Best way to save $ during interview season

[ElZorro]

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what are some tips you experienced veterans have to offer? First, what is a reasonable number of interviews (I have heard around 10-15)? I know that this is dependent on your own profile, so maybe you guys could talk us through how many places you decided to interview and why. Also, what do you do to save money? Is it possible/advisable to take a month off and group interviews by geography? Where there tyically places for you to stay at the interview sites?

 

[suckstobeme]

Southwest Ding! saved me a fortune.

Ding!

The number of interviews you go on depends on how competitive your application is and what kind of programs you're looking at, but I would say 10 or 12 is probably reasonable for most people.

Some programs will pay for your hotel room, but most will set you up w/ a discounted rate at a nearby hotel, few don't help you at all. I found a good way to save some money is to schedule an interview for early afternoon and see if you can fly in to and out of the city in the same day, so you dont have to pay for a hotel at all. I went between Chicago and Detroit/St. Louis/Mineapolis really cheap b/c I would get a cheap fair on Ding! and fly in early in the morning, go to the interview around 11, and head back to chicago at 6. No hotel! Also the fares on Ding can be insanely cheap (I got Chicago to Detroit routinely for $24 each way....cheaper than gas!)

Another tip is to go ahead an rent a car when you go to most cities, unless they have great public transportation. You can totally get hosed by relying on cabs. You can get cars for as little as 20-30 bucks, which can often be less than just a one-way trip from the airport to the hospital. Always rent the "economy" car, cause they never have one and they'll just bump you up to the next higher class. I've rented a Chevy Aveo like 9 times, but I've never actually driven one b/c they never have one in their lot.

 

[margaritaboy]

what are some tips you experienced veterans have to offer? First, what is a reasonable number of interviews (I have heard around 10-15)? I know that this is dependent on your own profile, so maybe you guys could talk us through how many places you decided to interview and why. Also, what do you do to save money? Is it possible/advisable to take a month off and group interviews by geography? Where there tyically places for you to stay at the interview sites?

I scheduled my interviews geographically. You can fly to a region and rent a car and drive between interviews, or if the interviews are in your region you can road-trip them without flying at all. I tried to stay with friends or family where it was possible, which saved some $$. Some programs had a discount or some arrangement at local Hotels. I think I went on 12 interviews, and that was probably more than I needed. I was pretty burnt out at the end.

 

[LotaPower]

I would priceline it for hotels. even though programs have discounts, i would get unbeatable deals from priceline.

 

[southerndoc]

Read program websites carefully. Don't apply where you aren't interested.

Of all the complaints I heard from my friends, the one that topped the list was applying and interviewing at programs that they truly didn't have an interest in.

 

[dlung]

I actually blocked-out a two-week block for East Coast interviews after just getting a couple, assuming that I would get several more to fill in that two weeks... worked out pretty well for me... used a handful of one-way Southwest tickets, rental car, and mixture of crashing at friends' places and hotels.

Be sure to check out discount airlines that don't show up on most search engines... ATA, Midwest Airlines, Jetblue, AirTrans, Southwest... I think most of them sell one-way tickets cheaply too.