Student Host or Hotel?

[anka24]

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One of my schools is asking if I prefer to stay with a student host or at a hotel. Which does everyone else think is better?

I know this topic has been covered under the pre-med forum, but i think the issue is different for md/phd applicants. Since they'd be paying for my hotel, is it a faux pas to ask for a hotel room rather than a student host?

 

[dillanger]

as long as the hotel seems nice i'd take that. nothing better than getting a good nights sleep before an interview.

you'll have ample opportunity to talk with current students during the interview and if you get in there'll probably be a revisit weekend where you'll have another opportunity to stay with students

 

[dr.z]

as long as the hotel seems nice i'd take that. nothing better than getting a good nights sleep before an interview.

you'll have ample opportunity to talk with current students during the interview and if you get in there'll probably be a revisit weekend where you'll have another opportunity to stay with students

I agree. I prefer to stay in a hotel.

 

[physicsnerd42]

I did both and found staying with students to be better. You get a better feel for your future classmates if you stay with some of them.

 

[anka24]

I agree. I prefer to stay in a hotel.

But the program won't find you greedy or demanding for requesting the hotel? I think I'd prefer the hotel because we already have dinners planned with current students and I am going to want to sleep anyway (I like a LOT of sleep). I just want to make sure its not a faux pas.

 

[gbwillner]

But the program won't find you greedy or demanding for requesting the hotel? I think I'd prefer the hotel because we already have dinners planned with current students and I am going to want to sleep anyway (I like a LOT of sleep). I just want to make sure its not a faux pas.

Staying at a hotel is an absolute mistake.

1. One of the key pieces of the puzzle in your school-choosing will be whether or not you like your fellow students. This will be a golden opportunity to get to know them really well.

2. There are certain questions, such as personal questions, that may be difficult to ask at luncheons. Staying at a student's home will give you the chance to ask such questions. This can bring a certain amount of objectivity and honesty out of host students. For example, at a Luncheon I many not tell an applicant that the department they are interested in is crap in my institution, but I certainly would in my own house.

3. Students' opinion matter at most institutions. If you stay with a student and become chums, there is a good chance they will have something good to say about you. At many places, students have a voice in admissions. Showing your character to the host student can make or break your admission.

In my opinion, this is the best way to get a "feel" for a school for it's non-academic settings. This is very important and should not be overlooked. You may get better sleep at the hotel, but you won't have learned anything or helped your cause.

 

[RxnMan]

I did both, and the student host was more informative by far (of course). You get to see what type of student goes to the school and how they feel about their school.

As you can argue that beyond the "name brand" of the "top 10" schools, all schools are essentially equal, (the prime determinant of where you go from there being your level of effort,) the best place to be is where you feel the most comfortable. Since your level of comfort is going to be determined, in a large part, by who you're going to spend the next 4 years with, how you like the student body is important. You can best get an idea of this by staying with current students.

 

[Neuronix]

I've been student hosting for my MD/PhD program every interview weekend since I started that program. I used to host MD students too, but 2 different people on my futon at different times in the week was becoming a little much . I think staying with a student is the way to go. I went out and bought a pretty nice sofa-bed mostly because I wanted my interviewees to be comfortable (and still only one has ever matriculated here! hmmph!).

I agree somewhat with gbwillner. In particular his second point: if you're the kind of person that wants to really ask good questions and dig deep into what the school and student life is really like, staying with a student is the only way to go. #1 is kind of hit or miss. If you stay with me you might get the impression that the students here are all like me That being said, I'm quite shocked by and scared of gbwillner's third reason. That's an extra-interview game I'd prefer not to be a part of and that doesn't happen here.

All that being said, if you prefer the hotel, ask for it. Pre-meds sometimes read too much into this process. If you have a question CALL THE PROGRAM. If you call once or twice with legitimate questions, they won't think you're a psycho. Meanwhile, if they offer you a hotel room and you want it, TAKE THE HOTEL ROOM. It's one thing to ask them if they didn't offer, but probably on the order of half the applicants will take the hotel room. They're not going to go down the list and say "friendly, friendly, GREEDY BASTARD WHO TOOK THE HOTEL ROOM X X X X X X".

I get this half number from experience. I find this story kind of funny a social engineering sort of way, so I'll post it. Over the years my school has been experimenting with the wording on their interview invite letters. Student hosting was once the only option, but it became too much work to beg the students to host week after week because too many people just don't have room or time here in the big city. That and because after first year most students get pretty apathetic to the plight of applicants (true anywhere!). In any case, the school first started by saying student hosting was the norm but a hotel room was available. Well, that year about 75% chose the student hosting. Why? Well, through my in person conversations with people and SDN the applicants were scared that since student hosting was said to be the more common path, they didn't want to stand out. The next year, the school emphasized the hotel possibility and said that student hosting was also available. Well, about 25% chose student hosting that year. Same reasoning. So many people said they didn't want to stand out, but just take the one that looked like the usual path.

