I was just going to say the same thing about the Marathon. My husband has run it a couple of times and hotels are really expensive that weekend before and it’s super busy. Unless you want to experience the marathon, I’d avoid Boston during that time.
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My point exactly. For your itinerary and interests/priorities, Swat didn’t make sense…but for someone who reads that and thinks it must be “too far out of the way”…it would be misleading. You were literally 5 minutes from the school on I95. That’s why I suggested using a mapping tool…it’s too hard to organize otherwise.
Of course, the OP has pointed out they have the schools identified…so it doesn’t matter.
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You will need to look at when tours (if that is part of the plan) are offered. They don’t always synch up (ie. one in the morning and one in the afternoon.)
I didn’t see Philadelphia on the list?
It’s mentioned by about four other posters upstream.
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It is okay not to visit a school before you apply. Of the schools my DS actually applied to, he had only visited 2 of them. We had done 10 “official” visits to schools with another couple of quick views at some others. Sometimes going to somewhere you don’t like can be more informative than ones you may.
College tours can be very stressful for HS kids. For many, it is their first big life decision.
I think one of the biggest things to figure out is whether your daughter is OK with the absence of a traditional campus like NYU, and to lesser extent BU and GWU. My daughter wanted urban but wanted a traditional campus, making the search harder. As noted above she really liked GWU and felt like there really was a campus feel.
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Flame me for this…I know Legal Seafood is a chain, but I have never had a bad meal there. Their clam chowder is amongst the best I’ve ever had in Boston.
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My daughter was deciding between those schools plus a few more for grad school, she’s walked by NYU many times, and has been to a Boston a few times, drove up last week to check out BU, sent a deposit. She’s on a traditional campus now and wanted one for undergrad, but definitely wants urban for grad school.
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And, there will likely be “admitted student days” at these colleges and universities in the Spring of high school; so you could defer actual visits until such time, if necessary.
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You’re right. There is so much. Too much.
I’d strongly advise against using this as a sightseeing trip. Each of these 3 schools is located in interesting neighborhoods, worth exploring in their own right. Finding a hotel in the vicinity of the college and exploring that neighborhood will enhance your child’s appreciation of what the experience of attending that college will be like. Sightseeing elsewhere will contribute little.
Each of these 3 neighborhoods has interesting architecture, great restaurants, and museums nearby. BU has Fenway Park almost within walking distance. NYC, for example, has more museums than any city in the country - dozens and dozens. But no need to go up to “museum mile” along the east side of Central Park. The Whitney Museum is great and it’s near NYU. Or you can take in something smaller like the small but fascinating Tenement Museum on the lower East Side not far from NYU. Lower Manhattan is the most historic part of NYC. Greenwich Village itself is loaded with clubs, restaurants, Off Broadway theater, and historic sights. Nearby are China Town, Little Italy, Ground Zero, the Financial District, and the Brooklyn Bridge.
A second factor is time. The first and last of your 7 days will be taken up with long flights. Two other days will be taken up with travel between cities as well as with checking in and out of hotels. That only leaves 3 uninterrupted days to explore the colleges and their environs. Train is probably the most sensible way to travel because the trains run between the downtowns of the cities, not far from the colleges. Air flights are short, but getting through the terminals is time consuming and getting to and from the terminals adds additional time. Traveling by car is efficient if you’re traveling in the middle of the night. But roads on the I-95 corridor are heavily congested and their are always surprises, ruining the best laid plans.
Factor in weather as well. April is a rainy month in the Northeast. It’s likely that you’ll encounter rain at some point during this week, restricting outdoor activities.
A 3rd factor is the unpredictability of your child’s reaction to the colleges. I remember driving 3 hours with one of my daughters, only to have her get out of the car, take one look around, and say that she had no interest in this college. It would be a good idea to have a second college visit planned in each city to make the trip productive just so there’s an alternative.
Given the level of competitiveness of the 3 you’ve chosen, my suggestion for alternatives would be:
DC- University of Maryland or George Washington
Boston- Northeastern or Tufts or maybe Boston College
NYC - Fordham (Bronx Campus). Rutgers or Stony Brook are also good alternatives near the city but the logistics would be difficult on this trip.
In sum, my advice would be to use the neighborhood of your first choice college as your base and focus for dining and exploration. I’d save the sightseeing for a second trip after s/he’s been accepted. Then spend a week in that city and have fun getting to know it.
Best of luck.
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Marathon Monday is the best day to be in Boston. Catch the 11 a.m. Red Sox game and then walk right down to Kenmore Square to cheer the runners on. The city is at its best that day.
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This is a great rundown of options.
Start looking at the actual college sites for your dates and times and book them when available. They fill up quickly and many are hard to manage to get scheduled for 2 in a day with driving, parking, eating, etc…even when they are close by.
You may end up with one official info session and tour and then another college as a self guided tour with no time parameters in a day.
Also, most colleges do not do Sundays, so plan on traveling or site seeing those days.
Avis is great with one way rentals usually. You could fly into one area and fly out of somewhere else. DC to Boston is about 8 hours without traffic. Easy to breakup with college visits and museums or historic sites.
Fly into DC. - Reagan or Dulles or BWI.
Go to Georgetown with Smithsonian. Spring has started and things are blooming around the national mall during Spring break. (It will be busy, but great energy) The rooftop at the W hotel by the Whitehouse has great views.
Drive by AU and then JHU on the way north.
Princeton or UPenn are options as you are headed to NYC.
NYU, Columbia, Fordham - go to MOMA or Museum of Natural History. Then maybe a broadway show.
Head to Boston - drive by Yale or Brown on way if interested.
BU and Northeastern are close to each other. Spring is not spring yet at this point so no need to head to the Cape, it still looks like winter. Stay in the city and fly out of Boston.
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If you love crowds…and I mean CROWDS.
Yes, a fun day if you are going just for the marathon.
I drive that trip…please tell me when “without traffic” applies🙄
Except for the driving, the itinerary looks good and the OP can choose the touristy things they want to do at each location.
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If you are visiting BU you should definitely check out Boston College and Northeastern. Northeastern is actually the hardest of the three to get into. Boston College is right outside of the city and has a very beautiful campus. Northeastern has a traditional (not quite as beautiful but still very nice) campus right in the middle of the city and is about a 20 minute walk to Boston University. The Boston Museum of Fine Arts is right near Northeastern and Boston University is right on the Charles River which is lovely. Fenway Park is about midway between the two colleges.
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So true about the traffic! There are times when it’s taken me 8 hours just to get from NY to DC. And traffic in Connecticut can be the worst. God forbid that there’s an accident or road work anywhere. Just. To make life more fun, there are always the maniacs driving 100+ mph.
What really amazes me is how heavy the traffic can sometimes be in the middle of the night. There are now so many truck on the road at 2:00 in the morning!
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At least it is not like the recent snow traffic jam on I-95 in Virginia;) (20+hours overnight!)
My family and I were among the stranded! We were on our way back from a Florida vacation. What a nightmare.
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Oh yeah, food for thought. Cant remember if you said March or April, but March weather will most likely not be nice and everything will be kind of dreary, so not necessarily the best impression for any campus in Boston or NYC. April would be better, but weather is hit or miss.
As for the train recommendations. I used to take the train from NYC to Boston - it is slower than driving and leaves you with no freedom to make spontaneous decisions. It also always seemed to breakdown or run late. Yes, parking can be a pain in Boston, but still preferable for a short trip. If you head into town for sight-seeing, I would ditch the car at the hotel or leave it on campus at BU and take the T. In NYC, I would find a parking garage and leave it and walk/subway/uber everywhere until I left.
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