Hey, everyone. I understand that the cost of applications and interviews depends on A) the number of programs you apply to and B) the number of interview offers you receive and accept. Nonetheless, I am interested in hearing the amount of money you ended up spending on applications/interviews. I have heard around $5000-$10,000. I can see $5,000, but is $10,000 a gross overestimate? Cost will likely be a prohibitive factor in my case and I want to see if I can get a better understanding of what I should expect to spend.
Average Cost of Applications & Interviews- SF Match & ERAS
- Thread starter djack240
- Start date
I applied to most programs not knowing how much love I would get. That was a big chunk, ~ $2,250 to SFMatch. Another $250 to ERAS, flights $3,000, hotels/local transportation/food about $1,000, gas about $500. I went on 14 ophtho interviews and then just 3 local PGY-1 interviews for a total of $7,000. If I had gone on more ophtho interviews, had flown to more interviews or had not been as frugal while traveling then the total could have easily gone up to $10,000. It's not at all unrealistic. Another factor to consider is where you'll be flying from. If NYC, it could be significantly cheaper than from a smaller city.
It sucks, but look at it as an investment. Spending more now (even by taking out an extra loan) to improve your chances of matching is likely more financially responsible than spending less at the risk of not matching.
It sucks, but look at it as an investment. Spending more now (even by taking out an extra loan) to improve your chances of matching is likely more financially responsible than spending less at the risk of not matching.
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So I did 11 ophtho interviews (1 local), 8 prelims (3 were local)... Applied to A LOT of programs... Didn't stay with anyone except once and I completely regretted that...
I would say I hit just below $10,000. I stopped keeping track I just made sure there was enough in the bank and didn't give it a second thought. Whatever it took to match.
I would say I hit just below $10,000. I stopped keeping track I just made sure there was enough in the bank and didn't give it a second thought. Whatever it took to match.
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13 ophtho plus 6-7 of my wife's program, spent less than $2k plus cost of applying to ~50 programs($800 I think). We drove everywhere though and were located semi-centrally in the east which made driving possible.
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Around $10,000 for me total including flights, hotels, gas, food, rental cars, and sfmatch/eras application fees. Had to fly a lot in order to get from one interview to the next in time, but maximized my cost savings when I could. I even flew to cheaper airports, rented a car, and drove a couple of hours sometimes because that was cheaper than flying in closer. Did one 22-hour driving round trip. Pricelined the cheapest hotels. Stayed with friends three times (every time I could). 13 Ophtho and 4 TY / Prelim years. Applied to about 60 programs.
