Originally Posted by
RoadNurse33
Hello,
I am applying to medical schools this year and will be doing a lot of traveling for interviews. At least I hope I will be traveling for interviews. The premed forums have been of great benefit to me, but the suggested packing lists generated by a bunch of neurotic premeds started to create visions of loading a steamer trunk onto the Titanic. Disclaimer: I too am a neurotic premed. I'm a non-traditional student though so I am at least cognizant of the wonders of FlyerTalk. I don't think I will include any mileage run stats in the activities section of my application though.
I come to the professionals of travel with a humble request: how can I travel efficiently without appearing to have crawled outside of my suitcase the morning of the interview? The irony is that I fly everyday at work...but working on a medevac helicopter doesn't get me these needed skills. Neither did my previous employment at the fire department. I have a TravelPro carry on suitcase, but an out of town wedding a couple weeks ago left me convinced I was doing it wrong. Imagine CPR on a suitcase to get it closed.
Just like packing a car for the family vacation, I know this is an art. I will start practicing in advance, packing suits and leaving them in there for 24+ hours etc but in the meantime...any tips on things to purchase to make my life easier? Starting from scratch means I have a TravelPro carry-on suitcase...which I love but I don't have a garment bag etc. I am thinking that this is my last chance to upgrade, within reason, while I still have a source of income that doesn't have a 20 year repayment plan associated with it. Tips of travel friendly suits/dress attire would be great too. I have 4-5 good suits, but one more to the arsenal is never a bad idea.
Here is what I absolutely will bring:
1 suit, 1 sport coat, 2 dress shirts, slacks, dress shoes, belt, 2 ties, and the usual socks/underwear/toiletries etc. I will also bring my Macbook Air, noise cancelling headphones, and a small, zippered portfolio.
I killed most of today reading the one bag travel ninja thread and it was an enormous help, but I didn't want to hijack the thread by asking my questions. I am sold on the Cocoon Grid-It and heavily considering the Gate8 bag...but I don't know a thing about packing with cubes or other things I read about this afternoon.
Annoyingly long, I know. Neurotic premed function kicking into overdrive. Try not to laugh too much at us this fall as we stumble around the gates...got a lot riding on this.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Safe travels.
Although reading between the lines, I think I know these answers, but the answers to three questions might help clarify your needs. First, how certain are you that suits are necessary at all? Keep in mind that doctors wearing suits seems to have faded from the scene some time ago. I understand how important interviewing for professional school can be so I agree it is important to dress appropriately, but I suspect your dress needs might not be as rigorous as someone interviewing for an executive position with a non-tech Fortune 500 company.
Second, assuming that you still need dress shirts, suits, and ties based on the current needs of a med school interviewee (I'm sure the premed forums you've frequently give you a good handle on that), then how many schools would you expect to visit on a particular trip? Third, how many days would you expect to be at the same school, seeing the exact same interviewers?
In addition to the Ninja thread, these two threads might be of assistance:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trave...pack-suit.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trave...e-clothes.html
The first thread includes a video with a method for folding suit jackets to reduce wrinkles; the second, suggestions for non-wrinkle clothes.
If by packing a suit, slacks, and a sports coat you mean
travel with no more than that, then wear either the suit or sports coat/jacket on the plane, packing the other outfit. Match your suit/slacks/sports coat to your shoes, and you can probably avoid packing a second set of shoes. You'll undoubtedly be overdressed for the plane, but you'll pack less, making it less likely you'll need to administer CPR to your suitcase.
I've found Brooks Brothers, Nordstrom, and Jos. A. Banks all make good non-wrinkle dress shirts. I like to pack a tie, rolled up, in a Ziploc bag with a little air left in it as one of the last items in my suitcase--I've found the tie tends to resist creasing and wrinkling this way.
Good luck!