Combining interview travel w/out invitation?

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jtown

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has anyone had experience (or thoughts) on calling a school that is in a city you're already traveling to for an interview to see if they'll grant you one around the same time period?

i have an interview at georgetown and it'd be nice not to have to go out to DC again (GW and/or hopkins).... well... it'd be nice to be asked to go out there again, but even nicer if i didnt have to fork over an extra $6-700 in plane tickets
 
Hey,

It can't hurt to send an email to the admissions office about your visit, as long as you live far enough away that travel is obviously expensive. It is not worth calling because they hate phone calls and always ask for something in writing anyway. This worked for me at one school last year.

Good luck :Luck:

Treg
 
jtown said:
has anyone had experience (or thoughts) on calling a school that is in a city you're already traveling to for an interview to see if they'll grant you one around the same time period?

i have an interview at georgetown and it'd be nice not to have to go out to DC again (GW and/or hopkins).... well... it'd be nice to be asked to go out there again, but even nicer if i didnt have to fork over an extra $6-700 in plane tickets

I was thinking the same thing. But it might be a bit presumptious to call them and ask for an interview to accomodate your schedule.

Any thoughts anyone?
 
I did this today and found out I got an interview at SLU!

I printed out a map of the US today and put the schools that I applied to on the map. For some weirdo reason, I applied to a ton of places in the midwest. Now I'm feeling so overwhelmed with the scheduling.
 
wxl31 said:
I did this today and found out I got an interview at SLU!

I printed out a map of the US today and put the schools that I applied to on the map. For some weirdo reason, I applied to a ton of places in the midwest. Now I'm feeling so overwhelmed with the scheduling.

wxl, did you call or email SLU? I've been complete there for a while. Congrats though. I also saw that you got an interview to Drexel recently. Good stuff
👍
 
I was reluctant to do this myself, wondering if it would sound overconfident or arrogant... but I forced myself to write a gentle email to the effect of "As I'm going to be in city X on days a-c, I was wondering if it would be possible to interview at your school during that time. If not, I understand and hope to interview at a later date." (I got the format from a useful thread by Jalby on SDN).
It worked!
 
Uegis said:
wxl, did you call or email SLU? I've been complete there for a while. Congrats though. I also saw that you got an interview to Drexel recently. Good stuff
👍

I emailed them. I couldn't find a number to call. They were really quick and got back to me today after emailing them this morning.

I simply told them that I would be in the area from X to Y date. They only interview on Tuesday.

Thanks for the congrats. I'm happy and super anxious at the same time, simply b/c I'm unable to afford any of these interviews. How many more cover letters am I going to have to write?! Sorry, just had to rant.
 
wxl31 said:
For some weirdo reason, I applied to a ton of places in the midwest.
This is very much like me. :laugh: It's so ironic because I hate cold weather.
 
jtown said:
has anyone had experience (or thoughts) on calling a school that is in a city you're already traveling to for an interview to see if they'll grant you one around the same time period?

i have an interview at georgetown and it'd be nice not to have to go out to DC again (GW and/or hopkins).... well... it'd be nice to be asked to go out there again, but even nicer if i didnt have to fork over an extra $6-700 in plane tickets

I was thinking about that too...I have a Georgetown interview and was hoping to get hopkins around the same time. although I don't live THAT far away, I'd probably still have to fly there. if you do decide to ask, can u let us know how it goes? does anyone know if hopkins is book through mid-october? thanks! 🙂
 
IIRC, the Wash U brochure says that because a personal interview is required, applicants who're going to be in the St. Louis area at a particular time should call the admissions office to find out if they've been granted an interview. So yeah, I think that would be fine.
 
