Scheduling Calgary and U of A interviews on the same weekend??

[Rusty Verdigris]

Hi everyone! I'm coming from out of province and I'm trying to figure out what the best plan is if I happen to be fortunate enough to get an interview at uAlberta in addition to my Calgary interview (this may be a total moot point if there is no uAlberta interview in the cards for me, but here's hoping lol). Would it be reasonable to try to schedule one interview for the Saturday and one for the Sunday and drive from Calgary to Edmonton on the Saturday evening? Or am I better off trying to schedule two separate weekends and flying to Alberta twice? Travel cost is definitely a big consideration for me, but also if it's going to be way too stressful to try and pack it all into one weekend, or if there's a risk that weather or something could disrupt my driving plans, then I will make two trips to Alberta work. 

Thanks for everyone's input!

[zxcccxz]

I would imagine that anyone who is out of province will try to plan their interviews for the 14th and 15th if they were lucky enough to get both. I technically count as IP but I am flying in from Ontario, so I'm hoping to do this as well if I get UofA too. As someone who's made the drive between Calgary and Edmonton many times, it's actually a very straightforward 3-hour trip, and the road is highly trafficked and therefore, well maintained. To be honest, I would prefer not to do both in one weekend as well, but cost, as well as the extra time necessary to make two trips (I am still in undergrad and taking 6 courses w/ a part-time job) would be too prohibitive.

[MSWschnoodle]

5 hours ago, Rusty Verdigris said:

Hi everyone! I'm coming from out of province and I'm trying to figure out what the best plan is if I happen to be fortunate enough to get an interview at uAlberta in addition to my Calgary interview (this may be a total moot point if there is no uAlberta interview in the cards for me, but here's hoping lol). Would it be reasonable to try to schedule one interview for the Saturday and one for the Sunday and drive from Calgary to Edmonton on the Saturday evening? Or am I better off trying to schedule two separate weekends and flying to Alberta twice? Travel cost is definitely a big consideration for me, but also if it's going to be way too stressful to try and pack it all into one weekend, or if there's a risk that weather or something could disrupt my driving plans, then I will make two trips to Alberta work. 

Thanks for everyone's input!

The drive from Calgary to Edmonton is totally reasonable for an evening. There is even a convenient halfway stop (Red Deer) to buy some dinner should you be so inclined. :-)

If you really loathe the idea of driving (or if you are not confident with winter highway driving) you can technically fly between Calgary and Edmonton but once you take into account the amount of waiting around the airport it really isn't that much of a time saving (unless you want to study for finals or read or binge watch Netflix instead of driving). If you go this route then fly into the city of your first interview, fly to second city in the afternoon/evening and fly back home out of the second city. It would save you 6 hours of driving and the cost of a rental car. You would have to work out the math to see which one makes more financial sense. 

[MedicineLCS]

There are also multiple bus lines (with Wifi) between Edmonton and Calgary. 

[Rusty Verdigris]

Really appreciate all the advice--thank you! 

... now just have to wait for uAlberta invites/regrets to go out. Good luck everyone!

[chkchkchickens]

Actually one of my friends last year did just that!  It will be an exhausting weekend, but getting between cities is not a problem.

The drive from Edmonton to Calgary is 3 hours.  Red Deer has Gasoline Alley intended specifically as a pit stop between the two cities.  You could probably make it on one tank of gas if you really wanted to!

Flying between cities is not really worth it, because it would take you longer to do all the airport stuff.  Plus, the Edmonton airport is about an hour away from the University, so you would need to drive/take public transportation anyway once you landed.

Anyway, congrats on Calgary interview!!  And good luck!

 

[Dr. JJ]

Late to this thread, and don't know if you got that U of A interview, but the Red Arrow bus is definitely your best solution to get between Calgary and Edmonton. Single seating on one side, snacks, and downtown-to-downtown stops. Car rental would be an enormous hassle and flying will most definitely not save you any time!

-JJ