Budgeting advice for interviews?

[freedoctor17]

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The costs of interviewing are already starting to overwhelm me a bit so was hoping to hear from people on any tips they might have. So far what I've planned out is.

1) Drive anywhere within 5 to 6 hours (that's the farthest I feel comfortable driving, especially since I'll be borrowing my brothers car).

2) Stay with a student host when possible and otherwise air bnb. So far this seems to be going well since all have offered student hosts, just need to make sure I get one.

3)?? Potentially withdraw pre interview at some schools that are too expensive to go to and have low post interview acceptance rates?? (Worried this would lead to some regrets though).

4) For places 7+ hours driving I've scheduled flights at the cheapest I could find which after calculating it out actually comes out similar to what driving costs would be when taking into account gas and tolls.

Despite all this I can already see it's going to be a struggle keeping up even after getting another job. Am I overlooking anything?

 

[Potatoes&Avocados]

If a school can't offer a host, you could reach out to pre-health advisors at your undergrad institution and see whether there are other graduates now attending that med school (or even graduates in other industries living in the same city as the school) who might be willing to let you stay with them!

 

[sinigang14]

The costs of interviewing are already starting to overwhelm me a bit so was hoping to hear from people on any tips they might have. So far what I've planned out is.

1) Drive anywhere within 5 to 6 hours (that's the farthest I feel comfortable driving, especially since I'll be borrowing my brothers car).

2) Stay with a student host when possible and otherwise air bnb. So far this seems to be going well since all have offered student hosts, just need to make sure I get one.

3)?? Potentially withdraw pre interview at some schools that are too expensive to go to and have low post interview acceptance rates?? (Worried this would lead to some regrets though).

4) For places 7+ hours driving I've scheduled flights at the cheapest I could find which after calculating it out actually comes out similar to what driving costs would be when taking into account gas and tolls.

Despite all this I can already see it's going to be a struggle keeping up even after getting another job. Am I overlooking anything?

1) One of the biggest cost is transportation to and from the airport. The best way is to use public transportation to save money but you will spend a lot of time doing this if your hotel is far from the airport.

2) Some schools have special rates that are actually really affordable. I have not payed anything over 96$ for a one night stay with two hotels being as low as 79$.

3) Go Fund Me???

4) Borrow money from relatives and set up a repayment option.

5) Dont withdraw any of your apps, try to find a way to make it to all of your interviews/future interviews. Dont hold yourself back because of cost.

 

[smukke]

Agree with 1.

Didn't do 2 because I'd rather be able to relax the night before/morning of and I know I can't in someone else's house. You may be different.

3)?? Potentially withdraw pre interview at some schools that are too expensive to go to and have low post interview acceptance rates?? (Worried this would lead to some regrets though).

You know what's more expensive than attending an interview? Doing it all over again. I'd plan on attending all interviews until you get an acceptance. You could have saved even more money by not applying to these schools in the first place.

 

[freedoctor17]

Agree with 1.

Didn't do 2 because I'd rather be able to relax the night before/morning of and I know I can't in someone else's house. You may be different.



You know what's more expensive than attending an interview? Doing it all over again. I'd plan on attending all interviews until you get an acceptance. You could have saved even more money by not applying to these schools in the first place.

Yeah that would be a last resort, I plan to go to all of them until I have an acceptance in hand before deciding to withdraw from anywhere.

 

[Lucca]

I’m thinking about withdrawing from about 1/4 of the current IIs I have to save time/energy/money. But actually pulling the trigger on that will be hard lol.

Use an airline card or open one if you don’t already have one. They do rack up.

 

[Medic741]

The costs of interviewing are already starting to overwhelm me a bit so was hoping to hear from people on any tips they might have. So far what I've planned out is.

1) Drive anywhere within 5 to 6 hours (that's the farthest I feel comfortable driving, especially since I'll be borrowing my brothers car).

2) Stay with a student host when possible and otherwise air bnb. So far this seems to be going well since all have offered student hosts, just need to make sure I get one.

3)?? Potentially withdraw pre interview at some schools that are too expensive to go to and have low post interview acceptance rates?? (Worried this would lead to some regrets though).

4) For places 7+ hours driving I've scheduled flights at the cheapest I could find which after calculating it out actually comes out similar to what driving costs would be when taking into account gas and tolls.

Despite all this I can already see it's going to be a struggle keeping up even after getting another job. Am I overlooking anything?

Go to every interview you are offered until you have an acceptance. Period.

This is a good time to spend some $$$. Nice place to sleep before (not someone’s random smelly couch). Ask family if they can help

 

[freedoctor17]

I’m thinking about withdrawing from about 1/4 of the current IIs I have to save time/energy/money. But actually pulling the trigger on that will be hard lol. I’ll need some liquid encouragement.

Use an airline card or open one if you don’t already have one. They do rack up.

Yeah out of the ones I have now I tried thinking of which I'd be ok withdrawing from just to see and I can't bring myself to choose any of them so I don't know. I want to go to all of them in the hopes that one of them makes a really nice offer in terms of cost and that would make up for all the money spent on travel. I'm just gonna have to be very frugal during this interview season.

 

[freedoctor17]

Go to every interview you are offered until you have an acceptance. Period.

This is a good time to spend some $$$. Nice place to sleep before (not someone’s random smelly couch). Ask family if they can help

You think staying with a student host is a bad idea? Should I just air bnb and get a private room instead? Most of my places have options for around ~$40-50 for a private room with good reviews. But that'll add up if I do it for every interview. Luckily one of the schools I have a friend with an apartment there so that one's already taken care of.

I'm very used to sleeping in non ideal conditions by the way (mainly being on the floor with just a pillow and blanket). The important thing for me is to have access to a shower and bathroom in the morning otherwise I wouldn't even mind sleeping in the car for the ones I drive to.

