Thanks fireandrain! Very helpful information.
Re: the snow boots. On those fairly rare occasions that classes are cancelled due to a snow storm, the kids do tend to get out actually into the snow, build snowpeople, sled/slide on the Simmons Quad and, if we get a real blizzard, trek down Thayer Street. So, while snow boots would never be necessary to get to and from classes, meals, etc., it might not be a bad idea to bring them for snow days.
Daughter incoming freshman from California. Appreciate the advice everyone. Both the weather and east coast will be a culture shock to her. Thinking of just making a Target or Bed Bath order and picking it up near school. Questions: is it worth it to get a rental car for family weekend? Is it easier from west coast to just fly in and out of Boston(no changing planes)? Recommendations for places and cities for us now very lonely parents to visit after drop off, so we don’t just right away fly right back cross country to an empty house?
No need for a car for family weekend. There are lots of events on the campus and if you want to go to the Football game, it is a couple of miles, but there is also usually a shuttle bus to the stadium. If you want to explore after the weekend, yes, a car. Newport is great to visit, only 40 minutes from Providence. Boston about an hour. You can get into NH in 2-3 hours and it might be foliage season depending on how things develop. A longer ride (5 hours), but really nice and different is to Montreal (bring a passport). New York is like 3-4 hours, but don’t take a car there – train is better. There is lots to see around Rhode Island and Providence. I live in RI, but we manage to find adventures within a couple of hours all over RI, CT and MA. Cape Cod, Block Island (RI), Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket are all within a couple of hours of Providence by car or car then ferry. Flying into Boston is fine – about an hour and a half to Providence with no traffic, but miserable if there is traffic, which there is most of the time M-F. You can also take a bus from Logan to downtown Providence or take the subway from Logan to South Station and get a train (commuter or Amtrak). Providence airport (Warwick) won’t be a traffic problem except add maybe 20 minutes around rush hour. There is a commuter train that runs during the week from the PVD airport to the Providence Amtrak station, which is walking/cab distance from the campus. PS re: culture shock: one of my daughter’s best friends is from SOCAL and she LOVES Providence, the seasons, the snow, etc.
Direct flights are wonderful. While Logan to Providence is an hour as the crow flies, budget a lot more time. If you drive, traffic can be bad. There is a Peter Pan bus, but you have to see how the bus times work with your flight times. Taking the Silver line to South Station and then the commuter line to Providence works – but if the timing is off and you just miss a train, that can mean spending 90 minutes or so waiting for the next one at South Station. If your flight is delayed and gets in really late at night, then getting to Providence without a car could be problematic.
As for Family Weekend – some kids get really excited about leaving campus with their parents and exploring Newport or somewhere else. Other kids want to show their parents around campus and go to all the events scheduled that weekend. So it depends on your kid – and you may not know until a week before which scenario they want. One of our friends used to love taking their daughter apple picking over Family Weekend.
Hotels in downtown Providence mostly have shuttles that can get you to Brown. BUT last I checked, most of the reasonably priced hotels downtown were booked for family weekend 2016. If you stay outside of the city, you’ll need a car or to pay for car service/cab to and from Brown. There are B&Bs within walking distance, but they’re small and not everyone likes B&Bs. Logistically, as @fireandrain noted, it can be difficult to get from Boston to Providence, or to nearby towns with lodging, without a car.
Also, for those who comment that the Amtrak station is within walking distance from the campus. Yes, it is. It’s great going FROM the campus to the station, but it’s a solid 3/4 mile uphill getting TO campus. If you’re schlepping luggage, you may want a cab.
Thank you everyone for such a helpful comments. Appreciated.
We find it helpful to have a rental car for Family Weekend, especially when you fly into Boston. Most restaurants are far enough from campus that it’s difficult to walk; alternatively, you’ll use Uber a lot. And for the first year parents, you can always expect that there’s going to be a trip to a grocery store, Bed Bath Beyond, Target etc. to get the dorm room items that were forgotten during the drop-off. Didn’t really have trouble parking but maybe that’s just luck. I would also make restaurant reservations and for more people than you might anticipate; you can always cancel or modify the reservation later.
We are from the west coast and really enjoyed the car during visits to Brown to explore the area (Newport, Cape Cod, even Nantucket). We did not go freshman year because we had gone in August/Sept. to drop off our kid and did our share of exploring the area then, in warmer weather. Attending Family weekend during Sophomore year, though, seemed very beneficial because so many of the “forums” going on on campus seemed geared to parents of sophomores, as in talks about internships, declaring your concentrations and that whole process, etc. Also our kid had had a chance to experience one full year at Brown already and kind of felt at home there, wanted to show us around, introduce us to parents of his friends. Had we not gone to drop him off at the beginning of freshman year, though, we absolutely would have wanted to go to family weekend that first year. Like others have mentioned, the fall colors can be beautiful then, and we took full advantage of having the car by visiting other kid (Middlebury) and making a big loop from VT down through NY along the Hudson River and back up through NH. Being from the west coast, it was a lot of fun to explore the area - so much history and all so close together compared to out west.
Also forgot to mention that staying in Seekonk, MA is so very convenient to Brown. Plenty of free parking, a short drive (less than 10 min.) and right in the heart of all the “big box stores” that you may be frequenting with a freshman. We always stay at the Clarion there.
This just in – might be of interest: http://parade.com/476227/tamrabolton/providence-rhode-island-the-best-kept-secret-on-the-east-coast/#.V3UWq7hfMel.twitter
Great Article. Also highly recommend the RISD museum, and Brown students get in free with their ID card.
My S was just accepted to the New Science Catalyst- Mosaic. It’s two weeks before Freshman orientation. While I’m sure the Univ. will give him details, I’m wondering if anyone has kids who have done this and specifically whether or not they let these kids into their freshman dorm at that time or house them somewhere and then move into their freshman dorm along with everyone else.
They house all pre-orientation program students in the room they’ll be in for the year, unless something’s drastically changed.
@bruno14 thanks for the info.
Does anyone know if physical therapy services are available through the health services?
@whatthewhat I don’t know, but I called the health services department yesterday regarding certain services they provide and they were extremely helpful in explaining things. I suggest you give them a call.