Find good places to stay when you interview

[JubJub603]

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Hi all, I know its a bit early for this cycle, but I wanted to share something that helped me out a lot as I went on my interviews this past year. When you're looking for someplace to stay, you might want to give www.airbnb.com a try. During my interview season I found some really good deals on it (for instance, $40/night for a very nice room in a giant house 5 minutes bus-ride away from the Georgetown campus).

For my first two interviews I tried staying with current students but found it really wasn't worth the savings. I didn't like working around another person's schedule or sleeping on couches before I had to interview. I also didn't want to stay at hotels because those expenses can really add up, and sometimes the hotels aren't even close to the school.

Airbnb was a great in between, giving me a better rate than any hotel and allowing me the freedom to use my room however and whenever I wanted. The accommodations were usually nicer (a lot of people simply rent out their entire apt to you) than a basic hotel room, too. The site is acts like a safe craigslist and mediates the transferring funds so that if any problems arise you can get your money back. When I looked for places to stay I just used the map to hone in on the school and then find people who had good reviews.

I hope it doesn't come off like I'm a company rep or anything, and if this thread violates some rules, please feel free to remove it mods. I just wanted to share a really helpful tool that let me find some great places to stay and save a lot of money while on the trail.

Good luck to everyone this cycle!

 

[ashylarry23]

hostel for the win

 

[Tapepsi]

Hmm...while I'll agree that there are downsides to staying with a student, I feel like it was definitely worth it. It saves costs and I got the inside scoop for each school (which you can get during lunch with students but not as in depth).

Also I got some great interview tips about certain faculty if I should happen to have them (and I did in two cases).

 

[MDub1]

Hmm...while I'll agree that there are downsides to staying with a student, I feel like it was definitely worth it. It saves costs and I got the inside scoop for each school (which you can get during lunch with students but not as in depth).

Also I got some great interview tips about certain faculty if I should happen to have them (and I did in two cases).

I agree with this, I really enjoyed staying with students even though it was inconvenient at times. And I felt much more comfortable giving them a call later with questions than the students I barely met on the tour.

 

[BushidoBrown]

I stayed with students for all five of my interviews. For four out of the five times I went out to a bar/restaurant with them and had a blast (the ones I didn't had to study for a test that Friday).

I'd say stay with students every time.

 

[rockyrado]

Hi all, I know its a bit early for this cycle, but I wanted to share something that helped me out a lot as I went on my interviews this past year. When you're looking for someplace to stay, you might want to give www.airbnb.com a try. During my interview season I found some really good deals on it (for instance, $40/night for a very nice room in a giant house 5 minutes bus-ride away from the Georgetown campus).

For my first two interviews I tried staying with current students but found it really wasn't worth the savings. I didn't like working around another person's schedule or sleeping on couches before I had to interview. I also didn't want to stay at hotels because those expenses can really add up, and sometimes the hotels aren't even close to the school.

Airbnb was a great in between, giving me a better rate than any hotel and allowing me the freedom to use my room however and whenever I wanted. The accommodations were usually nicer (a lot of people simply rent out their entire apt to you) than a basic hotel room, too. The site is acts like a safe craigslist and mediates the transferring funds so that if any problems arise you can get your money back. When I looked for places to stay I just used the map to hone in on the school and then find people who had good reviews.

I hope it doesn't come off like I'm a company rep or anything, and if this thread violates some rules, please feel free to remove it mods. I just wanted to share a really helpful tool that let me find some great places to stay and save a lot of money while on the trail.

Good luck to everyone this cycle!

Just wanted to second the airbnb suggestion. At first, it feels a bit like a less sketchy craigslist, but I've used it several times now, and never been anything less than ecstatic about anywhere I've stayed, and they have plenty of cheap options just about anywhere.

 

[NickNaylor]

I stayed with students for all five of my interviews. For four out of the five times I went out to a bar/restaurant with them and had a blast (the ones I didn't had to study for a test that Friday).

I'd say stay with students every time.

This x 1000. I had to pay for a hotel on exactly one of my interviews. At nearly every interview I had the option of either staying with students or staying in the med student dorm in a single room. Unless you have some kind of weird aversion to community housing or staying with students, you really shouldn't need to pay for a hotel room.

Maybe I just lucked out with the schools I picked in that they all offered these kinds of programs.

 

[raltima07]

This x 1000. I had to pay for a hotel on exactly one of my interviews. At nearly every interview I had the option of either staying with students or staying in the med student dorm in a single room. Unless you have some kind of weird aversion to community housing or staying with students, you really shouldn't need to pay for a hotel room.

Maybe I just lucked out with the schools I picked in that they all offered these kinds of programs.

Or maybe they hooked you up cause you're a beast

 

[gettheleadout]

Or maybe they hooked you up cause your a beast

His a beast what?

 

[rhesuspieces]

His a beast what?

 

[JubJub603]

This x 1000. I had to pay for a hotel on exactly one of my interviews. At nearly every interview I had the option of either staying with students or staying in the med student dorm in a single room. Unless you have some kind of weird aversion to community housing or staying with students, you really shouldn't need to pay for a hotel room.

Maybe I just lucked out with the schools I picked in that they all offered these kinds of programs.

None of the interviews I went on provided any sort of dorm housing---I'd never actually heard of that until right now. If that was an option I definitely would have used that instead.

Also, not staying with a student by no means hampered my ability to get an "inside scoop" on any of the schools I visited. At most, rather than stay with a student, I would simply ask if we could get lunch, which everybody was receptive too. I got all the questions I had answered, as well as a contact person to talk with about future questions/concerns. I also didn't feel like I was burdening them.

At all the interviews I went to, I found myself most comfortable if I got into the city two nights before the interview so that I had at least a day to wander around and see where I might be spending the next four years of my life. While a lot of students generously offered housing for a night, I thought it might start to become a burden if you stayed much longer than that.

All depends on your personal style; I wouldn't say its weird to prefer to be on your own schedule, have your own bathroom, etc, while on an important trip. Airbnb just made it way cheaper to do it that way.

 

[Avoidthetiger]

I stayed with students 4 times. 2 out of the 4 times I had my own queen-sized bed. The other two times I slept on the couch... well, one time it was a love seat that I was too big for so my feet dangled over all night (it was also the only school that didn't give me a heads up about who I was staying with - the students arrange it last minute) but i still slept well.

The only time I had to stay at a hotel was for new schools that just didn't have options yet for student hosting.

Another option could be couchsurfing.com