I would agree that NOT being in Boston on the marathon day is a good idea.
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What website did you get this map?
I think a lot of these itineraries are pretty ambitious, to be honest. Two schools a day will be exhausting and grueling all on its own, even without having to travel between cities that aren’t that close to each other, checking in and out of hotels, and hoping to get some sightseeing in as well. My son and I did an overnight trip to DC where we toured American in the morning and GW in the afternoon. We got into DC the night before, did about two hours of sightseeing that night, and the following day was a whirlwind of checking schedules to make sure we got to our info sessions and tours on time, tons of walking, trying to squeeze in some lunch, etc. We both felt that GW got a little shortchanged just because were were already exhausted from seeing American that morning. I can’t imagine trying to do that seven days in a row.
Maybe try to pick 8 schools (max) for seven days? Two schools in DC, two schools in NYC, and two schools in Boston - plus two “bonus” schools (either a third school in one or two of the cities or a couple of schools on the way, like Penn or JHU). That would give you a little more time to breathe, allow for some travel time, and give you some time do at least a little sightseeing. For me, my favorites sites in the three cities (I grew up near DC and am most familiar with it) are as follows. For DC - the monuments - they’re amazing, free, outdoors, and will give you the chills. I love the Lincoln Memorial, and the Vietnam War Memorial especially. Ethiopian food is great in DC. If you have more time, all of the Smithsonians are great - my favorites are the Musuem of American History and Air and Space Museum. National Gallery is pretty great too. I doubt you’ll be able to get tours of the capital, White House, etc. due to Covid - but a great idea for a future visit. NYC - Central Park (and the Central Park Zoo is pretty cool, while you’re there), see a Broadway show, MOMA, and Johns Pizza in the Village. Boston, cliche’d but the Freedom Trail and Faneuil Hall, and pick a great seafood restaurant (I haven’t been to Boston in awhile so no restaurant recs).
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The itinerary would depend on where your S/D is in their college search process. As other posters had mentioned, you will get more out of it if you limit yourself to one or two geographic areas.
If your S/D had no idea what type of school , I think Boston and Philadelphia gives you the best opportunity to see a variety of schools in close geographic proximity.
Philly:
IVY: PENN and Princeton (less than an hour)
Catholic: Villanova, St Josephs, LaSalle
LACs: Swarthmore, Haverford, Bryn Mawr
Research: Drexel, Temple (semi public)
State Schools: Rutgers New Brunswick would be a little over an hour
If you plan on those 3 cities, I’d definitely use Amtrak, cars are a PITA in these cities, and parking can be expensive.
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niche
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I think you can forget about getting in a lot of sight-seeing. Fly into D.C. and depending on the flight, you might get GT, GWU and AU in one day. After that, take the Amtrak to Philly and NYC. I’m betting the train schedules will limit you to one city a day, especially if you plan on adding Providence and Boston to the mix. That’s five cities in seven days, assuming a return flight from Boston.
We took a Boston trip in the fall and were able to visit 3 schools on 2 days. We did Boston College on a Thursday afternoon, drove into the city, where we stayed at a hotel, then did Northeastern for a morning tour and Boston University in the afternoon. We walked from Northeastern to BU and had lunch before the BU tour. We also did a Central New York tour and visited Cornell on day one, Syracuse and University of Rochester on day two, and University of Buffalo (SUNY) on day three and Binghamton (SUNY) on day 4. Each school was about an hour a half apart. It was a bit of a rush getting the two in one day in different cities but we managed. Ithaca College is also in the same city as Cornell so those two could be visited on the same day (we had already seen that school when my older son was applying, so we didn’t visit again). In retrospect, it was kind of exhausting seeing two schools in one day, but if you are pressed for time it is possible. You also have to see what times the tours are offered to see if you can coordinate them.
Ok I edited my initial post, but just to add here - I didn’t mean that we’d want to visit 2 schools every day of the trip. Will be maybe 6 total. We’re good with the school part, it’s the touristy things in those cities I could use help on because there is so much possible!
Thanks to all for the suggestions and advice thus far!
Probably so, but our planned and must destination from Hopkins was U Penn and it was the same day as Hopkins. I convinced my DD that we should go check out Haverford, Bryn Mawr, Villanova and Swarthmore if we had time. By the time we made it to Villanova and I looked at where Swarthmore was from there and where our hotel was, it was getting dark and it was in the wrong direction. (Bryn Mawr, Haverford and Villanova are all kind of next to each other) In the morning we were off to Princeton. As it was, Villanova was more of a drive by. You could really spend days in Pennsylvania visiting quality schools - there were plenty more we could have visited in the Philly area, but we hit the best in eastern Pennsylvania. We could have hit Franklin & Marshall, Bucknell, Lafayette, Temple, Drexel, and then of course there is U Pitt and Carnegie Mellon on the other side of the state. Same with Boston - we could have hit Tufts, Brandeis, Amherst, U Mass, Wellesley, Smith and many more.
This.
