i cant work off campus so i hv to mange this crap amount they pay per hour,,, i think ill just go for one interview no matter how many i get and call it a day !😀
I'm not even to applications yet and I am flat broke!
Try Orbitz
AND
Google Orbitz coupons. My boss got a trip to Hawaii and a SUPER expensive hotel for almost nadda that way...
yup i fly to hawaii from nj for only 350$ through orbitz, im a strong believer in them
i got a letter from 1 school that didn't ask for a deposit, just a letter/email saying "yes thanks"
i was so taken back by this concept that i've re-read this letter about 10x looking for a mention of a "deposit" lol
i was so taken back by this concept that i've re-read this letter about 10x looking for a mention of a "deposit" lol
which school was this??
state school lol
I understand what you guys are going through, I spent 500 on a deposit, another 500 on another deposit. Not to mention taking the pcat, paying pharmcas, traveling for my first interview lol. It is worth it though!
An idea for those that will be interviewing in the next couple years:
My husband and I put all the expenses we can (gas, groceries...) on a travel visa through our bank. We pay it off on time each month, so we don't pay a penny in interest. All those charges add up to many free plane tickets. If you're disciplined to do that, I'd encourage it b/c it works for us. It is scary, though, when you get your end of year statement and see where all your money went.
My husband and I put all the expenses we can (gas, groceries...) on a travel visa through our bank. We pay it off on time each month, so we don't pay a penny in interest. All those charges add up to many free plane tickets. If you're disciplined to do that, I'd encourage it b/c it works for us. It is scary, though, when you get your end of year statement and see where all your money went.
I'm broke, but lets just say i'm a happy broke person 😀. I rather be broke this year, than work for another year to pay for next year's application cycle. 🙂
I'm scared to think about how much I spent this cycle:
~ 800 on pharmcas
~600 supplementals
~ 1600 for PCAT Kaplan
~ 400ish on PCAT
> 500 on the suit
~ 200 for the shoes to go with the suit
~ 1000 to fly out of state to take the PCAT
~400 ish on Toeffl I never ended up using, because the only few schools requiring it, I didn't even fill supps for
~ 600 for flight to interview 1
~ 300 for hotel for interview 1
~ 200 deposit for acceptance one
= 100 for acceptance 2
Had I known I would be accepted to choice 1, I wouldn't have done half the things I have done.
~ 800 on pharmcas
~600 supplementals
~ 1600 for PCAT Kaplan
~ 400ish on PCAT
> 500 on the suit
~ 200 for the shoes to go with the suit
~ 1000 to fly out of state to take the PCAT
~400 ish on Toeffl I never ended up using, because the only few schools requiring it, I didn't even fill supps for
~ 600 for flight to interview 1
~ 300 for hotel for interview 1
~ 200 deposit for acceptance one
= 100 for acceptance 2
Had I known I would be accepted to choice 1, I wouldn't have done half the things I have done.
I think it was well worth it if you got into your #1 choice pharmacy school. I am not really worried about the money I spent on the application cycle, but worried about getting a co-signer for my grad plus loans 🙁. Everyone I know has bad credit except for one Uncle who I am going to beg and plead to be my co-signer lol. If I can't get the loan though I am not totally screwed, I will just have to live at home for another 4 years and commute from Fremont to Vallejo everyday to sav money.
Lesson to be learned:
Don't go crazy applying to a dozen schools. Pick 5, at the most, that you believe will be your best chances. 1600 for Kaplan? 400 for PCAT? $200 shoes? $500 suit?
UNNECESSARY. All of it. Kaplan is worthless. I am no genius by any means. I bought the $50 Kaplan book at the end of the school year last year, read over it during the summer, took the two online practice tests and scored a 69 composite on my first and only try.
I have a pair of nice shoes, Aldo, that cost 80 bucks. It's important to look professional but you don't need insanely expensive suits and shoes. First off, ADCOMs don't give a **** what brand you're wearing. Second, they most likely won't even SEE your shoes.
Be responsible with your money if you have little to no income otherwise you'll spend 5 grand when you really only needed to spend 600.
Don't go crazy applying to a dozen schools. Pick 5, at the most, that you believe will be your best chances. 1600 for Kaplan? 400 for PCAT? $200 shoes? $500 suit?
UNNECESSARY. All of it. Kaplan is worthless. I am no genius by any means. I bought the $50 Kaplan book at the end of the school year last year, read over it during the summer, took the two online practice tests and scored a 69 composite on my first and only try.
I have a pair of nice shoes, Aldo, that cost 80 bucks. It's important to look professional but you don't need insanely expensive suits and shoes. First off, ADCOMs don't give a **** what brand you're wearing. Second, they most likely won't even SEE your shoes.
Be responsible with your money if you have little to no income otherwise you'll spend 5 grand when you really only needed to spend 600.
Do you live in Alaska or something?
wow!! I'd like to add mine up too..but I'm scared it will end up looking like that, so I'll just play the oblivious (but accepted!) applicant.
BTW Congratulations on getting into your top choice!! It was well worth it in the end 🙂
I pretty much completely agree with this. I can't believe how much some people spend on the application process. I think mine was something like:
~ $125 PCAT
~ $10 for a used PCAT review book
$180 pharmcas
$40 non-pharmcas app.
~ $90 supplementals
~ $75 in gas money driving to my interviews
Boom. Done.
~$1000+ deposits make up a big portion of what I have spent so far (including $ spent on previous app cycle). It's well worth it when you get into a school. This application process is no doubt making most of us poor. I always hear people say that they are poor and can't afford to apply for schools. If you know that pharmacy/higher education is what you want to pursue, you'd try your very best to work multiple jobs and save as much $ as possible for the application process. It's been a heartbreaking few years but I know that my ~8000 had its worth.
Right now - it seems like a lot of money - looking back, the cost is negligible.
Just wait until you get to the residency portion - A lot less likely to get in, and more cost when you are even more broke... Stand by - it gets worse.
I don't live in Alaska, I live in CA. 🙄 But that's how much the whole trip cost me - hotel + airfaire + cab fares+ dining out after PCAT.
The reason why I had to get such an expensive suite was because I'm very very skinny and couldn't find anything that fit me at regular department stores, so I had to buy a designer suit so I didn't end up looking like I was wearing a potato bag.
As for the rest, I was only applying to the highest ranked schools, mostly state and those that offered Pharm.D/Ph.D programs, meaning schools that were generally most selective and hardest to get into, not backup schools. So I wasn't sure where I would stand in terms of interveiwing and that's why I spent so much money on pharmcas/supplementals. I wanted to make sure I'd end up going to the best possible school and not sacrifice my future by being financially savvy during this one last year.
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haha yeah i was gonna say can you still go broke when you've been in debt for the last 4 years?!?
GOING broke?
Try been broke for months...
Try been broke for months...
