I would look at Natick, Framingham, Needham and Waltham; plan to drive to the nearest T station with parking (or even cheaper- get the hotel van to drop you off) and take the T. There are some great deals on the big chain hotels in these towns- they cater to business people who need to be close to an office park on the 128 corridor, but empty out on Friday and the rates go way down. Check in advance-- most have free parking and a courtesy van…
Hi! I would recommend staying in the Copley Square area. Tons of hotels- Marriott, Westin, Sheraton, etc and it is a great location for walking around and exploring the city. Lots of great food and shopping too. I am not sure on parking but I’m sure at least one of them has parking or there would be a nearby public parking garage.
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Copley on a budget? Don’t think so!
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The Copley area is fabulous…but pricey.
Really the town suggestions @blossom gave are fine. The public transportation in Boston should be experienced on a college visit…because that is what the student will be using!
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Especially in Southie after a snowstorm. And then you have to move the chair out of the way. 
Driving up from NY, so will have the car, unfortunately. If we’d planned this earlier, might have taken the train, but for now, timing wise, we’ll have to take the car. Ironically, DS is interested in BU because he’s a city/public transport person - the fact that there are multiple T stops on campus is a big plus for him! He’s excited to stay further out and take the T a few times and has already planned a post tour trip to acquire pastries. Thanks everyone.
Yes, @thumper1, the plan is to drop the car at the hotel pre-tour (we’re confirming that we can park it before check in without paying for 2 nights), and not use the car until the next day when we head home.
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In that case, it might (probably will) be to park the car at Logan or a T terminus, and take the T into BU. The Residence Inn I mentioned is midway between Kenmore and Fenway stops. (Fenway, however, is more vertical)
My 21 is at BU for her doctorate program, one day she drove up from NJ with a friend, didn’t get into a single building, and fell in love. She got into NEU and didn’t even bother checking it out (BU did give her $). She takes the T every day.
Move the chair at your own risk!
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Thanks everyone. We ended up staying at the Courtyard (Coolidge Corner) in Brookline. Total price, including parking ($40), was just under $200. We parked around 11 and took the T in for our tour at 1:30 on Saturday (we had lunch first on Newbury Street - and looked at the fancy shops). It was raining and windy, but DS still loved the info. session and the tour. He had us on the T maybe 5 times that day - he does love trains (and we bought an unlimited 24 hr ticket); I think the reason he’s so focused on BU is the public transportation. We were touristy and went to Quincy Market, and headed to the North end (after walking over the buried highway - again, he’s a transportation fiend) for cannoli, and then to the Holocaust memorial on the way to the Haymarket station, and then took the T back to the hotel.
DS also totally loved Brookline (we had breakfast at Zaftigs today). I think he’s not only in love with BU but also in love with Boston in general.
Now he just needs to research to see if there’s enough Urban Planning classes for him - that’s his current area of interest - but it looks like Urban Planning is a Minor in the Political Science department. That may work. He also loves Latin. Interestingly, the student who spoke at our info. session was a Poli Sci and Classics major.
But back on topic - hotel was clean, quiet, so close to the T, easy to park, in a lovely location. Not inexpensive (though it seems relatively inexpensive for Boston), but it really worked for us.
Edited to add: for the $40 parking fee you could drive in and out of the garage, but we dropped the car and didn’t grab it til the next day on our way home.
Thanks again.
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