Now they're just putting them sort of equally. You get your choice of hotel or student hosting. Last year, it was more like 50/50. I wonder if the order of the words matter... Maybe our psychology applicant in the next thread over can write a paper about this 😉

 

[hawkeey]

Student host hands down. In terms of learning about the program, having a personal contact that you can talk to is crucial. Not only can your host give you direct insight into the program, but they can even tell you what to expect from certain professors that you will interview with.

This applies even if you live near the school you might attend... always have a student host. Making friends is a good thing.

 

[dave613]

this is interesting stuff.

I chose hotel for both, except at one hotel I will be rooming with another applicant, so socially, I think that looks fine to programs.

Also, the other program is having me have dinner with two MD/PhD students, so I think i could make friends that way, and thus not have to stay by a student host.

Some of those hotels are nice--comeon, it's hard to pick a medical school dorm over a nice hotel room!

 

[Caristra]

anka I am assuming you are asking about Maryland since I am puzzling about the same thing and we both have an invite there. I sent in my list of researchers but never told them whether I want a student host or hotel. I am going to think about it a bit. Right now I am leaning more towards hotel. I like lots of sleep and I feel like I might be too shy to ask my student host much anyway. On the other it would be nice to make a friend at a school I could potentially be attending next year.

 

[Neuronix]

I chose hotel for both, except at one hotel I will be rooming with another applicant, so socially, I think that looks fine to programs.

This was the point of my earlier post... how social your hotel arrangement looks to programs is so far off what they're looking for in you. That being said, almost all the programs putting you in a hotel will have you share with another applicant to cut costs.

Some of those hotels are nice--comeon, it's hard to pick a medical school dorm over a nice hotel room!

None of the students here live in a dorm. I think I have a very nice apartment. The only place where med school dorms seem common are a few of the NYC schools.

As for dinner... Dinners tend to be more formal types of events with canned answers. Even though they're not set up to be, everyone tends to watch their mouths and not be as open as they would otherwise.

That being said, if you feel more comfortable in a hotel room, take the hotel room. I'm just debating some of the things people say in this thread that I find kind of silly...

 

[anka24]

anka I am assuming you are asking about Maryland since I am puzzling about the same thing and we both have an invite there. I sent in my list of researchers but never told them whether I want a student host or hotel. I am going to think about it a bit. Right now I am leaning more towards hotel. I like lots of sleep and I feel like I might be too shy to ask my student host much anyway. On the other it would be nice to make a friend at a school I could potentially be attending next year.

Yea, you're absolutely right. I am speaking of Maryland. I am from Maryland and I know a few people that went there and had a grand time and said they enjoyed their experience. Obviously, that's only two people I spoke to and it could differ depending on department you are in. However, my current mentor/boss knows a lot about the research being done at Maryland and is also quite enthusiastic about it. Thus, I chose the hotel because I like a lot of sleep, there are dinners and lunches planned, and I don't think it will be hard for me to find a Maryland student to talk to if I find myself in the lucky situation of being accepted 🙂

 

[vector07]

I would strongly encourage student hosting. I was thinking along the same lines of "need good sleep before the interview" etc... and I was about to stay at a hotel for both of my last two interviews. I stayed with students instead, and had an awesome time. For one, like someone mentioned before, you really get to know the students in a comfortable setting where everyone can speak candidly. Two, you get the low-down on the perks and drawbacks simply by listening to your host students talk with classmates (about studying, professors, social stuff, stress, and environment). Three, at many schools the MD/PhD students are pretty tight (it seems) with the administration. Sometimes the students are actually a part of the admissions committee, though they tend not to be hosts. Still--at my last interview, my host was great friends with a student that serves on the admissions committee under MY interviewer. My host said he'd put in a good word for me. I read a little about the schools before I visited, but most of my questions to the interviewer stem from my conversations with my host and his friends. I even played with my host's intramural sports team at one school--the interviewers loved it, and I got a good sense of what the student body was like there.

In other words, I think you don't really know the school from an interview visit unless you stay with a student. Just my thoughts..

 

[dave613]

Eric, you can't rely on the student host having a nice apartment. I would guess you're the exception. The hotel is guaranteed to be at least somewhat nice....lol (you're right though--it's total nonsense)

This was the point of my earlier post... how social your hotel arrangement looks to programs is so far off what they're looking for in you. That being said, almost all the programs putting you in a hotel will have you share with another applicant to cut costs.



None of the students here live in a dorm. I think I have a very nice apartment. The only place where med school dorms seem common are a few of the NYC schools.

As for dinner... Dinners tend to be more formal types of events with canned answers. Even though they're not set up to be, everyone tends to watch their mouths and not be as open as they would otherwise.

That being said, if you feel more comfortable in a hotel room, take the hotel room. I'm just debating some of the things people say in this thread that I find kind of silly...