GRE and transportation issues on the West Coast

[InquilineKea]

So... I just registered for my two subject test GREs. Unfortunately, I could only register for the first one at Western Washington U (in Bellingham), and the second one at the University of Puget Sound (in Tacoma) - I live in the Seattle area.

And I have to be there by 8:30 AM. Which means that none of the public transportation services can get me there early enough for the tests. =/

So I'm going to try something else: Maybe I'll take the bus/Greyhound/Amtrak to those places on the day before the exam, CouchSurf (or possibly Airbnb) over for a night, and then take the exam during the following day

Does anyone else have similar issues? i'm just wondering.

Edited September 1, 2011 by InquilineKea

[HyacinthMacaw]

Sounds tough, but it's not uncommon. My sister had to stay overnight at a hotel before taking her bar exam. Lots of other people were doing the same thing since there were only a few exam sites in the state. Hope everything works out for you. Can I suggest you rent a car instead, BTW? Just a thought. I get the impression that Amtrak and Greyhound are vulnerable to delays, and personally I wouldn't want to worry about that sort of thing before my exams. Plus, you would still need transport from the bus or train station to the exam site.

[rising_star]

I would say rent a car via a traditional rental company, Zipcar, or Hertz Connect.

[InquilineKea]

Yeah - unfortunately - my parents don't allow me to drive. So public transport is the only option. Good point about delays - that's why I'm thinking about just taking a Greyhound the day before, and then staying overnight (I don't have anything on CouchSurfing so people seem very reluctant to reply to me - though it appears that I can overnight in a hotel for $55)

Thanks for telling me all the options and examples though!

[InquilineKea]

Hm - CouchSurfing doesn't seem to be working, but I just have another idea: Reddit! People on Reddit actually can be quite generous (at least the local Reddit subreddits are), and you don't have to individually contact people. So I'll do that and see where things go.

[Ennue]

I had to take the GRE subject test far away from my house as well. I took the train there (it was Brussel) the day before and spent the night in a hostel. It was a cheap hostel - people were having noisy sex, my roommates left and got back in the middle of the night for partying, another roommate arrived with all her stuff at 3 am... Pretty funny actually, in retrospect But I suggest maybe splurging on a hotel, 55 dollars isn't that bad and at least you'll be well rested!

[rising_star]

Yea, a hotel may be the best idea.

Your parents don't allow you to drive? Assuming you're over 18 and have a license, it's not really their call.

[harpyemma]

I also had to take the GRE and GRE Subject Tests really far from my home. For the GRE i stayed in a hostel in London and it was right by St Paul's so i got woke up a couple of times in the night by the bells--but it really wasn't that bad.

For the Subject test(which, incidentally, i bombed, although not much of that, i think, can be put down to lack of sleep!) i had to travel down to Canterbury from Manchester (>5hr journey) so i had to do the hostel thing again. I wasn't really worried given how well it had worked for the general test... but, boy, i should have been.

In the room with me was the MOTHER of all snorers. My GOD. Nothing would shut this woman up--i tried waking her up, asking her to sleep on her back, etc. And i had earplugs in and everything. In the end i went and slept in the living room on a terribly uncomfortable couch. It was awful.

to reinforce what everyone else has said--if it's only $55, i'd get the hotel room.

[InquilineKea]

Yea, a hotel may be the best idea.

Your parents don't allow you to drive? Assuming you're over 18 and have a license, it's not really their call.

Yeah, except that I'm still financially dependent, so in practice, it's their call (since I'm exhausted from having too many fights) - it's really that I don't have auto insurance so they've figured that it's better to not risk having me drive.

I also had to take the GRE and GRE Subject Tests really far from my home. For the GRE i stayed in a hostel in London and it was right by St Paul's so i got woke up a couple of times in the night by the bells--but it really wasn't that bad.

