Is this a valid reason to try to reschedule an interview?

[Wayfinder]

Hi, so I am in a little bit of a tight situation and would like you guys' opinion.
I just got my first interview and I am super excited!
However, my interview is out of state in a smaller city on a Wednesday.
I am right now a public school teacher in a low-income district, and there are basically no substitutes in my region. So in order to avoid losing my job, I can only really take one day off at a time, and I also don't get a lot of days off either.
So that means to get to the interview I will have to leave my job at 3, fly out by 6-7 and take a connecting flight (there are no direct flights between the city closest to me and the small city that the medical school is at).
My biggest fear is a mistake happens that causes me to miss my connecting flight and then I miss the interview which starts at 8 am the next morning. I also don't think driving makes sense because the school is a 12-hour drive from my home.
Has anyone been in this situation before? Is this a valid reason to try to see if I can interview on a later day on a Monday where it should not be as hectic to make sure I can get there? I can't afford to lose my job at the moment because not only is it paying the bills, but it is the only way I am able to afford to get to the interviews and save enough money to move to whatever location I end up at. Am I overthinking the absolute worst-case scenario? I haven't really traveled much before (due to funds) so I don't know a lot about how this works.
Thank you all for any help you can provide, and if any of you have a similar situation I would love to hear about it.

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[thespitfire]

Congratulations!!! Best of luck on your interview. I’m only a fellow applicant, but in my opinion I think you should reach out to the admissions office and request a Monday interview date, as the circumstances of your employment make it difficult for you to take off more than a day at a time. If they can, they will definitely try to accommodate you. Otherwise, if you have to take a connecting flight, I recommend communicating with the admissions office if you run into any issues during your travel. Congrats again - I hope you get accepted!

 

[Jeremy Bearimy]

It depends on the school (some are stricter than others), but many are very accommodating if you just call/email and ask to reschedule your interview date. I have rescheduled some dates and have never been asked specifically why! Some schools say you can only reschedule once though, so just make sure the date you request is one that you can make.

 

[theKingLT]

Hi, so I am in a little bit of a tight situation and would like you guys' opinion.
I just got my first interview and I am super excited!
However, my interview is out of state in a smaller city on a Wednesday.
I am right now a public school teacher in a low-income district, and there are basically no substitutes in my region. So in order to avoid losing my job, I can only really take one day off at a time, and I also don't get a lot of days off either.
So that means to get to the interview I will have to leave my job at 3, fly out by 6-7 and take a connecting flight (there are no direct flights between the city closest to me and the small city that the medical school is at).
My biggest fear is a mistake happens that causes me to miss my connecting flight and then I miss the interview which starts at 8 am the next morning. I also don't think driving makes sense because the school is a 12-hour drive from my home.
Has anyone been in this situation before? Is this a valid reason to try to see if I can interview on a later day on a Monday where it should not be as hectic to make sure I can get there? I can't afford to lose my job at the moment because not only is it paying the bills, but it is the only way I am able to afford to get to the interviews and save enough money to move to whatever location I end up at. Am I overthinking the absolute worst-case scenario? I haven't really traveled much before (due to funds) so I don't know a lot about how this works.
Thank you all for any help you can provide, and if any of you have a similar situation I would love to hear about it.

Definitely email the school and explain your situation. Chances are they will have a soft spot for teachers and accomodate but in the case they only interview on wednesdays or something like that, you'll have to try to squeeze it in after the school day ends like you mentioned. If you end up with a flight delay that causes you to miss the interview they will let you reschedule so it would suck, but not the end of the world

 

[proudofmykids]

Reserve a car as a backup plan in the city where you will get your connecting flight.

 

[Wayfinder]

Reserve a car as a backup plan in the city where you will get your connecting flight.

Okay Follow up question, I am 23. I thought you had to be 25 to rent a car? The connecting city would also be a 5-hour drive from the interview, which I could do but I have to admit I would worry about my interview performance, getting only 3 hours of sleep (if that) and the interview is in December. There might be snow, and I have never driven in snow before.

 

[Wayfinder]

Thank you all for the responses I will try on Monday to reach out and see if I can reschedule for a Monday in their next round of interviews! Just to make sure this would be a question I could call the admissions office about?

 

[Jeremy Bearimy]

Thank you all for the responses I will try on Monday to reach out and see if I can reschedule for a Monday in their next round of interviews! Just to make sure this would be a question I could call the admissions office about?

Yes! Although when I called one of my admissions offices, they told me to reschedule by email. But I would still give them a call first.

 

[IMGASMD]

Okay Follow up question, I am 23. I thought you had to be 25 to rent a car? The connecting city would also be a 5-hour drive from the interview, which I could do but I have to admit I would worry about my interview performance, getting only 3 hours of sleep (if that) and the interview is in December. There might be snow, and I have never driven in snow before.

