<p>And it takes being located near a major airport or on the East Coast where stuff is not quite so far away from everything else.</p>
<p>What you gotta remember, folks, is there are places in the US where you can fit a whole danged state into one of our counties.</p>
<p>If I drive 5.5 hours, I won’t make it to nearest big city (Denver, Tuscon, Phoenix, Dallas, Houston, Oklahoma City).</p>
<p>I think we spent a million dollars. Pretty sure. Yup. Applied nationwide and she lived in a hole. Hard to get out of a hole.</p>
<p>It’s going to be really expensive for D. Other than in- state schools, all the others are a $500 to $700 flight away. Maybe I can use some mileage points, but that may not work on a relatively short time frame.</p>
<p>^I did not know if you can use mileage points from another person, I believe that we could not at some time, but it changes all the time.</p>
<p>Yep, we are with WOWmom, 5.5 hours from home = 1 school, another 5.5 hours would include 1 more med school. I believe it would have been 18 hours total to get to the next closest schools.</p>
<p>DD just got a mileage credit card in preparation for residency interview, it probably would have been smart for the med school ones, too.</p>
<p>$4200 for D1 and I left out a few things like ground transportation. 15 applications and 10 interviews and it doesn’t include second looks. AMCAS and secondaries alone were about 2k.</p>
<p>We’re the reciprocal of someomom, although D1 was on the east coast during the process. She was able to link interviews with 5 west coast schools and so ‘only’ made 2 cross country flights.</p>
<p>She stayed with friends or med students at all but one interview and cut costs there. And only 1 interview outfit!</p>
<p>^And to think, all this application cost stuff is just a drop in the bucket once school starts! Gotta love that Monopoly – I mean, loan – money :)</p>
<p>somemom. Great idea. D’uh. What mileage credit card is the best to get?</p>
<p>Absolutely yes, somemom, inquiring minds want to know…</p>
<p>Since we are in the PNW, my kid got the Alaska Air card and due to the new banking rules, she with the excellent credit score, but no income (loans don’t count;)), needed a guarantor.</p>
<p>You would need to look at the card that for the airline that works best for your kid and then compare that to those generic ‘any travel’ cards. I do believe there is an annual fee on hers, but if she does not feel it was worth it after the first year, she will cancel.</p>
<p>Committee Interview Attire? Is it okay to not wear a suit for the interview? My pre health adviser said its low key. I would love feedback on whats appropriate and what to expect. Thanks!</p>
<p>D2’s committee said “appropriate interview attire”–which meant blazer, skirt, sweater/blouse OR women’s suit and dress shoes.</p>
<p>Low key could mean how they talk with you (informational, lots of softball questions, nothing confrontational), not how you should dress.</p>
<p>Probably better to be slightly overdressed, than underdressed.</p>
<p>^ Agree with WOWmom. I wore a suit to mine, as did a few other people that I know. </p>
<p>If your interview is in the afternoon, you can change during lunch if you don’t want to wear a suit to your morning classes.</p>
<p>Best of luck!</p>
<p>Thanks WOWMom. I was thinking a blazer and skirt or blazer over dress. ahh, I am not sure why I am over analyzing this. The application stress begins…</p>
<p>thanks mrpenguin</p>
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<p>I don’t think you’re overanalyzing. There is a difference between being prepared and being neurotic.</p>
<p>Whacko-land, a.k.a. SDN, has several threads dedicated to what people should wear to interviews. Some of the posts are helpful, but most descend quickly into snide and catty comments from pre-meds who are trying to micro-manage just about everything under the sun. I think there was a two page long discussion on whether a guy should wear a pocket square or not with his suit. Now that is over-analysis.</p>
<p>Over that other pre-med discussion board, there’s always several discussion threads on appropriate interview attire. Both men’s and women’s. </p>
<p>Remember, medicine is an inherently conservative profession and you will be judged the approriateness of your appearance. It’s a matter of showing respect. </p>
<p>D1 was instructed that now she has finished her classroom years, she’s NEVER to appear at the hospital or med school in other than professional clothing—even if she’s not going to be seeing patients.</p>
<p>I agree that it is better to be overdressed than underdressed. Most people in their early 20s don’t have a lot of experience wearing suits, so it is a great time to “test drive” your suit, shoes, accessories. How does it feel? How do you look? Can you sit with ease? Does any part gap or strain? Can you walk comfortably? And it wouldn’t hurt to make a packing list for your future interview trips. It is not at all uncommon for nervous interviewees to forget to pack something essential like a belt, dress socks, or appropriate undergarments!</p>
<p>^^Or their lucky purple interview blouse!</p>
<p>Seriously, it’s a great time to practice owning that suit. </p>
<p>And male or female, be sure you break in your dress shoes before interviews. You will doing tons of walking. (Campus tours, to and from hotels and campus, etc) Blisters are no fun!</p>
<p>D2 has already acquired a huge purse/portfolio/tote to carry around her shoes for interviews. Comfy flat for walking tours, dress heels for the actual interviews. The tote will also hold pens and a small notebook, all the papers you’ll need to have when you travel (tickets, boarding passes, train/bus/subway schedules, directions, etc) and any swag the school gives her at interviews</p>
<p>Absolute newby parent here (not on this year’s cycle, but I figured you folks would know). S is a college junior and just recently decided he may want to pursue med school. Honestly, this thread, and pretty much all the premed threads, have scared me out of it, but I’m not S. He never had a premed interest, but rather a science interest, and he’s pretty much skated through all the premed prerequisites. He is now thinking about medical school, partly because he’s not crazy about pure research and thinks medicine may be a more interesting route. I think this may be because he knows nothing about it really.</p>
<p>My question, I guess is, is just finishing all the premed prereqs successfully (3.8 or so) enough to pursue med school? He has research experience, but more in physical science (and nothing independent). Where does one start to figure this out? He has a premed advisor at his school, and although this seems like a likely place to start, I don’t think he has great access to her.</p>
<p>Basically science comes quite easy for him, but except for the fact that he’s a decent and kind person, I honestly don’t see any calling. I’m guessing it isn’t worth it unless it’s absolutely the only thing you want to do. Any thoughts?</p>