How much is too much to pay for med school interview travel?

[laughter1234]

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How much are you willing to pay to attend a medical school interview? I have been fortunate enough to already have offers from a couple medical schools. I received an II for another one of my target schools in the Northeast but it is right before Christmas so flights are really expensive. Flight + hotel + taxi would be around $550. Is it worth it?

 

[Lost in Translation]

I have an interview coming up next week and until Monday I wasn't sure if I was going to drive or fly. I wanted to drive because it would have been cheaper, by my parents said that flying would save my body the fatigue. It would have been a 14h drive, which is not too bad in my book but I see where they're coming from so I bought plane tickets. Round trip was around $360, hotel was about $90-100/night, so yea about $560 for the entire trip.

If you found an all-expenses trip for $550 around Xmas time, that's a great deal already.

I'd probably not want to spend much more than that. Thankfully the schools I've heard back from are all within driving distance (I consider that 12h nonstop max).

 

[Lannister]

I don't really think anyone on here can answer this question for you. Everyone's financial situation is different. For some people $550 is a lot of money, for others it's not much. So without being familiar with your financial situation (and your level of interest in this school), we can't tell you whether or not it's worth it.

 

[Satire5Texul]

How much are you willing to pay to attend a medical school interview? I have been fortunate enough to already have offers from a couple medical schools. I received an II for another one of my target schools in the Northeast but it is right before Christmas so flights are really expensive. Flight + hotel + taxi would be around $550. Is it worth it?

Just go for it. That 550 $ could have you diverging down the road via a different path in life. Go if you would go there if accepted (seeing as how you said its one of your target schools). If its just to add to the number of schools you are holding acceptances, then dont do it.
I just urged my friend to go to a flyover state for an interview. He doesnt regret it now, but was dragging his feat. You never know how things shake up.
But if you are holding acceptances and would not let go one of your own for this school, then its a waste of money.

 

[Lost in Translation]

But if you are holding acceptances and would not let go one of your own for this school, then its a waste of money.

This is the most correct way of going about this.

I'm of the camp that believes if you have 0 acceptances, you should do everything within reason to attend every II you're given.

 

[vellez]

I spent like 800 per interview, but I like to be comfortable and sorta made them like a vacation. Until you have an acceptance, it could be potentially foolish not to go.

 

[mehc012]

As long as you'd potentially go to this school over your current offers, spend what it takes.
If there's any possibility of attending at a lower COA than your current offers, ABSOLUTELY spend what it takes...$550 is far less than even a small tuition benefit.

 

[123456123456]

I would be willing to pay anything I could afford if I did not have an acceptance yet. If I had an acceptance but was invited to an interview from a school I liked more than the one I was accepted to, then I would go to it as long as I could afford it even if it was expensive (but in my case it would not be because my top schools are in state so I would just need to pay gas/hotels).

I paid like 440-450 for a plane ticket across the country for my first interview because I did not know if I would get in. There was also the cost of the hotel for 2 nights, food, baggage fees, and a car rental. Luckily my mom helped with food and the rental but if she did not, I would have had to pay it.

So basically, it is worth the expensive cost if it is your top choice out of the acceptances you have. However, if you know you would go to one of the other schools you were accepted at even if accepted to this school, do not bother

 

[futuremdforme]

I only applied across the country from where I was living so basically all of my interviews cost me that much at least. If you don't have an acceptance you prefer, suck it up and pay. You'll kick yourself if you don't get in and are stuck doing this next year.

 

[Krupke]

I had to pay $700 for one interview since it was short notice and not near any real cities...it is the only school I withdrew from post-II because of fit

 

[laughter1234]

Thanks for the input!!

 

[Long Way to Go]

Unless there is some burning need, can you not stay with a student host (saving you the cost of the hotel) and take public transit (eliminating the cost of the taxi)? That would probably save you a decent percentage.

 

[Dr. Death]

500 was my budget for all interviews and I think I was able to stay under it on them. Depends on what airport you live closest to honestly. Stay at the holiday inn express as they usually have breakfast and a shuttle so that will save you some money.

 

[Lost in Translation]

Unless there is some burning need, can you not stay with a student host (saving you the cost of the hotel)

I'm under the impression that not all schools offer this service?

 

[Long Way to Go]

I'm under the impression that not all schools offer this service?

All of the schools that I have interviewed at have offered student hosts as an option, but perhaps there are some who do not.

 

[deleted393595]

Is it worth it?

If costs more than 5 Caniac Combos from Raising Cane's, it's an outrageous cost.

 

[laughter1234]

They do offer student hosts however they will all be home for winter break. I have decided to go, $430 for flight and hotel which is under the $500 budget Dr. Death mentioned. I think that's a good limit/budget to set for future interviews 😀

 

[Doug Underhill]

Depends on how many interviews and acceptances you have. I would pay $1000 for my top choice, but would probably not pay $600 for a school I was not terribly excited about.

 

[mistafab]

Nothing is too much for a school i want to get into.

