<p>My S and I are from CA and are planning on visiting colleges on a 5 day school break in Oct. We will leave on a Thursday and return on a Tuesday. I have no idea the best place to fly into or where to start and stop. He wants to visit all 3 Maine schools, Midd., Hamilton and Colgate. I was also thinking of first flying into Minn./St Paul and visiting Carelton and Mac., but will decide after I see flight prices. Is it too far of a drive from Maine to Clinton NY? Anyway.. as you can see, ANY advice would be most helpful.</p>
<p>No, it’s not too far to drive from Maine to Hamilton (in Clinton) or Colgate (in Hamilton). Middlebury is going to take you out of the way, though, since there’s no easy way to get from the Maine schools to central Vermont – there are two sets of mountains (or at least what we in the East call mountains) between them, and not a lot of superhighways. If you didn’t want to go to Middlebury, you would just go in and out of Maine on 95, and hook up with the Mass Pike via 495, and that would take you to the NY Thruway. Probably a 5 - 6 hour drive, depending on where you start.</p>
<p>Putting Middlebury in the mix, you are going to have to pick your way through the mountains (and you will want to do that – it will be beautiful in October). (Speaking of which, that is high season for tourism in northern New England on long weekends – decide what you are doing and make your hotel reservations soon!) Middlebury is going to take you a day, though.</p>
<p>You should probably try to fly Southwest into Manchester NH. Bowdoin and Bates are fairly close together, about two hours’ drive from there. (You could also fly into Boston, which is only a little farther away, but is a much more crowded airport, with more flight problems and often higher prices, and lots of traffic getting out of town. Or you could fly into Portland ME, much closer, but that tends to be really expensive, and you don’t want to go back that far when you are done.) Colby is another hour or so north. I wouldn’t try to see them all in one day, but you could do two one day, one the next morning, and then drive to Vermont. </p>
<p>Middlebury to Hamilton (Colgate) is probably about 3-1/2 - 4 hour drive. (A little longer if you decide to drive by some other colleges on various possible routes – Williams, Bennington, Skidmore, Union, to name a few.) Colgate and Hamilton are maybe 15 miles apart, and it’s easy to see them both in a day. Central NY back to Manchester is about 300 miles. If you can work it from an airfare perspective, Syracuse, Albany, Hartford/Springfield, or Newark would all be much closer.</p>
<p>Mapquest or Google Maps will be your friend. I started north and then moved south and west and then left for home, but you can reverse. If you’re driving just play with some of the stops. Start with the driving times and figure out the timing. We did do Colby in the morning and Bates in the afternoon the drive between was short so you could end up the night before do Colby in the morning, Bates in the afternoon, Bowdoin the next morning and then head to Vermont that afternoon to hit Midd for the next morning (probably 5 hours or so from Bowdoin at least) Hamilton and Colgate can be done in a day, but you’ve got maybe a 4 hour drive from Middlebury. Depends on how many car hours you are willing to spend each day and how much sight seeing, too. Depending on when in October you might still be in the midst of fall color in Maine and Vermont which is wonderful to drive in. 5 days is cutting it tight as one day will be spent flying from Cali to wherever and then the return to Cali. It can be done in 5, but plan it. I’m not sure how you would fit Carleton and Mac in. They can be done in a day but travel times might kill you to get everything extra done in the east in a total of 5 days. It’s about a half hour drive to Mac from the Mpls. airport maybe less if there isn’t any traffic. Carleton is about an hour outside the cities.</p>
<p>BTW, we thought the Bates tour was very long. We bailed out toward the end. Although I think there have been some intrepid posters that did the Maine 3 in a day…but 3 is almost too many anywhere for one day.</p>
<p>We were out east doing “our tour” in fall color (which we have an abundance of in Michigan) but I think they call the tourists in VT and NH “leaf peepers” or something like that, we were spending the night in Keene when we heard that…just cracked my kids up. Now when there is traffic in the fall on “our little road” the kids will comment that the “leaf peepers are out.”</p>
<p>I like the idea of flying into NH and then taking the first day to get to Clinton and see Hamilton and Colgate on Friday. Drive to Midd and visit on Saturday. Then take Sunday to drive to Maine and see 2 one day and 1 the next, and then drive back to NH and fly out Tuesday late…as we will gain 3 hours going West. It will take all day Thursday to get to NH. How does that sound? The real reason for the trip is to visit Midd, as he is thinking of applying ED there… so have to go to VT.</p>
<p>Depending on your stamina and where you are coming from in CA you could also do a red eye flight Wednesday night and arrive in Boston Thursday AM. Bowdoin is about 3 hours from Boston and is a great scenic town to spend the night. You could then do the othr two Maine schools on Friday, drive to VT and do Middlebury on Saturday. That would leave you all day Sunday to drive to the NY schools (hard to visit schools on Sunday since there are usually no tours). Monday visits in Ny then if you really want to catch Mac and carelton you could try to stop on the way back to CA. Usually that is easier because of the time change it takes all day to fly east and less to fly west. </p>
<p>Also, remeber it is not only leaf peeper season, but also parents weekend season, so make hotel reservations early!</p>
<p>If you are going to Middlebury, you really should see Amherst and Williams, too, since they are close and the same type of school as the others you mentioned. I’d say visit Bennington too since you’d be driving right by it, but it’s nothing like the others.</p>
<p>one more thought 5boys… If you are around VT on Sunday you might want to do a drive through at UVM. Given your S’s outdoor focus he might find that a good safety.</p>