 

[TelemarketingEnigma]

Depending on what cities you are traveling between, consider buses! They can actually be significantly cheaper than driving if you pass through a lot of tolls/have to pay for parking in your destination city. However, you do lose the flexibility/control of driving yourself, and there may not be convenient bus lines between all cities. You can use websites like Rome2Rio or Wanderu (or many other options I'm sure) to compare fares/costs of different transport options.

 

[TelemarketingEnigma]

You think staying with a student host is a bad idea? Should I just air bnb and get a private room instead? Most of my places have options for around ~$40-50 for a private room with good reviews. But that'll add up if I do it for every interview. Luckily one of the schools I have a friend with an apartment there so that one's already taken care of.

I'm very used to sleeping in non ideal conditions by the way (mainly being on the floor with just a pillow and blanket). The important thing for me is to have access to a shower and bathroom in the morning otherwise I wouldn't even mind sleeping in the car for the ones I drive to.

I stayed with student hosts for multiple interviews and had a great experience. If you're used to sleeping in non-ideal situations I think you'll be just fine - I had no issues, slept on perfectly comfy couches/mattresses and plenty of space to get ready in the morning.

 

[freedoctor17]

I stayed with student hosts for multiple interviews and had a great experience. If you're used to sleeping in non-ideal situations I think you'll be just fine - I had no issues, slept on perfectly comfy couches/mattresses and plenty of space to get ready in the morning.

Great glad to hear that! Just curious should I bring anything along with me like a pillow or blanket or do they usually provide everything? I'm perfectly fine with sleeping wherever as long as I have at least a pillow and a shower to use in the morning.

Also I'll check out some buses but most of the ones I've seen so far added like 3 hours to the trip turning a 5 hour drive into an 8+ hour one which I know will wreck me for the day of the interview. I'm trying to keep all my travel time to less than 6 hours at least on the way there.

 

[PreMedMissteps]

3)?? Potentially withdraw pre interview at some schools that are too expensive to go to and have low post interview acceptance rates?? (Worried this would lead to some regrets though).

I wouldn’t withdraw anything unless you have an acceptance in hand.

Do you have any family that can help out? Maybe ask for some money for preBirthday/preChristmas/graduation (or anything else you celebrate)

Also, ask your relatives if they have any friends/family in any of the towns. If so, they might not mind letting you coach surf or spend the night in their guest room for a night.

 

[freedoctor17]

I wouldn’t withdraw anything unless you have an acceptance in hand.

Do you have any family that can help out? Maybe ask for some money for preBirthday/preChristmas/graduation (or anything else you celebrate)

Also, ask your relatives if they have any friends/family in any of the towns. If so, they might not mind letting you coach surf or spend the night in their guest room for a night.

All my relatives are in other countries haha but I think between air bnb and student hosting I'll be fine in terms of having a place to stay. I never realized how cheap air bnb was since I just started using it but I was able to book two nights for cheaper than half the price of a hotel room for one of my interviews 😱

My parents are always willing to help but I help them with managing their accounts and I know it'd be tough (even though they say it won't be) so i definitely don't wanna add that burden onto them if it can be avoided. We'll see how it goes though, I might not get too many more (if any) that require flying out which I guess would also solve my problems😛

 

[TelemarketingEnigma]

Great glad to hear that! Just curious should I bring anything along with me like a pillow or blanket or do they usually provide everything? I'm perfectly fine with sleeping wherever as long as I have at least a pillow and a shower to use in the morning.

Also I'll check out some buses but most of the ones I've seen so far added like 3 hours to the trip turning a 5 hour drive into an 8+ hour one which I know will wreck me for the day of the interview. I'm trying to keep all my travel time to less than 6 hours at least on the way there.

You can probably bring a pillow just to be safe - I think all of my hosts provided me with a pillow and blanket, but if you can fit a pillow in your luggage then it’s probably a good idea to have a backup!

And yeah, buses are great options between certain cities with more direct routes, but an 8 hour one wouldn’t be worth it.

 

[ak-aka-dak]

Book hotels using Priceline or Hotwire if students host aren’t available. There’s a website called betterbidding where you can click on the link to the city you’ll be in and see what other people have successfully gotten hotel rooms for so that you’ll know what to bid on for the star level and area of the city where you need a room. Or if you prefer Hotwire (rooms end up being a few dollars more than bidding on Priceline), you can choose your hotel star level and area of town and select a hotel at a discounted rate. You find out the hotel name after you book, but if you read the betterbidding message boards, you can often figure out which hotel it is based on other people’s posts plus the location and amenities. You can book a 3.5 star hotel like a Marriott for $50-60 per night depending on the city and date.

 

[treesnm3s]

I think you're doing it right, though I'd advise against skipping any interviews until you have at least one acceptance in hand. My experiences with student hosts have been pretty good and have saved me an appreciable amount of money. Hotels are sometimes cheaper than AirBnBs, so make sure to check before you book. I took a Megabus for my first interview since I had the time, which saved some money. I got a travel credit card which has been great. I've recuperated about 10% of my traveling costs using my miles/points already. A lot of them have 0% APR for the first year too.

 

[Mooseforkicks]

Depending on the city, you might also look into hostels. They don’t tend to be available in smaller cities, but in major cities (where other accommodations get really expensive) they can be a good option.

Ex: I found one in Boston about a mile away from the med school for $50.

 

[JugglesMed]

I've stayed in Hilton expresses and comfort inns for all of my Interviews so far. I've spent about $70 per hotel which is fairly cheap. I suggest looking into those hotels as they're very popular. They're cheap and offer free breakfast so you don't have to pay for a meal. Also they offer rewards programs and I've earned a few free gift cards So far 😀