Is there any disadvantage to not staying with a student host?

[Anonimus.Maximus]

I've got some hotel points so money isn't too much of an issue, and I'd really like time to not be always "on" before the interview.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[CyrusHabs7695]

No


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[Anonimus.Maximus]

No


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

Cool, just all the talk about needing to show interest makes me feel like literally every interaction with the school is being judged under a microscope.

 

[Mr. Saigon]

Cool, just all the talk about needing to show interest makes me feel like literally every interaction with the school is being judged under a microscope.

If it makes you feel better, I originally planned on staying with a host but ended up cancelling a few days before and stayed with a a friend instead. Was later accepted at the school.

 

[Coltuna]

I hate double negatives. This is N=1, but one of my interviewers actually seemed impressed that I took the time to find a student to stay with vs staying in a hotel.

 

[halamadrid17]

Cool, just all the talk about needing to show interest makes me feel like literally every interaction with the school is being judged under a microscope.

Take a deep breath, my friend

 

[benjamin94559]

No but you can grill your host for what they asked during your interview for some last minute cram prep.

 

[WhiteCoatDreams]

I don't think so. I personally preferred not to stay with a student host; the one school that I did stay with a student host at, she was so busy and barely even talked to me. I also had to sleep on a couch and I'm a light sleeper so it was just uncomfortable and I wasn't well rested for the interview day. I would rather stay in a comfy hotel (many of them provide continental breakfast too) and rest easy.

 

[ekmf27050]

I've got some hotel points so money isn't too much of an issue, and I'd really like time to not be always "on" before the interview.

I'm the same way. I like to have my own space, decompress, and sleep in a big bed the night before interviews

 

[aldol16]

You won't be at a disadvantage admissions-wise. But staying with a student can be very useful because it gives you unfettered access to the student's experience with the school. We are not told by admissions to keep tabs on you or anything - everything we say to you is truthful and we'll be real with you if you're real with us. So it's an opportunity more than anything. You also shouldn't feel like you need to be "on" around us. We plan the activities and we don't go reporting to the administration about who hogged all the pizza the night before interview day. The only case where we would go to admissions is if you were obscenely rude to someone or if you admit to committing a crime.

 

[HomeSkool]

I've got some hotel points so money isn't too much of an issue, and I'd really like time to not be always "on" before the interview.

The one disadvantage is that you won't be able to pick a student's brain about their experience at the school. That said, you don't really need to since 1) their opinion is only one opinion, and 2) you can get lots of people's opinions for free on SDN.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using SDN mobile

 

[aldol16]

The one disadvantage is that you won't be able to pick a student's brain about their experience at the school. That said, you don't really need to since 1) their opinion is only one opinion, and 2) you can get lots of people's opinions for free on SDN.

Outside of the interview, the student host is the person who the interviewee gets to spend the most time with and there is something to be said about personal experiences with a school. You can ask a lot of people about their overall impressions about the school and get a statistically sound impression but if you want to know all the nuances of what makes the school good and bad, one person's extensive experience can be a valuable asset. SDNers are also a biased subset of people so their impressions of the school may not reflect the average experience at all.