Disclaimer - I live in a real city with a real airport. No cost could possibly exceed 800 bones.

 

[mehc012]

Nothing is too much for a school i want to get into.

Disclaimer - I live in a real city with a real airport. No cost could possibly exceed 800 bones.

I live in an area with three major airports within 45min (one 3min from my house), and public transit/family/friends around so that I can use any of them at any hour, no problem.
Sometimes you just get unlucky...got an interview on the other side of the country the day after Labor Day, so...>$600 for the flight (and it was Spirit, for crissakes), plus baggage fees (they charge for carryon) and if I'd stayed in a hotel room that day I'd probably have nudged that ceiling.

 

[MyNameWasUsed]

Flights are actually pretty cheap if you book them 1-2 months ahead of time. My west coast to east coast flights (LA to NY/Boston) were $370 round trip and these are across the nation flights so that's as expensive it gets. See if you have friends/family to shelter you that also helps but otherwise hotel/motel can get as low as $30. Car rental is around $40-$60

 

[mehc012]

Flights are actually pretty cheap if you book them 1-2 months ahead of time. My west coast to east coast flights (LA to NY/Boston) were $370 round trip and these are across the nation flights so that's as expensive it gets. See if you have friends/family to shelter you that also helps but otherwise hotel/motel can get as low as $30. Car rental is around $40-$60

a)Across the nation is not always the most expensive. A low-traffic airport can be more. You were flying the major cross country routes...definitely not the most expensive.
b)Med schools don't always give you the luxury of 1-2months notice
c)They also don't let you choose which days of the week your trip falls on, which makes a huge difference in price
d)Anything near a holiday will be more expensive, period.
e)A $400+ trip can in no way be described as 'pretty cheap' anyway. It's still a significant expense even if it's less expensive than it could have been, and may not be worth it.

Yes, I've gotten great deals coast-to-coast...I'm headed from CA→VA for $267 round trip for my next interview. But that's called getting lucky; I'd never go try and tell somebody that just because I've gotten that deal for a cross-country flight, that's as much as they should expect to pay for theirs. You get unlucky as often as you get lucky, and sometimes you find the cheapest option for your interview, even months in advance, is $600+ on a crummy airline (yay Labor Day weekend scheduling!)

 

[MyNameWasUsed]

a)Across the nation is not always the most expensive. A low-traffic airport can be more. You were flying the major cross country routes...definitely not the most expensive.
b)Med schools don't always give you the luxury of 1-2months notice
c)They also don't let you choose which days of the week your trip falls on, which makes a huge difference in price
d)Anything near a holiday will be more expensive, period.
e)A $400+ trip can in no way be described as 'pretty cheap' anyway. It's still a significant expense even if it's less expensive than it could have been, and may not be worth it.

Yes, I've gotten great deals coast-to-coast...I'm headed from CA→VA for $267 round trip for my next interview. But that's called getting lucky; I'd never go try and tell somebody that just because I've gotten that deal for a cross-country flight, that's as much as they should expect to pay for theirs. You get unlucky as often as you get lucky, and sometimes you find the cheapest option for your interview, even months in advance, is $600+ on a crummy airline (yay Labor Day weekend scheduling!)

Hmmm I'm not sure. I come from a pretty small town in the west coast. From my experience and I've been on 5 interviews and scheduled for 5 another, it's not too bad to fly across the nation. I just Expedia everything. My west coast to Chicago roundtrip is less than $300. Even if you expedia flights two weeks in advance it usually gives pretty good deals unless it's a holiday and such of course.

You have a point with schools not giving you 1-2 months in advance. I don't have experience with that so I wouldnt know.

$400 is pretty cheap to travel thousands of miles in less 8 hours. I think we been pretty spoiled with technological advancements.

 

[mehc012]

Hmmm I'm not sure. I come from a pretty small town in the west coast. From my experience and I've been on 5 interviews and scheduled for 5 another, it's not too bad to fly across the nation. I just Expedia everything. My west coast to Chicago roundtrip is less than $300. Even if you expedia flights two weeks in advance it usually gives pretty good deals unless it's a holiday and such of course.

You have a point with schools not giving you 1-2 months in advance. I don't have experience with that so I wouldnt know.

$400 is pretty cheap to travel thousands of miles in less 8 hours. I think we been pretty spoiled with technological advancements.

The bolded, though, doesn't mean that $400 is cheap...it's just a good value.

And again, you don't get to set your schedule...OP's only option is to fly around Christmas, which means an expensive flight. It's right there in the first post. So yes, while you can find cheaper flights not around holidays, that doesn't have any bearing on this particular situation. This isn't "Are all interviews going to be this expensive, how do I save money?"...it's "In this situation, this interview will cost me $550+...is it worth it?"

 

[Entimely]

yes it is worth it. in the grand scheme of things you will not regret spending money on interviews

 

[Spector1]

If its a school you want to go to, then pay the money.

 

[Rowlander]

yes it is worth it. in the grand scheme of things you will not regret spending money on interviews

1+. you will not regret doing it.