<p>Thanks 1012 mom… We have already visited UVM and my S LOVED it… he is applying EA. He was in VT for a semester last Spring at school on a rural organic farm. Vermont has stolen his heart and hopes to go back to college there. He also wants to major in ES and Midd has one of the best programs in the country. UVM also has a really good one. Thanks danceclass… he doesn’t have Williams or Amherst on his list, and has shown no interest in either. He really is focused on fit… he is outdoorsy, and really into conservation and the environment… i.e. organic farming. Loves an unpretentious but intellectual place. Bennington is too small a student body. He wants a small LAC, but not that small.</p>
<p>I am now considering just going to Maine and VT and forgetting NY. He really likes what he read about Hamilton, but it is a farther down his list, and we may just wait to visit if it is a contender in April.</p>
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I sure would take another look at Williams, then. Very outdoorsy and excellent environmental programs. Lots of overlap with Middlebury and others on your son’s list.</p>
<p>I need to look at Mapquest, but how about Hamiliton? Ithaca? There’s a few more REALLY into organic farming, but I can’t think of them at the moment. Maybe it was Dartmouth or Franklin Pierce and of course there’s Bates, Bowdoin, Colby. Oops, I see Hamiliton and the Maine colleges are already on his list.</p>
<p>Don’t miss Bowdoin and Middlebury. We looked at alot of the same schools for D2. She loves it at Middlebury and quite a few of her friends sound like your son. She liked Colgate but the surrounding area is not as compelling as vermont and maine for her interests but she didn’t focus on environmental studies. She has friends from Seattle, CA, and internationals and the Burlington airport is convenient. Also for Bowdoin, can fly from Portland. From Colgate/Hamilton looks like Syracuse is closet airport. My daughter still is in the “honeymoon” phase at Midd (just finished freshman year) and can’t wait to go back. She found it academically challenging though and worked hard but still found time to ski, hike, intramural sports, etc. Have a great trip. Maine and Middlebury are beautiful. When you visit Bowdoin, stay in Freeport. Nice town, only 15 mins from Bowdoin. When in Middlebury, don’t skip Otter Creek bakery for the cinnamon sticks and Noonies for great sandwiches. Can give you suggestions of where to stay if you need them. Oct books fast since fall is high season in the new england.</p>
<p>5boys- adding Colgate and Hamilton is do-able but implies a lot of driving to the Maine - Vermont mix. No others in MA that he may want to look at? Western MA offers plenty of outdoorsy opportunities.</p>
<p>It’s a great list. My number 2 that I did this trip with is also in ES. I personally loved the Maine colleges and Midd and of course Dartmouth which is my personal all time favorite. Dartmouth was out of my son’s league but we stopped to visit a friend who is attending. We also liked UVT. My S ended up west, but that particular college look-see trip was my favorite so far. His three favorites coming out of that trip were Colby (1), Midd (2) and UVT (3). Have fun.</p>
<p>Based on your son’s interests, it sounds like Amherst & Williams may be better “fits” than Colgate and Hamilton.</p>
<p>Thanks all!! Purplegirl… any suggestions on places to stay in Freeport I would love. I am going to try to make the hotel reservations this week as all of you have warned me about the Oct season in NE. I already got on line and checked to see of it was parents weekend at any of the schools we want to visit and it isn’t. My father in law already told me about otter creek bakery… can’t wait…I am SO excited to see Maine as I am a born and raised CA girl and have always longed to see Maine and the Maine coast.</p>
<p>I am so happy to hear that your D has had such a great first year. Honestly, I think my S belongs at Midd. He has a lot going for him and is very unique and self-aware. BUT… he does not have straight A’s, but always takes the harder classes. He is one of those really bright boys who doesn’t always dot the I’s and cross the T’s. As expected his test scores are high. Midd is going to be a reach for him, but he is a perfect fit and will express that in his essays. One of his teachers from the school he went to last Spring in VT is a Midd alum and is writing his rec. The schools matriculates a lot of kids to Midd. </p>
<p>I think I am going to forget the NY schools right now. He has no MA schools on his list at all. I think all the schools in Boston are too urban for his taste. He wants rural and preferably by some kind of mountains. My S is a competitive rock climber, has climbed every peak in CA, and is going to take a gap year to hike the Pacific Crest Trail, and climb a lot of mountains across the world… if he can raise enough $. He is on an internship with SCA this summer working in trails and conservation in Minnesota and Alaska. </p>
<p>motb… I guess our screen names are ALMOST the same…,LOL… We did visit Dartmouth when I dropped him in VT in January. He really liked it and it is also a great fit, but I don’t think he has any chance of getting in. He may throw in a “what the hell” app. only because he is such an unusual applicant that I don’t think there is any way to gauge his chances anywhere. He has A LOT of safties on his list that he relaly likes, so we will see.</p>
<p>Yes, if you count my husband and the dog then I am a MO5B.</p>
<p>My D has many of these schools on her list. I’m looking to increase her safeties…do you mind sharing you son’s safeties? (actually, just looking for east coast, though)</p>
<p>5boys, This place is probably way below your son’s level academically, but he might be interested in doing a summer session there: [Paul</a> Smith’s College - The College of the Adirondacks](<a href=“http://www.paulsmiths.edu/]Paul”>http://www.paulsmiths.edu/)</p>
<p>Middlebury is pretty hard to get into, too. If you think that Dartmouth is totally out of reach, then Middlebury is at the outer edges of reach, at best. California will probably help (so will being a boy, but only a little). Maybe you should consider making room for Bennington on your trip, too. I think it meets the criteria pretty well, and will be a lot closer to a match.</p>
<p>(Umm, what mountains was he planning to climb at Macalaster or Carleton?)</p>