fly or drive to interview?

[medhoper]

My interview is a 7 hour drive. I will be staying in a hotel the night before. I enjoy driving but not sure which to do as this is my first far interview. .

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[TheShaker]

A 7 hour drive isn't too terrible as long as you take rest breaks in between. It'll save you a lot of money between flying and cab fare.

 

[WildEMDoc]

I drove I think 8 hours to one of my interviews. Not bad at all. Although I'm from a state where it takes at least 3 hours to get any city of reasonable size, so I'm pretty used to driving

Save money, and enjoy the comfort of having your own vehicle while being there.

 

[EndersRebutal]

7 hours is a very manageable drive. It is also more cost effective even if your car isnt the most gas efficient.

 

[BABSstudent]

My interview is a 7 hour drive. I will be staying in a hotel the night before. I enjoy driving but not sure which to do as this is my first far interview. .

I live six hours from home and make the trip a few times per year by car because it is much cheaper. When I interviewed at my state school, I had to make that six hour drive. I drove because six hours in a car both ways isn't bad and it saved me $50.

 

[yellowfish]

My interview is a 7 hour drive. I will be staying in a hotel the night before. I enjoy driving but not sure which to do as this is my first far interview. .

I would personally fly because driving takes a good deal of energy out of me and I'd want to be as well-rested for the interview as possible. Driving is a viable option, but I'd only do it if it saved a pretty significant chunk of change.

 

[SilverCat]

I've driven to every interview this cycle (one was a 12 hour drive). Flying is expensive, and there's always the chance that planes can be delayed or cancelled. A seven hour drive isn't bad.

 

[ilikevegetables]

Another vote for driving. If you enjoy driving, then it won't be too stressful for you, and can save you tons of money.

 

[medhoper]

Thanks for all the replies.

As far as price I found a flight in an airport that takes an hour to get to with a stop over , thats basically the same price as gas ( both are about $200~)

But i think i find driving relaxing so it may be a better option but still not sure.

 

[La Presse]

What are doing, OP? Driving for 7 hours and then driving back? The choice is obvious. Fly.


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[medhoper]

What are doing, OP? Driving for 7 hours and then driving back? The choice is obvious. Fly.


Sent from my iPad using SDN Mobile app.

yes 7 there and 7 back

 

[saveourpens]

A 7 hour drive? I understand the need to save money but we're talking abou one of the most important interviews of your life. I was pretty beat after a 5 hour drive and could feel it on interview day. I'd fly personally. Edit...$200 for a flight? Book it. Driving for 7 hours is never enjoyable.

 

[penguinism]

Thanks for all the replies.

As far as price I found a flight in an airport that takes an hour to get to with a stop over , thats basically the same price as gas ( both are about $200~)

But i think i find driving relaxing so it may be a better option but still not sure.

Take into consideration the potential for traffic while driving or delays while flying and always give yourself extra time to get where you need to go.

I opted to fly to interviews that were farther away (5+ hr drives), but they were also direct flights. I am not a fan of layovers!

 

[HSUReddie]

I had an interview back home - ~7 hours away as well. I drove. Saved a lot of money. Gave me plenty of time to blast music and sing in the car, as well as good reflection time for what I would potentially be asked. I had lived in the city for a few months previously and spend a lot of time there anyway, but it was nice to have my car so I could go do some hiking and relax after my interview.

 

[yellowfish]

Thanks for all the replies.

As far as price I found a flight in an airport that takes an hour to get to with a stop over , thats basically the same price as gas ( both are about $200~)

But i think i find driving relaxing so it may be a better option but still not sure.

yes 7 there and 7 back

Like I said, in this situation I would without a doubt fly. But if you're confident you'd rather drive, then drive.

 

[Omppu27]

Leave the morning of the day before your interview (7 or 8am), drive, get there late afternoon/evening, go to interview the next day, drive back, get home around midnight. Don't see how this could drain you for your interview... Saves money too.

Drive.

 

[yellowfish]

Leave the morning of the day before your interview (7 or 8am), drive, get there late afternoon/evening, go to interview the next day, drive back, get home around midnight. Don't see how this could drain you for your interview... Saves money too.

Drive.

OP already explicitly stated it will not save money.

 

[Omppu27]

OP already explicitly stated it will not save money.

Fair enough. I still rather have the control of time/less hassle that comes with driving. I have traveled a lot in my life (not saying that you haven't) and it is pretty easy to get screwed over (as mentioned earlier).

However, if one dreads driving, then fly... It's all personal preference. But IMO, if you don't care, then i would drive.

 

[Omppu27]

Then again, if you have lots of interviews and there isn't a big price difference, you could rack up some good FF miles...

