The cost of applying to medical school is expensive. Primary and secondary applications, along with the expense of traveling to and from interviews, add up to a significant sum of money usually running in the thousands of dollars. One way to potentially cut down on the cost is to consolidate interviews in a particular location, especially for those who are traveling from coast to coast. Writing an “in the area” email is the best way to approach this.

If you have been invited to interview in a city or location where there are multiple medical schools (Philadelphia, Chicago or New York, for example), you can contact other medical schools in the area to let them know that you will be in the vicinity. This should not be done with any expectation that you will get an interview—but rather with courteousness. You would send an email to the school informing them that you will be “in the area”; IF they deem your application strong enough to warrant an interview, it would help with your travel expenses if you could interview during this time frame.

You should send this with plenty of advance time since medical schools’ interview calendars are very busy and often hard to change. Finally, make it clear that you would still be willing to interview at another time if they cannot accommodate your travel plans.

If you have questions about your particular circumstances, reach out to me via email at liza@thompsonadvising.com.

–Liza Thompson, Expert Medical School Admissions Consultant

Post updated in October 2019