Also, the Museum of Fine Arts, here: https://www.mfa.org/
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I know in the end we hit over 20 colleges in 12 days. And we passed within several miles of Virginia Tech, we spent the night in Birmingham (U of AL) and stopped for gas in Tuscaloosa (Main campus UofAL), and so many other schools so we could have visited - but each time you stop it adds time. We would have like to have broken it up over two summers and a fall or spring trip, but covid took all those opportunities away, so we had one trip to hit as much as we could. As for scheduling, that wasn’t much of a problem, because most colleges were still closed, and we did self-tours at most of them. The better ones left maps out and had apps you could follow too. I think we had 7 official tours, mostly outdoors.
Yes, look at Tufts if you are going to Boston; maybe Boston College as well.
Of the three cities I would rate Boston as the best college experience…and I like all three cities. That would be my first visit. Let the flaming begin.
Is your son applying to Harvard (or fill-in the blank)? Would he still apply without visiting? If so, why visit now unless you’re thinking ED. Acceptance rate is 5%. It’s a long shot. Visit a more likely school.
Do a thorough review of each school. Look at the programs. Look at the graduation requirements. If your son wants to go to XYZ for study abroad make sure they offer it. S20 probably could’ve knocked off 3-4 schools by taking a deeper dive.
I think the only school we didn’t visit is the one S20 attends now. First visit was move in day, under Covid restrictions. It worked out.
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Agree. We loved Boston and because of that the schools there are at the top of my son’s list. Great city.
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NYC - obviously, you’d have to pick based on everyone’s interest, but here is a nice variety of things:
- The Metropolitan Museum (of Art), which sits on one edge of Central Park, or
- The Museum of Natural History, which sits two blocks from the opposite side of Central Park
- Inbetween is of course Central Park itself - with “Belvedere Castle” being a pretty/elevated place to see and (for Beatles Fans) one can visit Strawberry Fields (keep your expectations low though), or even stroll through the Central Park Zoo.
If there is any interest in the events of 9/11, then the Memorial, and Museum and the Freedom Tower can all be considered. From there, cross the road to Battery Park City with a nice river front walk, and views of Lady Liberty.
If you have time and feel like spending an hour “in the harbor”, then catch the Staten Island Ferry for a round trip. It will be the cheapest way to drive right past the Statue of Liberty, with gorgeous views and picture opportunities of Liberty Island and of course of downtown Manhattan. Or, if traveling by car, make that the last thing out of NYC on your way South (or the first thing if coming from DC): Take your car on the Ferry. I278 across the Goethals Bridge connects Staten Island to/from I95.
The Intrepid (Aircraft Carrier) museum is something our visitors have usually enjoyed, which also includes the chance to visit the submarine.
If you have people who’ve never been to NYC, then someone typically does want to see the theatre district (Times Square). Yes, it’s touristy - but then again, you’re “touristing” after all! And if there’s an overnight stop, then booking tickets to a Musical in advance could be a highlight, if it’s in your budget.
Of course, if you’re not visiting schools in Manhattan, e.g., Fordham’s main campus, then the Bronx Zoo is almost across the street where you can spend the other half of the day - and still will have missed much.
As far as restaurants there’s countless good ones in every neighborhood. Once you have a better idea where in NYC you’ll be going/staying, or which sites you’ll be touring, it will be easier to make suggestions.
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Haven’t been to DC in a long time, but you cant go wrong with the monuments or the Smithsonian if they are open. NYC - there are so many good places to eat. I would check out Central Park, the High Line, Flat Iron district/Madison Square Park area. I’ve always liked that area. If checking out NYU, then Washington Square Park. The 9/11 memorial and the Occulus. Chelsea Market. Times Square is overcrowded but I guess if you have never been, you should go to check it out once. Boston - I already mentioned some places. Personally if you want to do sightseeing as potential to get to know the cities because your kid may be going to school there, and you have a short trip, I dont know that I would spend 3-4 hours at a game or show or even museum - you’ll have 4 years for that. 
I would spend a lot of time walking and getting to know the areas near the schools and other parts of the city. Love Columbia and surrounding area. Fordham is right in Lincoln Center, which is a hop away from Central Park. NYU is surrounding Washington Square Park, which is a totally different vibe from either of those areas. BU and NU are close together, so after touring them I would check out Boston -its a much smaller city. Start with Kenmore Square since it is right next to BU and close to NU. Catch the T and head to the touristy spots like the Boston Common and Waterfront. Boston is a great small city. You can see more of Boston in a day than NYC. I love NYC and Boston, but for me personally for college, Boston wins over any city any day of the week.
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Daughter, not son. Not looking at Harvard as it’s not a good fit regardless of her grades or activities. She’s done a lot of research into schools already and has a nice list coming together, including some safeties, and this trip is as much for fun as it is for college search. We won’t have another opportunity to do visits like this schedule wise before she applies next fall, so trying to take advantage of her break.
In that case, Philly is the easiest trip on your list: The Liberty Bell is a straight shot via the downtown SEPTA train next to the Penn campus. Boston will take a bit more planning because the colleges themselves are scattered between the city and nearby bedroom communities. You’ll need a map in order to visit anyplace touristy in Boston. New York? Pick a college and then walk around the neighborhood; there’s scarcely a city block on Manhattan Island that doesn’t have some historic significance.