Depends on the state. And also if you’re welling to pay extra.

 

[TheDataKing]

Okay Follow up question, I am 23. I thought you had to be 25 to rent a car? The connecting city would also be a 5-hour drive from the interview, which I could do but I have to admit I would worry about my interview performance, getting only 3 hours of sleep (if that) and the interview is in December. There might be snow, and I have never driven in snow before.

AAA waives the fee with one of the companies. I have USAA and they waive the under 25 fee for Avis, Budget, Hertz, and Enterprise. I'd look into those or depending on where you're flying into, Silvercar only requires you to be 21.

 

[deleted1011020]

Okay Follow up question, I am 23. I thought you had to be 25 to rent a car? The connecting city would also be a 5-hour drive from the interview, which I could do but I have to admit I would worry about my interview performance, getting only 3 hours of sleep (if that) and the interview is in December. There might be snow, and I have never driven in snow before.

if you use the Turo app you can rent the car (at a premium) under 25.

 

[tulsajoe94]

I want to say Turo also gives you $50 off your first car rental so you’d probably not have too much expense. I REALLY dug into it looking for a road trip car when I was under 25

 

[theKingLT]

Okay Follow up question, I am 23. I thought you had to be 25 to rent a car? The connecting city would also be a 5-hour drive from the interview, which I could do but I have to admit I would worry about my interview performance, getting only 3 hours of sleep (if that) and the interview is in December. There might be snow, and I have never driven in snow before.

If your interview is already in december then ask them if they have any dates available over your school's winter break!

 

[IsleyOfTheNorth]

You might want to look up Uber (or similar) rates as it may be cheaper than renting a car, depending on the distance.

 

[Wayfinder]

If your interview is already in december then ask them if they have any dates available over your school's winter break!

I would love that! The only problem in my school's winter break is between December 23 and January 3rd. Do interviews ever happen at this time?

 

[theKingLT]

I would love that! The only problem in my school's winter break is between December 23 and January 3rd. Do interviews ever happen at this time?

Its unlikely but doesnt hurt to ask. I had one on the 21st of december

 

[Jeremy Bearimy]

Its unlikely but doesnt hurt to ask. I had one on the 21st of december

I live abroad so I've sent a few similar "so this may be crazy BUT I'm going to be in the US from Dec 15-Jan 6, and your school is almost definitely on break, but here's my hail mary ITA" emails. While most schools are on break during that time, I was able to catch a Dec 18th date for one of them.

 

[Wayfinder]

Update, I just called the school. They have no available interview slots that are not Wednesdays until January. Do you guys think it would hurt my application/ chances if I delay by a month?

 

[theKingLT]

Update, I just called the school. They have no available interview slots that are not Wednesdays until January. Do you guys think it would hurt my application/ chances if I delay by a month?

Are they rolling admissions? When does interview season start and end for the school?

 

[Wayfinder]

Are they rolling admissions? When does interview season start and end for the school?

They do have rolling admissions and they hold interviews from August to February. Would it be extremely disadvantageous to delay?
On the bright side, if I don't reschedule, I did find a flight to an airport that is an hour and a half from the school so I am thinking of flying then driving in. I will be exhausted but I will be unlikely to miss the interview. Does anyone know any resources for gaining some insight into driving in the snow? Thanks again for all the help!

 

[theKingLT]

They do have rolling admissions and they hold interviews from August to February. Would it be extremely disadvantageous to delay?
On the bright side, if I don't reschedule, I did find a flight to an airport that is an hour and a half from the school so I am thinking of flying then driving in. I will be exhausted but I will be unlikely to miss the interview. Does anyone know any resources for gaining some insight into driving in the snow? Thanks again for all the help!

Its could slightly reduce your chances by delaying given that they would be nearing the end of their interview cycle but I dont think it would be a big issue, especially considering they'll probably have a couple weeks winter break, so you really wouldn't be putting yourself behind too many other interview days. Up to you TBH. I personally have no problem functioning on little sleep, so I would take the earlier date, but if you feel it will affect you on interview day then delay. A poor interview performance will kill your chances way more than a later interview date.

As far as driving in the snow goes just rent a vehicle with 4 or all-wheel drive, drive extra slow and cautious, and steer into the skid!

 

[datboi_58]

You should also on the other hand help your school understand that this is your future and that they should allow you to take time off for this without firing you. I understand that it’s in a low income district and how it’s probably not the best school with the best policies and you want to be there for your kids but missing one extra day should not result in you losing your job and I do think it is worth it to not gamble on your future.