Which MSTP's pay for interviews, and total cost of applying

[solitude]

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I'm trying to get a general estimate of how much money I need to put aside for the application process (not applying for another 8 or 9 months, but I need to make sure I don't spend any of it in the meantime!), and I was wondering which schools paid for interviews. About how much did you spend throughout the whole process, including application fees, travelling, hotels, etc.?

I am most interested in which of the the top-20 USNews research schools pay for interviews (I will be applying to 10-12 MSTP's of these 20, plus my state school). Thanks.

 

[Mr. Tee]

UMich reimburses up to $400 for travel, and they pay for all accomodation when you get there. Hopefully there will be free food 😉

 

[mercaptovizadeh]

Of the schools that interviewed/invited me, it seems that Vanderbilt covers travel up to $400 and provides a hotel, and that Duke does something similar (maybe to $300?).

 

[dillanger]

Schools pay for different levels of the interview. Some pay for airfare, some for housing, some nothing. Heres what I remember from last year:

WashU - pays for everything. I would apply there just to stay in the Chase Park Plaza =) Nicest hotel.
UMd - reimbursed for travel up to $300
UVa - ditto
Hopkins - Doesn't pay for airfare, but housing and meals are taken care of
UPenn, Cornell, NYU - Same
Harvard - Doesn't pay for anything (no housing or meals are included)
UCSF - sets you up for housing with a current student if available, otherwise nothing.

 

[solitude]

Schools pay for different levels of the interview. Some pay for airfare, some for housing, some nothing. Heres what I remember from last year:

WashU - pays for everything. I would apply there just to stay in the Chase Park Plaza =) Nicest hotel.
UMd - reimbursed for travel up to $300
UVa - ditto
Hopkins - Doesn't pay for airfare, but housing and meals are taken care of
UPenn, Cornell, NYU - Same
Harvard - Doesn't pay for anything (no housing or meals are included)
UCSF - sets you up for housing with a current student if available, otherwise nothing.

Awesome, this is perfect, thanks. How much did you end up spending for the whole application process?

 

[MacGyver]

ABsolutely make sure you apply to WashU.

The Chase Park Plaza suites run at least $400 a night, and include a stocked fridge and mini-kitchen. WashU will even cover the incidental costs such as room service as long as you dont absolutely abuse it.

Oh by the way, did i mention there's a movie theatre in the main lobby area?

I ended up not going to WashU, but the money they throw at you is certainly impressive.

 

[MSTP?]

.

 

[PBandJ]

ABsolutely make sure you apply to WashU.

The Chase Park Plaza suites run at least $400 a night, and include a stocked fridge and mini-kitchen. WashU will even cover the incidental costs such as room service as long as you dont absolutely abuse it.

Oh by the way, did i mention there's a movie theatre in the main lobby area?

I ended up not going to WashU, but the money they throw at you is certainly impressive.

I'm not applying to WashU, but this is also what I've heard from my friend who applied two years ago. They treated him VERY nicely.

Here's some additions based on what I've read:

Univ of Alabama Birmingham pays for all expenses (not sure on the fine details)
Northwestern pays for on-site expenses (hotel & meals)
Stanford does not provide travel funds for interviews
Univ of Colorado will cover up to three nights hotel accommodations (room charges only) and miscellaneous travel expenses such as airport parking, shuttle service to and from Denver International Airport, etc.
Univ of North Carolina pays for transportation, lodging and food
University of Washington (not to be confused with WashU St. Louis) says: "Travel costs will be reimbursed at the level indicated in your application"

 

[dillanger]

Awesome, this is perfect, thanks. How much did you end up spending for the whole application process?

Hmm all in all I probably ended up spending $7-8,000 if you include things like the Kaplan MCAT class, primary fee, secondary fees (I filled out way too many secondaries), airfare etc.

Strictly for interviewing its hard to say beacuse i used a lot of flier miles and
I was in school on the west coast and applying mostly to schools on the east coast, so it was more expensive for me.

If you have them I would suggest using/getting frequent flyer miles, especially if they reimburse you later for the flights. Also if you can you should try to schedule interviews in similar locations at similar times (it is much less flexible to do this for MSTP than MD-only, but i can be done).

Finally, I would say maybe if you think you're chances are pretty good I wouldn't interview everywhere you apply. Some schools let you know very early once you've gotten in (WashU - 1 week, Cornell - Dec 5th, Hopkins - within 4-6 weeks) so if you get in you can turn down interviews for some other places.

 

[Vader]

Schools pay for different levels of the interview. Some pay for airfare, some for housing, some nothing. Heres what I remember from last year:

WashU - pays for everything. I would apply there just to stay in the Chase Park Plaza =) Nicest hotel.
UMd - reimbursed for travel up to $300
UVa - ditto
Hopkins - Doesn't pay for airfare, but housing and meals are taken care of
UPenn, Cornell, NYU - Same
Harvard - Doesn't pay for anything (no housing or meals are included)
UCSF - sets you up for housing with a current student if available, otherwise nothing.

Not to be picky, but UCSF does pay for lunch on both interview days. At Harvard, at least they used to have some sort of catered lunch for the MSTP applicants--I don't know if they still do this.

 

[solitude]

Hmm all in all I probably ended up spending $7-8,000 if you include things like the Kaplan MCAT class, primary fee, secondary fees (I filled out way too many secondaries), airfare etc.

Strictly for interviewing its hard to say beacuse i used a lot of flier miles and
I was in school on the west coast and applying mostly to schools on the east coast, so it was more expensive for me.

If you have them I would suggest using/getting frequent flyer miles, especially if they reimburse you later for the flights. Also if you can you should try to schedule interviews in similar locations at similar times (it is much less flexible to do this for MSTP than MD-only, but i can be done).

Finally, I would say maybe if you think you're chances are pretty good I wouldn't interview everywhere you apply. Some schools let you know very early once you've gotten in (WashU - 1 week, Cornell - Dec 5th, Hopkins - within 4-6 weeks) so if you get in you can turn down interviews for some other places.

Yeah, I'm on the East Coast, so the travelling probably won't be as big of a hassle, but I am hoping to get into a few of these programs that let you know early so that I can cut back on interviews. Thanks for your help.

 

[Thundrstorm]

Last year, I experienced the following:

Except Jefferson (student host), everywhere I interviewed provided hotel for 1 or 2 nights (usually 1): NYU, Einstein, Cornell, Maryland, Northwestern, UWash, Mt. Sinai.

All of them cover meals, though they range from sandwiches for lunch to amazing restaurants (all of the New York schools especially).

As for travel, you're usually on your own, but Maryland covered flight up to $300, and UWash covered flight up to $400 (I think this depends on where you live; I was on the East Coast). UWash and Northwestern also covered transportation from airport, and UWash even paid for an extra night at the hotel and food for a sight-seeing day (or ski trip).


And for second-visits, it's even better. 😀 Plus, if you drink, all of the meals at restaurants during interviews include alcohol (at some schools, unlimited alcohol).