flying out to TUCOM

[Bevo]

is it better to fly into San Francisco or Oakland?

will it be a problem trying to fly out of Oakland at 5:40 pm? the day of the interview

same option available going out of San Francisco.

if I leave later I end up arriving back into Dallas at 4 am the next day.

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[ez073323]

If I were in your position, I would fly into Oakland, and since you should be done with your interview day by 2pm, I think you should be able to get from touro to Oakland international for your 540pm flight (assuming you have reliable transportation, etc). If you are willing to fly into Sacramento Interanational, I would be more than happy to save you shuttle fare and drive you to and from the airport/hotel... It would be great to meet another fellow SDNer/Tucom applicant....

Brian Enriquez
[email protected]

 

[Doctor Peloncito]

If you can afford the time, I would suggest staying an extra night and leaving in the morning.

 

[Forensic Chick]

Living in the Bay Area, I would highly recommend flying into Oakland and staying the night in Vallejo. Traffic can be horrific in the AM (and PM for that matter) - and it's not worth being rushed in addition to being nervous! If you can afford (both time and money) to come a day early then leave after the interview, that's what I recommend.

Good luck!!

 

[maysqrd]

I don't think this point can be made enough: OAKLAND, OAKLAND, OAKLAND.

Always avoid San Francisco Airport at all costs when flying into the bay area. A very good friend of mine used to work at SFO and she doesn't even use it as an airport.

 

[DrSmiles]

Either Oakland or Sacramento. Never never never SFO-it is way on the other side of the Bay anyway and is a real pain in the you-know-what to fly into/out of. Sacramento is about 1 hour from Touro and Oakland is about 30 min to 1 hour (all depends on what time of day you come in-lots of traffic around 4:30/5pm-ish). Depending on where you are coming from Southwest airlines always has good deals to Oakland or Sac (check both because sometimes the deal will be better at one or the other).

 

[Nasim288]

Fly into Oakland not SFO (San Francisco) or SMF (Sacramento). The traffic from the city (SF) is way too crazy unless you go across the Golden Gate Bridge which will take you via 101 and right over to Mare Island: where the med school is. The traffic is never bad on 101 in the early afternoon. But, be aware that the traffic from Oakland airport is not the greatest either. You have to go from I880 to I580 to I80 and then it is a straight shot to Vallejo. Sacramento is too far, about 45 miles away and Oakland is about 35. The city is a little farther then both. Now for hotel stay, DO NOT STAY IN VALLEJO. There are only 2 good hotels in Vallejo. The Holiday in across the street from Marine World is cool but is in front of the most dangerous area in Vallejo, the Crest. The second option is the Super 8 which is a high class motel 6. This is not bad but is not the best because a lot of high school kids have parties in those rooms: trust me, I used to do it all the time 10 years ago. If I had to choose, the Holiday in would be best only because it is a straight shot to Mare Island and there is a lot of security. Hope this helps.

 

[Bevo]

thanks. I'll be looking to fly into Oakland then. As for the hotel, I think I'll be going with that hotel that I got in the letter, can't remember the name right now.

Wish I could fly using Southwest. But some bs ammendment keeps me from flying out of Dallas to the west coast unless I do a change over in Salt Lake city, and its like $300 each way to SLC from here.

 

[cocoNUT]

I flew in to OAK, took the Evans shuttle to Vallejo Holiday Inn where the Best Western Shuttle picked me up and took me to the hotel. If you are not planning on renting a car, the Best Western was really convenient b/c the interviewee breakfast is held in their mtg. room. The shuttle will be taking you to campus and back.

Just make sure your flight is not scheduled any earlier than 530pm after the interview. The shuttle leaves Vallejo at 4pm and depending on traffic you may not reach the OAK airport until after 5pm.

As for amenities, the spa was out of commission when I interviewed and there are no convenience stores w/in walking distance. There are soda machines at the hotel. I had a broken nail crisis and thanks to Paul (fellow interviewee) and Brian (no intros needed, everyone knows Brian!), they saved the day and took me to a Safeway to buy a nail cutter! We also had dinner at Chevy's. If you can hook up w/ fellow inteviewees or even fellow SDNers (i.e. Brian ) for dinner, it really helped me to calm my nerves and enjoy the interview experience!

The Touro interview was the best interview experience I had! Extremely nice people (Dr. Haight is the best) and the whole process was very respectful of med school applicants.

