<p>As someone who got a lot of help from you when choosing schools, I'd be happy to answer any questions you or your daughter had about Willamette when you visit or now or whenever. <a href="mailto:Jraad@willamette.edu">Jraad@willamette.edu</a></p>
<p>You can plan a trip in the Northeast in the Winter, but the weather might cause you to change your plans. Have you considered taking the train from Washington to NYC or Philiadelphia, Albany, NY or to Boston. You could always do day rentals from those cities. </p>
<p>Good rural colleges in NYS, Cornell University, Colgate, Hamilton, & Hobart William Smith. Union is in Schenectady. Your sophmore daughters have time to qualify for any of these. The drive from Saratoga to Bennington is short on a good day and impossible during a storm.</p>
<p>Smith and Wellesley are beautiful and offer a lot to anyone without a y chromosone.</p>
<p>When we visited Philly schools, we drove from Boston to Philly to visit Penn and Swarthmore in one day and then drove over to Princeton to spend the night and visit the next day. You could do Haverford and Bryn Mawr in one day--they're quite close and then just drive through Swarthmore's campus--it's an arboretum. We were there late on a weekend day but got to grab a bite in the dining hall and speak with students at the art gallery.</p>
<p>For Boston, I echo the suggestion of Wellesley for D2. When I was at Wellesley (30 years ago), students could ride at Dana Hall, an independent school nearby. If you drive up from Philly, you could do the stop in Skidmore and then drive over to Amherst/Mt. Holyoke/Smith and on to Boston, all via the Mass. Pike (I-90). Another school to consider in Boston in Simmons College. Having just completed a major campaign, it has done a wonderful job in updating its facilities.</p>