I called GWU and they were rude! (so do not call them for sure). I got an interview at GT and Hopkins , so i wanted to combine those two to GW. I also called UMD and they were super nice, though no interviews are out yet, but If i am granted one the admissions person put a note on my file for the dates I will be in the area.
 
leechy said:
I was reluctant to do this myself, wondering if it would sound overconfident or arrogant... but I forced myself to write a gentle email to the effect of "As I'm going to be in city X on days a-c, I was wondering if it would be possible to interview at your school during that time. If not, I understand and hope to interview at a later date." (I got the format from a useful thread by Jalby on SDN).
It worked!
Ears were burning.
 
sunsweet said:
I was thinking about that too...I have a Georgetown interview and was hoping to get hopkins around the same time. although I don't live THAT far away, I'd probably still have to fly there. if you do decide to ask, can u let us know how it goes? does anyone know if hopkins is book through mid-october? thanks! 🙂

i emailed GW, but i couldn't find any email contact for hopkins... does anyone have one?
 
jtown said:
i emailed GW, but i couldn't find any email contact for hopkins... does anyone have one?

I've tried emailing hopkins on several occasions and its never worked...

you're best off to call
 
Hmmm...good thoughts folks.

I just got an Emory interview today; and I just finished emailing Morehouse to see if they could "link" my Atlanta interviews...I'll let you know how it goes (*crosses fingers for luck*)

dc
 
Has anyone tried this strategy for any of the following:

UPenn
Columbia
Dartmouth
Northwestern

Just wondering. I don't have interviews near ALL those places, but I live far enough away that any one of them would be worth extending a trip...
 
pushkin said:
Has anyone tried this strategy for any of the following:

UPenn
Columbia
Dartmouth
Northwestern

Just wondering. I don't have interviews near ALL those places, but I live far enough away that any one of them would be worth extending a trip...

I don't think its possible to have an interview close to Dartmouth that isn't at Dartmouth
 
wxl31 said:
I emailed them. I couldn't find a number to call. They were really quick and got back to me today after emailing them this morning.

I simply told them that I would be in the area from X to Y date. They only interview on Tuesday.

Is "I'm going to be in the area from about now to May 2005" a valid reason to ask for an interview? :laugh:

Jason
 
Jason110 said:
Is "I'm going to be in the area from about now to May 2005" a valid reason to ask for an interview? :laugh:

Jason

From what I understand, it's acceptable to ask if they will peruse your file as you will be there (assuming as said earlier that it's a distance). They won't offer you the interview if they aren't ready, but if they are willing to invite you, they might extend the offer to meet your convenience. I've heard of this "working" before and people were extended invites to schools in the area to which they were traveling, especially if the admissions office is one of the "nice" ones.
 
DrThom said:
I don't think its possible to have an interview close to Dartmouth that isn't at Dartmouth

A person coming from 2000 miles away or more might not mind driving a few extra hundred miles, staying over a couple nights, and saving on a plane ticket.
 
sunsweet said:
I was thinking about that too...I have a Georgetown interview and was hoping to get hopkins around the same time. although I don't live THAT far away, I'd probably still have to fly there. if you do decide to ask, can u let us know how it goes? does anyone know if hopkins is book through mid-october? thanks! 🙂

i got an email response from GW... (one day turn around; and i even wrote after they were closed for the day)

GW Admissions said:
Dear .....,

Your application is complete and under review. The review process can
take some time.

We will note your visit to the DC area in your application however,
each year, many files are reviewed and placed on hold for re-review at a
later date. We do interview from September through March.

Thank you for your interest in The George Washington University Medical
School.

Sincerely,
GW Med Admissions

i'll call hopkins today too...
 
jtown said:
i got an email response from GW... (one day turn around; and i even wrote after they were closed for the day)



i'll call hopkins today too...

hey jtown,
I was wondering if you ever called hopkins to see if they'll schedule u for an interview and what they said...thanks!
 
any updates on success stories?
 
I'll update you on this, since I have to fly from Germany for my interviews. Aside from the jetlag, the cost and use of vacation time get pretty daunting.
 
Bubchik said:
I called GWU and they were rude! (so do not call them for sure). I got an interview at GT and Hopkins , so i wanted to combine those two to GW. I also called UMD and they were super nice, though no interviews are out yet, but If i am granted one the admissions person put a note on my file for the dates I will be in the area.

I called them to request an interview when I was in town for Georgetown, and they were really polite. They scheduled me for the same time, and made my life much easier. I guess it depends on who answers the phone!
 
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