I wish you the best of luck and feel free to PM me w/ questions!

 

[Bevo]

the only flight out is at 5:40 pm, if I leave after that I'll be getting in a good 4 hours later around 4:15 am the next day, which is a little late.

I remember reading that the tour ends around 1:30 to 2 pm?

How long would it take me to get back to the hotel, check out and then call for a cab to the airport? That should get me back in time?

and dont most cabs have a flat rate for transportation to the airport, like $30 usually?

 

[Doctor Peloncito]

you should be ok with the flight you have. Just make sure that Dr. Haight knows what time your flight is. (he will usually ask) The shuttle will take you early if you need to. If you rent a car it is possible that you could pack and leave for the airport from the interview.

 

[cocoNUT]

Originally posted by WannabeDO
you should be ok with the flight you have. Just make sure that Dr. Haight knows what time your flight is. (he will usually ask) The shuttle will take you early if you need to. If you rent a car it is possible that you could pack and leave for the airport from the interview.

The Best Western shuttle can probably take you from campus back to Best Western early, but the Evans shuttle which takes you from the Holiday Inn to the Oakland Airport is on its own set schedule. I really doubt it can take you to the airport any earlier. However, I think you should be OK with a 540pm flight. I was lucky b/c I was able to ride to the airport w/ a fellow interviewee who had rented a car and had a flight about the same time as mine. I paid for the gas.

 

[ez073323]

Originally posted by cocoNUT
I flew in to OAK, took the Evans shuttle to Vallejo Holiday Inn where the Best Western Shuttle picked me up and took me to the hotel. If you are not planning on renting a car, the Best Western was really convenient b/c the interviewee breakfast is held in their mtg. room. The shuttle will be taking you to campus and back.

Just make sure your flight is not scheduled any earlier than 530pm after the interview. The shuttle leaves Vallejo at 4pm and depending on traffic you may not reach the OAK airport until after 5pm.

As for amenities, the spa was out of commission when I interviewed and there are no convenience stores w/in walking distance. There are soda machines at the hotel. I had a broken nail crisis and thanks to Paul (fellow interviewee) and Brian (no intros needed, everyone knows Brian!), they saved the day and took me to a Safeway to buy a nail cutter! We also had dinner at Chevy's. If you can hook up w/ fellow inteviewees or even fellow SDNers (i.e. Brian ) for dinner, it really helped me to calm my nerves and enjoy the interview experience!

The Touro interview was the best interview experience I had! Extremely nice people (Dr. Haight is the best) and the whole process was very respectful of med school applicants.

I wish you the best of luck and feel free to PM me w/ questions!

Anyone who is free and in the area tomorrow...

Another night-before-the-interview-stress-relieving dinner has been set up for Monday, March 24th, at 730pm at the Applebee's in Vallejo. With any luck, dinner will be attended by a first year Touro student, a member of Touro 2007, a person that has interviewed at Touro, a person that will be intervieiwng at Touro (me! I wil be wearing a khaki baseball cap with a helicopter on it) and a person that will be applying next year. Please join us if you are interested/available...
I would like to schedule a similar dinner for the night before my interview on March 4th, but only if I am able to locate my fellow interviewees who will benefit from such a dinner...

cocoNUT,
thank you so much for the compliment (that was a compliment, right?) and congratulations on all your accomplishments... Dinner with you and Paul was great, and please email or call me if you are ever this way... Go Guam and the Rainbows!

Brian Enriquez
[email protected]

 

[maysqrd]

First, Congratulations on your TUCOM interview! Second, your interview is on April 1st correct??? That is opening night of the baseball season! Wahh Hoo!! Go A's. Anyway. I will be going to opening night at the Oakland Colisium and will have to drive that direction. I would be coming thru around the same time that you will be getting back to the hotel after the interview. I could pick you up at the hotel and give you a lift. Since the ball park is only a few minutes from the Oakland Airport, I could get you to the airport and you won't need to rely on the shuttle schedule. That way you will be able to make it to the 5:40 flight. PM me if you want to talk more. Again, congrats and if anybody else is going to opening night, let me know and we can hook up in the Westside Club!

Brenda
Class of 2007

 

[maysqrd]

Sorry, hit button twice

 

[Dr Sum Day]

Originally posted by maysqrd
Sorry, hit button twice

Hey there! Have you checked your PM's?

 

[maysqrd]

Not for a while, I will take a look.