<p>This is the time of year when prospective students race around to different schools either to visit colleges they haven't yet seen or to attend prospective student events. This year, massive flight cancellations by American and others have made many travel schedules a mess.</p>
<p>Just curious - have the disruptions in air travel affected anyone's college visit plans this month? Did the colleges seem aware of the problems and offer any accommodations?</p>
<p>This can be a hectic month anyway due to date conflicts between events, trying to get to schools in different parts of the country, etc.</p>
<p>Last week I went to Multicultural Weekend at WashU. My flight was supposed to leave at 10:30 but it got delayed until 2:30. It was my first time flying American, and needless to say, I wont be flying American again. WashU was really accommodating, I heard, from other students. They worked with them to get their flight rebooked and they tried to make sure that every student could attend this weekend. When I arrived to St. Louis, they actually had a travel agent there who was trying to reschedule flights AT the airport. I was very impressed.</p>
<p>MIT helped students and parents whose flights were canceled on the way to campus preview weekend last weekend -- as I heard it, MIT paid for many flights, since the airlines were just offering a travel voucher for some future date in compensation.</p>
<p>My visit to Macalester on Thursday and Friday almost got messed-up, but my dad got American to put me on a United flight for the way there, and things worked out fine.</p>
<p>My kid spent 8 hours waiting to get off the ground in Minneapolis last Thursday and never made it. We had to cancel the trip and we are rescheduling.</p>
<p>We almost always fly Delta, but for some reason tried Southwest this time (bad idea). Our flight to San Jose Airport was about a half hour delayed and our flight back home was delayed by 4 hours. I think we'll try Delta again.</p>
<p>I guess my story isn't as bad as everyone else's but my flight to claremont mckenna was delayed and I ended up missing the class I was supposed to sit in on. And, because it was a Friday afternoon, there were no other classes for me to attend :(</p>
<p>My Continental flight to Cleveland to visit Oberlin was cancelled (the same day of the American cancellations), but my mom called and was very quickly able to get me a flight to Detroit and then to Cleveland. I arrived too late to sit in on a class, though :(</p>
<p>My flight to Boston (MIT) was delayed 4 hours lol...after I woke up at the crack of dawn to make the flight. What's worse is that the flight only takes 45 mins at most haha</p>
<p>Not to be pessimistic, but if you're planning on going away to college- especially in cooler climates- just take this as practice. I only go home from Boston to Atlanta for winter break and summer and my <em>shortest</em> delay has been 4 hours. Coming home for winter break this year, my flight was delayed 14 hours and one of the only flights that wasn't cancelled.</p>
<p>You WILL have finals until the last day you're allowed on campus and have to fly out in a blizzard at least once in your college career. It's just fate. :P</p>
<p>We haven't had any issues with visits, but one of the schools my daughter is looking at is a plane ride away, and we're both a little concerned about that. The airport isn't that close to the school, either, so if there's a cancellation or a 14 hour delay she'd be stuck at the airport. Makes the closer schools that much more attractive. </p>
<p>On a personal note, I had Skybus tickets to San Francisco for myself, and now won't be going at all... too expensive. Ugh.</p>