For the Subject test(which, incidentally, i bombed, although not much of that, i think, can be put down to lack of sleep!) i had to travel down to Canterbury from Manchester (>5hr journey) so i had to do the hostel thing again. I wasn't really worried given how well it had worked for the general test... but, boy, i should have been.

In the room with me was the MOTHER of all snorers. My GOD. Nothing would shut this woman up--i tried waking her up, asking her to sleep on her back, etc. And i had earplugs in and everything. In the end i went and slept in the living room on a terribly uncomfortable couch. It was awful.

to reinforce what everyone else has said--if it's only $55, i'd get the hotel room.

Wow - thanks for the interesting story! (and thanks to Ennue too!) Yeah - that definitely will convince me to probably get a hotel instead. And maybe even to skip out on CouchSurfing (since the same things could definitely happen with CouchSurfing too)

[katerific]

I'd probably opt for the hotel, just because I know I'd be able to sleep super well the night before. When I took the GRE. I actually specifically signed up to take it across the country in my home state, just so my dad could drive me. I mean, I was planning on visiting home anyway, but I scheduled my trip home around the GRE, haha.

edit: also, good luck!

Edited September 3, 2011 by katerific

[rising_star]

Yeah, except that I'm still financially dependent, so in practice, it's their call (since I'm exhausted from having too many fights) - it's really that I don't have auto insurance so they've figured that it's better to not risk having me drive.

You don't need your own auto insurance policy for ZipCar or Hertz Connect. The cost of insurance is included in the rental. Seriously. Look into it.

[timuralp]

You don't need your own auto insurance policy for ZipCar or Hertz Connect. The cost of insurance is included in the rental. Seriously. Look into it.

Similarly, some credit card companies (AmEx and Visa are two I know about for sure) include some insurance. Visa includes the Collision Damage Waiver and liability insurance is included in every rental.

[InquilineKea]

You don't need your own auto insurance policy for ZipCar or Hertz Connect. The cost of insurance is included in the rental. Seriously. Look into it.

Wow - I didn't know that. Thanks very much! I'll definitely look into it.

Fortunately though, I managed to find someone who's also taking the same test in Tacoma in November - so I don't need to worry too much about that anymore (posting in the physics majors facebook group really helped)

[qbtacoma]

Are you sure the regular bus,the 594, won't get you to Tacoma by 8:30? That's way cheaper and more convenient. I know that used to be the case, for commuters, and I've definitely gotten to Tacoma from Seattle before 8 before (granted, I had to leave at 6:30). The 594 will get you downtown in about an hour and then you can take the 16 straight to UPS. However, I know the bus system has suffered cuts recently, so I don't know the current situation. Go to www.piercetransit.org for the bus in Tacoma.

[InquilineKea]

Are you sure the regular bus,the 594, won't get you to Tacoma by 8:30? That's way cheaper and more convenient. I know that used to be the case, for commuters, and I've definitely gotten to Tacoma from Seattle before 8 before (granted, I had to leave at 6:30). The 594 will get you downtown in about an hour and then you can take the 16 straight to UPS. However, I know the bus system has suffered cuts recently, so I don't know the current situation. Go to www.piercetransit.org for the bus in Tacoma.

I saw that - there's a single bus (on Saturday) that can get me just before 8:30 - however - the 16 doesn't allow me to get to UPS before 8:30. The other thing is that I cannot be guaranteed to catch a bus, so I can't rely on a single bus.

==

Anyways - I got most of my woes solved. I found a WWU student in Bellingham (off Reddit) who I can crash over with, and another student who will drive me to Tacoma. Yay. The only problem is that I don't know how to thank them (especially since I don't know how to cook)

[harpyemma]

I found a WWU student in Bellingham (off Reddit) who I can crash over with, and another student who will drive me to Tacoma. Yay. The only problem is that I don't know how to thank them (especially since I don't know how to cook)

Vino.

[qbtacoma]

Also coffee. Or, you could buy them lunch. Pretty much any tasty option is correct. Glad to hear it all worked out!