How Much Did You Spend

[rmcray08]

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I find it interesting that there's no published source of data for how much applicants spend in total on applying and interviewing for residency. Obviously this varies tremendously across applicants and across specialities, but I'd love to know the range. I know we don't all keep line-by-line expense logs, but do your best to ballpark. If you're willing to play nice, just use the format here (I'll insert my own numbers):

Interviews: 8
Total Cost: $1,500

I was lucky. Wanted to stay fairly local and had a good number of regional options and friends and family to stay with.

 

[ksmi117]

Interviews: 16
Total Cost: $2,500

 

[j4pac]

Interviews: 10
Total cost: over $6000

Food, lodging, dry cleaning, and travel included. That is what happens when you live in the boonies and your interviews are in random areas of the country.

 

[BoardingDoc]

Interviews: 10
Total cost: ~$500

I interviewed mostly within my region and most of that cost is gas money. Only stayed at a hotel once and that was a HoJo to keep it cheap.

 

[WinslowPringle]

Interviews: 14
Total cost: ~2600


11 different states, all over the country: 3 flights and >5K miles driving.

ETA: I actually did keep expense logs. Here's how it broke down:
Gas - 626.02
Hotels - 432.62
Flights - 1180
Car rental - 158.21
Food - 56.60
Other (parking, turnpikes, etc.) - 16.27
Interview shirt: 20
Plus probably some incidentals that I missed, so rounded to 2600. Does not include price of thank you notes and stamps...

 

[dabeags]

Interviews: 13
Total Cost: ~3000

Flew to five of them, stayed in hotels for 10 of the 13. Would have been more but used frequent flyer miles on some hotels and flights.

 

[BrooklynBulls]

Interviews: 30 (advanced specialties in ACGME as a DO...a costly proposition in time and money)
Total Cost: ~7,000, application included.

 

[Postictal Raiden]

Interviews: 30 (advanced specialties in ACGME as a DO...a costly proposition in time and money)
Total Cost: ~7,000, application included.

You attended 30 interviews???

How were you able to take that much time off from rotations?

 

[gutonc]

You attended 30 interviews???

How were you able to take that much time off from rotations?

Rotations? As a 4th year? During interview season? Why would you do that to yourself?

I took half of November, all of December and half of January off as a 4th year. I was doing a "research elective" in December but it mostly consisted of cleaning up my bench in my PhD lab and writing a paper.

 

[BoardingDoc]

Rotations? As a 4th year? During interview season? Why would you do that to yourself?

I took half of November, all of December and half of January off as a 4th year. I was doing a "research elective" in December but it mostly consisted of cleaning up my bench in my PhD lab and writing a paper.

Ditto. I didn't have any rotations from Oct15 - Jan1 and then Jan was an easy rotation that I could blow off as needed. I also didn't take anything after April 15. Hooray for 4th year.

 

[ThoracicGuy]

You attended 30 interviews???

How were you able to take that much time off from rotations?

I did 21 interviews back when I was interviewing for residency. I had December and January off and all but a couple of interviews were in those months. I did decline 4 interviews as they conflicted with other scheduling. I was pretty over the whole process by about #12...

 

[BoardingDoc]

I was pretty over the whole process by about #12...

Yeah, I know that feeling. I did my 10th interview at the end of Dec and then said screw it and canceled all of my Jan interviews.

 

[BrooklynBulls]

You attended 30 interviews???

How were you able to take that much time off from rotations?

I spread it out from Oct-Feb. Tried to do it as evenly as possible, and many were local as I am in NYC and about 15-20 programs were day-trips. It wasn't easy, though. But I felt I had to do it to be safe. Prelim+Rads interviews.

 

[maxxor]

I did 27 interviews for rads+prelim/TY, roughly half and half.

Also, agree with above about scheduling. My interviews stretched from 10/30 to 2/13. I was off Nov, research the rest.

 

[dyeguy21]

Rotations? As a 4th year? During interview season? Why would you do that to yourself?

I took half of November, all of December and half of January off as a 4th year. I was doing a "research elective" in December but it mostly consisted of cleaning up my bench in my PhD lab and writing a paper.

....you bothered to write a paper on a research elective as a 4th year?

 

[gutonc]

....you bothered to write a paper on a research elective as a 4th year?

It was a paper I hadn't finished during my PhD. The work was done. I figured I might as well get credit for it.