<p>I'm posting this here and on the college forum, because it is both general and specific. One of the reach schools on DS list is Fordham U. They are having an open house in a couple of weeks. We could afford to put DS on a Bus which would leave at 11:00 pm and arrive at Penn Station at 7:00 am. </p>
<p>He would get on the subway or a city bus to Fordham, attend the open house at noon, maybe see some things (he's been in NYC before) and then return to Penn Station to board a bus home that evening. Of course, I would be a nervous wreck, but that's neither here nor there. Has anyone done anything like this? Sent a 17-yo to visit a school on his/her own?</p>
<p>What does your son think of the idea? That’s a looong bus ride, but hopefully he would sleep through most of it. Last year S2 headed down to DC on his own at 17. He did it all in one day, arrived home very late and absolutely exhausted. Not necessarily fun, but definitely worthwhile.</p>
<p>If he does go, make sure he calls in often enough to help you keep from worrying too much! Also, you might find Hopstop.com a good resource. They give very specific directions (by foot, subway, etc), time estimates, printable maps and other resources.</p>
<p>I guess it would depend on the child.
I have 3 daughters, D1 has taken the train/bus into NYC numerous times by herself (while in HS) and I was OK with it. D2 is in HS now and I would not be comfortable sending her; different personalities.</p>
<p>It would be Rose Hill, and we would definitely plan out his routes ahead of time. He takes the local buses from school when he has activities, and is pretty comfortable with getting around. He also flew alone once at 14. </p>
<p>When I first half-jokingly suggested the idea, he kind of responded with “eh”, but yesterday when I mentioned that DH thought it would be good for him, he said he was thinking about it. </p>
<p>Thank you northeastmom. I’m glad to know others have been successful with things like this.</p>
<p>Does he have a fairly level-headed pal who could go with him? That way he wouldn’t have to travel alone. </p>
<p>Back in the last century, my mom let my best friend and I drive 2 1/2 hours each way in a near blizzard to visit one of the colleges on my list. Even at that time I thought she was out of her mind to let us have the family car with those road conditions, but she did. My friend and I had a great trip, and even though neither of us ended up at that particular college, it is one of our fondest memories of the whole process.</p>
<p>It makes no difference whether it’s Penn Station or Port Authority. There are ample subway connections to everywhere from both locations. I’m not sure, though, that the information booth person at Penn Station would be able to tell him where to find the bus to go back home. Penn station is not a bus terminal; it’s a railroad station. The bus may be an unofficial thing. At Port Authority, the bus is probably official, and he could get directions from the information booth.</p>
<p>My main concern is that he will have several hours to kill in NYC after the open house and may be tired. There are places where he can sit down (Penn Station and Port Authority being two of them), but he will have to fight falling asleep if he’s alone because there’s nobody to watch his luggage.</p>
<p>Is there any chance that two kids who are interested in Fordham could do this together? Only one needs to be awake at any given time.</p>
<p>I routinely went to NYC alone or with friends in the daytime starting in junior high, but I lived less than an hour away and knew the city fairly well. I also knew exactly how to find the train that I used to get back home. New York can be kind of intimidating for someone who doesn’t know it well. It doesn’t help that the subway map looks like the circuit board for some immensely complex electronic device!</p>
<p>Have you ever been to an open house? It’s been my experience that they’re less informative than a “regular ol’ visit.” If you have the flexibility you may want to consider going on a different date. That might reduce your travel complexity, especially if a different date allows a parent to come along. </p>
<p>Of course, please disregard this opinion if you have no other option in the schedule.</p>
<p>You might want to plan out his trip with www DOT followed by hopstop.com. Click on New York, of course!</p>
<p>Also, MetroNorth operates trains from Grand Central to Fordham Road, right near campus. If he’s not a “city slicker” and you’re nervous, he might want to do this instead of taking the subway, especially on his return trip…</p>
<p>If your S is not bringing a lot of luggage-why would he be?–I’d suggest that he consider walking. Take the bus to Port Authority. There are actually 2 buildings there, so the length of the walk depends on which one he comes into. </p>
<p>Otherwise, he can take the shuttle or the #7 train from Times Square to Grand Central and catch MetroNorth train to Fordham Road there.</p>
<p>Please make sure he leaves Fordham in bright daylight. Travel alone always poses a problem and that D train going to Fordham is not going through the best neighborhoods in NY and the Bronx, especially troublesome after dark. I would also suggest take the bus to port authority, not to Penn Station for the same reasons the other poster said. Once in Port Authority, take the A train to 59th switch to D right away, don’t play the game and make changes at 125th.</p>
<p>We never attended any “Open Houses,” but did do a few college visits. A lot depends on how much a kiddo/family really WANTS the school and is likely to get in. If on the fence, I’d say visit AFTER being accepted at the student’s convenience, but that’s just us. We actually never visited any schools after acceptance and the school S attended we had just driven by. D had visited when we went to see S on parents’ weekend but had never spoken with any teachers/administrators at the school.</p>
<p>S felt that much of orientation & other things are “hype,” marketing & PR. I tend to agree.</p>
<p>We’ve been to several open houses, several “tour and information”, and several where we just walked around (we’re at 16 visits altogether). </p>
<p>I like the open houses because they allow for a guided or self-guided tour, you can meet some of the faculty, see a dorm room, show you are interested in the school, and attend presentations where you can get a sense of what the school thinks it is all about. You can pick and choose. DS has seen enough places to take the hype with a grain of salt.</p>
<p>When taking any kind of bus (other than a charter bus sponsored by your college), sit on the aisle. If someone wants the other seat, step out into the aisle and let that person have it, but do not give up your aisle seat.</p>
<p>When I was in my twenties, I once made the mistake of taking a window seat (on a commuter train, but the same principle applies to buses). A man sat next to me and proceeded to unzip his fly and, er, entertain himself in a very personal manner under a newspaper, while rubbing up against me. The end result of this activity ended up all over my dress. There was no way of knowing whether he might have had a knife, so I said nothing and let it happen. I felt I had no choice.</p>
<p>And yes, it was a blue dress. I don’t think I ever wore it again.</p>