Travel experiences from a newbie on the fellowship interview trail

It seems like just the other day I got done with the residency interview trail and now I am going for the fellowship interviews! Please note the following is for fellowship interviews. If you are a medical student applying for residency I would use my earlier post.

Couple of differences that I noticed between residency and fellowship interviews is as follows

1. Given you are earning in dollars now, the pinch of money is NOT too much but still palpable
2. Most hospitals generally provide accommodation. The really fancy ones even pay for the airfare!
3. The fellowship programs are trying to sell themselves to you instead of vice-versa (at least that is what I felt)

One goes for interviews generally in the 3rd year of residency OR 4th year if you are Med-Peds/Chief in your program. So if you are in residency you generally travel on post-call days, eat pre-interview dinner and sleep at night in the hotel accommodation the program provides. Therefore as mentioned in point 1, you want the fastest yet cheapest option. This is generally flights unless the distance is not too far in which case people do drive.

Couple of tips that I felt that a candidate can do to make the experience easier (at least in my case; please note that different people have different options. This is my experience)
I highly recommend getting the Amex Platinum credit card since it gives you HUGE perks. My referral link is this. To list a few

• 60,000 membership reward points for spending 4k. You will definitely hit this depending on the number of places you interview at
• $200 airline credit- It works with only single airline
• $200 Uber credit ($15 per month)- One uses this feature A LOT on your interview trail. 
• $100 credit for TSA pre-check which is something US citizens can do but for IMG's only if you are one of the global entry countries can you do the same
• Access to a LOT of lounges during flights. I feel this is another BIG perk for residents who are interviewing and frequently flying
• You get complimentary gold access to Hilton, Marriot and Starwood preferred. (The hotels treat you like royalty)- As mentioned in point 2 on the top, the programs pay for the stay. So you can give your account number at check-in and you get rewarded for the stay.

The annual fee though high ($595), I feel the above perks are worth it.

Please note- 
- In case the program does not pay for accommodation, you can check Airbnb for a place to stay at a cheap rate and maybe rent a car to the interview/uber it.
- One can also apply for the Chase sapphire reserve since that has travel deals as well.

I flew the following airlines. Highlighted the perks and features which I liked. All the airlines generally give you pretzels/cookie with a drink (coke, Pepsi etc). You can spend money on hard drinks should you want to indulge in the same.

JetBlue- Loved this airline since there is free wi-fi with amazon prime video streaming. The food is amazing as well. The leg space is GREAT! Given I am a tall person, I love when I can stretch my legs without feeling like I am cramped in my seat.

Southwest- There is NO predetermined seating. Your seat is dependent on WHEN you check in. You get a boarding group number and at the time of boarding, you are broken into groups based on the same. You board the plane and call dibs on the seats. The biggest perk is the 2 checked bags for free, which you can use if you are changing your base-camp. You get wifi to watch cable channels to kill time. You have to pay for internet though.

Delta- The service was great. Loved the food. But depending on when you book your tickets you may get a good deal.

American Airlines- Cheap low cost but no special perks that I would run wild for. Had a couple of bad experiences but the flight crew made up for the same.










Just to get myself organized, I used the following apps. They are available for Android, Apple and windows.

Tripit Pro version- It is $49 for a year subscription which is okay per me for the interviews. It gives you notifications on when you can check in and gives you the shortest route to take to the next gate, which helps when your layover is just half hour and you have to run to the next gate. You can even store your hotel reservation, so you know your itinerary is not missing anything.

Awardwallet pro/free version- Helps you track your miles and know when miles are expiring. It also has a feature of letting you know when to check-in. My referral link is this 

Tips while travelling in the States

Few tips that I feel people who are going around for interviews must know.

Sites which you can use prior to booking your travel plans.

Wanderu – This site helps to compare the prices of all the competitive bus lines that I know of like Boltbus, Greyhound and Megabus. My advice is to use Wanderu to find out which dates would be the cheapest to travel and once that is figured out, make an account online in the respective bus-lines and book on those dates. You might actually get a discount if you book via the home page of the bus company site. E.g.: https://www.boltbus.com/

UPDATE They have a mobile app too now :)

Sky scanner - This site helps you compare the cheapest fares that the various airlines have. It is similar to Wanderu but for flights. This site also happens to have an android app, so would recommend having that on your phone.

Uber- People who I have met during interviews, as well as my awesome cousins that helped me in my interview journey told me about the Uber app, which helps one get around in the city. The first ride is free up to $15 provided you have a promo code which I happen to have which is g1xi2. Using this you would get your 1^st ride worth $15free and I would get $15 in return, so a win-win situation here I would say. Please note that you would need a credit or a debit card to open an account. I would suggest using your international travel card.

Lyft-  This is similar to Uber. Found out about this during residency. The first ride is free up to $20 provided you have a promo code which I happen to have which is NEIL1421 or NEILNF. Using this you would get your 1^st ride worth $20 free and I would get $20 in return, so a win-win situation here I would say. Please note that you would need a credit or a debit card to open an account. I would suggest using your international travel card.

Trip it -  It helps you organize your journeys and keep track of when each of your bus or flights are. The cool feature about this is that once you organize your trip, you can share it with your family who can then track when and where you are headed out to. It automatically incorporates your travel plans much like Google Now. Tripit has both a site and an app which you can use while traveling.

Coming to my personal experiences with the bus lines.

Megabus-http://us.megabus.com/

Features

• Double Decker bus. 
• Has free Wi-Fi, charging points (some are overhead and some are below your seat).  
• Need only your confirmation number to board.

Cons

• They do not have a dedicated depot spot and the pickup or drop off spot will generally be on the road along with a signpost which says Megabus.

My personal choice for a seat is the lower seat, left side and near the aisle, since I am a little tall I like to keep my leg hanging in the aisle and stretch it a little.

Greyhound- https://www.greyhound.com/

Features

• Single Decker bus. 
• Has Wi-Fi, charging points. 

Cons 

• You have to have either print out your ticket or choose the will call option and collect your ticket at the bus station. I find this extremely old-fashioned since I do not like carrying around a paper ticket.

Here too I choose an aisle seat since I get space to stretch my legs.

Bolt Bus: https://www.boltbus.com/ 

Features

• Single Decker bus. 
• Has Wi-Fi, charging points. 
• Have to show the email that was sent to your email in order to board the bus.
• Feel this has the best of both worlds i.e. Greyhound and Megabus.

General advice

• Expect delays on the bus lines even though you may be on time.
• Keep your expectations low by telling yourself that there will be no Wi-Fi or the charging points won't work
• During boarding, they may ask for some sort of identification. For international graduates, a passport should work. 
• Regarding the criteria that you should have your address on the credit card, I would say do not sweat it. You can book via your travel card and show your passport as ID if asked.
• There is a restroom in ALL the buses, which I feel is a really decent feature.
• Lastly, suppose the place you stay at is along the way I would suggest you ask the driver if he could drop you on the road near it and he will generally oblige or at least in my case he did. I tried this with a Greyhound driver since otherwise, I would have to walk around 3 miles in the cold winter on the highway. A colleague of mine walked and I must say it does not sound like a pleasant experience.

I will try updating the post as and when I travel along.

Good luck

Disclaimer: The post is totally based on my own experiences during traveling. So do not hold me responsible should you not have a similar experience.

UPDATE :

Transit: This app helps get the real-time update for the nearest bus or train. So you do not have to download each city's individual metro or rail app. 

Citymapper: This app also functions like the above but is available in only the major cities and metros in the States