I do agree this weather chsnges everything and getting out the night before may be good practice. I’d pitch it that way vs “losing my sleep,”
Honestly- I can’t imagine this is a big deal to the company. Someone spent thirty seconds thinking about the arrangements- which as it turns out, are suboptimal for the student. Not worth the aggravation- pick up the phone and ask about changing the flights or arranging a hotel.
My travel advice from my husband who travels on business a lot: Never check a bag. If you check a bag, you can’t voluntarily be separated from that bag to switch to a better flight. Only bring carry-ons, and gate check that as needed.
@ucbalumnus, your post is noted, however kids need to learn to deal with travel situations. Enough hand-holding.
My daughter’s in an MBA program. She and her classmates have been flown all over the country for internship interviews, all expenses paid.
But that’s not the same thing as an undergraduate internship.
“My travel advice from my husband who travels on business a lot: Never check a bag. If you check a bag, you can’t voluntarily be separated from that bag to switch to a better flight. Only bring carry-ons, and gate check that as needed.”
This is really common sense 101. You can tell a travel rube - they check bags.
“In Tech and Finance this is very standard practice.” Also engineering , even for internships, not uncommon.
My daughter’s flights for economics-related internship and job interviews were paid for by the employers.
Aww, I thought my kid was SPECIAL 
She’s staying with friends in ATL on Thursday night. Thinking about getting a hotel for Friday night. On top of everything else, she has a 24 hour dance marathon fund raiser starting on 10:00 am on Saturday. She’s going to have a looooong weekend.
Good luck to your daughter!
We established long ago that I am a rube, but I find it difficult to go out on the road for a week and look professional every day without checking a bag. Good suits and roll-aboards don’t mix. YMMV
I agree that would be hard! I haven’t had a client who is business-dress in ages - business casual seems to be the norm these days. I interviewed a man yesterday who showed up in a suit and while it was totally appropriate for him to do so, it made me realize that it’s so rare to see a man in a suit. So kudos to you. Lol
Whether they need detailed guidance depends on their previous travel experience.
There are kids who have never been on an airplane before they start flying to other cities for job interviews.
And there are also kids who’ve been on plenty of airplanes, but always with their parents or other older people who handled all the logistics. For all practical purposes, they’re novices, too.
For what it’s worth, once my kids hit high school age, when we traveled with them, we deliberately let them “guide the way” - to gates, to car-rental counters, etc. so they figured out how to navigate an airport. I recognize not everyone is going to have all that many teaching moments, but this gave us confidence that they could do so and not get lost. This turned out to be irrelevant for S, but very relevant for D.
^ We do the same, including having him use phone apps to determine whether a connecting flight is likely to be delayed. (United app lets you see where a plane is coming from and where it is now. Likely delays show up there first.)
I’d been on an airplane before but my parents always led. The first time myself, it wasn’t exactly a hard thing to figure out. Even if I had never been on an airplane before, explaining the process is pretty simple. You go the counter or computer and show them the receipt for the flight or enter a code into the computer, they/it gives you a boarding pass. You go to security and do what they say to do. Then you look at the boarding pass and go to the gate. A teenager or adult of normal mental faculties should be able to figure it out without difficulty.
^Going to the counter to check in is no longer a smart thing to do. It is better to check in online 24 hours before the flight and either print out the boarding passes or have them on your phone. Waiting to check in when you get to the airport can get you bumped or in worse seating.
Security is a lot easier if you know what to do in advance. Especially regarding carry-on liquids.
Knowing what to do if you are going to miss a connection due to a delayed flight can get you home that day rather than the next day.
@SomeOldGuy My husband packs a suit in a roll-aboard and it works fine for him. He has a zippered suit sleeve that folds nicely. His longest trips are usually ~5 days including travel, though. Also, scientific conferences/tradeshows may be less formal that whatever you are traveling to. I’d suggest you talk with someone at a luggage store about the latest. He is usually also packing multiple pairs of running shoes and/or snow gear, and still manages without checking anything. He does often wear a suit jacket on the plane, and feels he is more likely to get upgrades to first class that way.
Some things can’t be carry on, even if the bag is small. My brother is a referee and travels with a timing box. Sometimes it gets through security (it really is no different than an alarm clock), other times not. He’s sick of dealing with it so just checks it. Sports equipment needs to be checked. Some airline are very strict about the carry ons and if you have a computer case and a purse, you can’t also have a suitcase.
My daughter was 17 and flying to LAX, changing in Denver. While she was on the flight, I got a text that said the connection was delayed 3 hours, so that would get her to LAX at 4:30 on a friday afternoon, and she was going to her boyfriend’s graduation at 6 in south Orange county. I jumped online, looked up the alternatives, and found a connection into Orange County Airport about 30 minutes after she landed. Called SW, had them hold a seat for her, texted her to call me ASAP (she called from the tarmac) and I told her to rush to the nearest counter. She did it, I talked to the agent, and she was on the plane in 30 minutes. She had, unfortunately, checked a bag, but that went on to LAX and they later delivered it to SNA, which was a lot closer to where she was staying anyway.
Being experienced helps, and while she could have handled the 3 hour delay, she would have missed the graduation mass. My father, who traveled weekly for work, taught me to always keep moving in the direction you are headed. Dallas is farther east than Denver, so get to Dallas. Go to Atlanta on the way to Boston if you have to. Get OUT of the snowstorm/tornado/hurricane. Just keep moving.
If its a fortune 25 company, they probably have an outside vendor that handles travel arrangements. Having the person setting up the interviews having to then deal with the logistics of a candidate wanting a certain time is probably not going to sit well. Its best not to be difficult from the get go.
I am being flown to see a special college program in the midwest. They have me booked on a 6 am flight through Dallas, then back the next day through Chicago, returning at midnight. I don’t get a choice in the matter. We take what we are given. Hope she can sleep on the plane!
You put the purse in the computer case while getting on the plane. The computer case doesn’t have to be able to zip shut.