Possible to interview at all Cali programs on 1 trip?

[flashgordon]

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If I'm flying in from the East Coast, is it possible to rent a car and interview at all the major California schools (Loma Linda, Stanford, UCLA, UCD, UCI, UCSD, UCSF, USC) back-to-back? Are the cities within driveable distance?

 

[p53]

If I'm flying in from the East Coast, is it possible to rent a car and interview at all the major California schools (Loma Linda, Stanford, UCLA, UCD, UCI, UCSD, UCSF, USC) back-to-back? Are the cities within driveable distance?

It doesn't matter if you have a 260+ Step 1 score and going into Family Medicine. If you are from east coast you will NOT receive interview offers from ALL the programs that you listed.

Cross the bridge once you reach them.

 

[cchoukal]

Assuming you get all these interviews, sure it's possible, depending on how much time and money you can spend. Mapquest will tell you how far it is btwn all these places and orbitz can get you in one city, out the other, and hotels in between. Of course, depending on the specialty, they may only offer a couple interview days (e.g., some ENT programs only have 2 interviews days for the whole season), and many of these may overlap or be full, making it difficult to string together all these interviews in a short period of time. But if you're doing something like IM, FP, or something not super competitive but with large residency classes (meaning they have to interview LOTS of people and, therefore, will have lots of interview days/slots), careful planning should make this possible. Of course, it could be argued that taking 2 or 3 separate trips might actually save time and money (and headaches) compared to spending extra days (hotels, food, expenses) out west just for the sake of getting them all done at once.

 

[P Diddy]

If I'm flying in from the East Coast, is it possible to rent a car and interview at all the major California schools (Loma Linda, Stanford, UCLA, UCD, UCI, UCSD, UCSF, USC) back-to-back? Are the cities within driveable distance?

it is possible. I interviewed for medicine at UCSD, UCSF, Stanford and Cedars-Sinai all in one week but ended up cancelling my UCLA interview bc they had a bad reputation at the time.

the important thing is to find out the interview dates early and schedule your trip accordingly. I flew into SF and interviewed, rented a Ford F-150 (they ran out of compacts) and drove to LA (5 hours). Interviewed at Cedars, then at UCSD (only 2hr away) and back up to Stanford. It might be hard to squeeze in UCI and USC, but if you have 2 weeks not impossible.

p diddy

 

[nacho77]

Couple of random thoughts for you: (from someone who did drive to 6 So.Cal. interviews)
remember interviewing is *tiring* more than 3/week for a couple weeks straight and the programs will all blend together and you won't feel like your putting your freshest face forward ...
be careful when you plan your driving - Traffic's a B*tch in most of Cali; esp if you are trying to drive from one city to another around 4/5pm after an interview... you'll be better off if you give yourself a day in between and drive in the mid morning ...
Scheduling can be a problem (as someone already mentioned above) interview invites come in at all random times and the available dates may not work out for you
I moved west for a couple of months and did an away rotation (not a Sub-I, just an elective at a program that I had free housing at with hospital different from what I was used to for a change in perspective) then I scheduled my interviews in 2 blocks at either end of it ..
Also get the old match lists from your school and contact anyone close to where you'll be at for a place to crash (my school even hooked me up with some "older" alumni with fully furnished guest rooms!)
Good luck and try to have fun

 

[DreamLover]

If I'm flying in from the East Coast, is it possible to rent a car and interview at all the major California schools (Loma Linda, Stanford, UCLA, UCD, UCI, UCSD, UCSF, USC) back-to-back? Are the cities within driveable distance?

I'd be stoked to get an interview at even one of them...and yep...I'm definitely paranoid since I'm not from the West Coast that I won't get one😎

 

[flashgordon]

It's just wishful thinking... I'll be lucky to get interviews at half of the programs. Just don't want to spend the $$ flying to west coast twice, if it can be done in one trip.

 

[cchoukal]

Again, if it's all about saving money flying, I'd look long and hard at the costs associated with staying long enough to do all the interviews in one shot. I'd be surprised if it weren't cheaper to fly out a few times compared to rental cars, hotels, gas, meals, etc. for all the extra days required to fit the interviews in.

 

[Rybaby]

Hey there,

One thing to keep in mind is that California is an excruciatingly big state. I grew up in No Cal, went to undergrad in the Bay area, and now go to med school in the south. Specifically for your question..

UCLA,UCS, LOMA Linda, UCI... could all be done back-toback. BUT MAKE SURE... to leave enough commute time when driving between these places. If you are staying near down town LA, it will be about 2hours to get to UCI in the morning, and maybe an hour to get to UCLA.

UCSD... You could try to drive there from LA in the morning of your interview, but will require about 3 hours.. better to get a place the night before. The traffic is hellish in LA & SD in the morning.

UCSF & Stanford.. You could easily stay in either place, and commute to the other for your interview. If driving, it will take about 1.5 hours-2 to get to the other in the morning. However, you can easily take a CalTrain between SF and Palo Alto, which could take between 40-1 hour, and drops you RIGHT IN FRONT of Stanford.

UCD.. You would need almost 3-3.5 hours to drive there in the morning. I would suggest driving the night before, and getting a hotel in Davis or nearby Sacramento for the night which is only 30 minutes away.

Also.. plan on flying from LA to SF... the drive is an excruciating 7 hours WITHOUT traffic.

Hope this helps.

 

[Wahoo]

Also, keep in mind that flights between LA and SF can usually be found for only ~$40 each way on airlines like Southwest, JetBlue, Frontier, etc. That's typically less than the gas money alone would cost you if driving.

 

[TUCOMSam]

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[flighterdoc]

If I'm flying in from the East Coast, is it possible to rent a car and interview at all the major California schools (Loma Linda, Stanford, UCLA, UCD, UCI, UCSD, UCSF, USC) back-to-back? Are the cities within driveable distance?

I'd fly into LAX and plan on leaving from SFO, but yes...if you dont mind a 8 hour drive (more or less) from the LA area to the SF bay area.

UCLA and USC (pituey) are in the Los Angeles area. UCI is about 30 miles south, Loma Linda is about 50 miles east, and UCSD is 110 miles south.

Davis is way north (about 400 miles from Los Angeles), just south of Sacramento, and UCSF is in San Francisco, about 50 miles west of Sacto.