 

[yocharlie]

Get a frequent flyer miles card, I got one with chase southwest and upon opening you get 50,000 points when you spend $2000 within 3 months (with med applications and all that stuff that goes a long with it, it should be easy). Thats $800 in flights for ya! I'm racking up points right now for interviews this coming round....tempted to just use those points for a nice vacation....

 

[drscholls]

Are people seriously that tired from sitting and driving for few hours? Listen to some good tunes and stop for food and coffee a few times.

Driving lets you pack however you want and gives you the freedom to go where/when you want without a cab and gives you a better ability to explore the area. Plus you can get to your interview extremely early if you are nervous and be in some semblance of comfort.

Also, if you move 7 hours away from home, I would guess that you will be unlikely to spend $400 to go home for a weekend so it will be good to get a feel for that trip.

 

[502623]

This is what I've always wondered. If a person gets let's say 15 interviews in a cycle, and they're spread out all over the country...how on God's green earth do they manage to make it to all of those. This seems like it would be incredibly expensive and time-consuming, especially if one is doing this senior year of college. Can someone explain it to me how it's done? And it's not like you can say "Oh I'll just go to the ones closest to me" because you know you may not get into a single school even if you go to all 15 interviews because of how competitive it is out there, so it is in your best interest to go to every single interview you get!

 

[sunflower18]

What I don't really get is how people on the West Coast are supposed to manage all of their interviews... After my local med school, the closest ones are 12-18 hours away by driving -- and those are just two. I just am not going to do that. It's crazy! I would totally drive if I was on the east coast, but I will literally have to fly to every interview but my state school. There is definitely a regional bias with where med schools are located.

 

[502623]

What I don't really get is how people on the West Coast are supposed to manage all of their interviews... After my local med school, the closest ones are 12-18 hours away by driving -- and those are just two. I just am not going to do that. It's crazy! I would totally drive if I was on the east coast, but I will literally have to fly to every interview but my state school. There is definitely a regional bias with where med schools are located.

I feel for ya!

 

[IniestaDeMiVida]

I drove to all my interviews. On one of the trips I listened to Complications as an audio book, which was a good way to reflect on medicine. Also... I use road trips as an excuse to eat junk snacks! No judgement, it's the little things.

 

[lpp06]

Drive,

You can't ask yourself prep questions and answer them outloud on a plane. Unless of course you like appearing insane.

 

[502623]

Drive,

You can't ask yourself prep questions and answer them outloud on a plane. Unless of course you like appearing insane.

Lawlz.

 

[BuddyTheElf]

I do whatever's cheapest (of course I'm on a pretty tight budget). I drove to an interview that was a 17 hour drive each way, but I stopped at 2 schools for separate interviews.. it was a 2 birds, 1 stone sort of deal. So if driving's cheaper, 7 hours is not bad. Good luck!

 

[yellowfish]

This is what I've always wondered. If a person gets let's say 15 interviews in a cycle, and they're spread out all over the country...how on God's green earth do they manage to make it to all of those. This seems like it would be incredibly expensive and time-consuming, especially if one is doing this senior year of college. Can someone explain it to me how it's done? And it's not like you can say "Oh I'll just go to the ones closest to me" because you know you may not get into a single school even if you go to all 15 interviews because of how competitive it is out there, so it is in your best interest to go to every single interview you get!

Yes to all of those. But it's also very doable. I had to put classes on the backburner to attend 15 interviews (13 of which I flew to) and dig deep in the pockets, but it happened, and with some great luck I still got all A's and had a fun semester!

 

[Narmerguy]

I think the drive back after the interview, stewing over and replaying every answer/expression again and again for 7 hours...it would be brutal. Flights can be quite nice because you're surrounded by a lot of people and can just aimlessly watch and observe to take your mind off things (besides the obvious benefit of simply being finished sooner).

 

[survivordo]

By the time you get to the airport, get through security, wait around, fly, land, and get to the hotel it is going to take you at least 4 (unless flying into and out of very small airports). My vote is for driving that way you can be on your own schedule and not have to panic about delays.

Survivor DO

 

[Lucidity]

I've driven to every interview this cycle (one was a 12 hour drive). Flying is expensive, and there's always the chance that planes can be delayed or cancelled. A seven hour drive isn't bad.

+1 drove to all of mine, 7 hours isn't bad just do that especially if you enjoy it.

 

[Omppu27]

I think the drive back after the interview, stewing over and replaying every answer/expression again and again for 7 hours...it would be brutal. Flights can be quite nice because you're surrounded by a lot of people and can just aimlessly watch and observe to take your mind off things (besides the obvious benefit of simply being finished sooner).

One of my favorite parts of flying... especially through JFK

 

[bambam92]

Rent a private helicopter and land it on the roof of the school. This will surely impress the adcoms and you will undoubtedly be golden!