<p>ebeee, thanks a lot ! but we're in CA too.
tango14-good tips. I don't feel comfortable with taxi cabs. So for the airport to campus, I prefer her to take a shuttle.
07dad, i agree. I only worry about logistics airport-campus-airport and safety. My D is fine traveling by herself...hotel? somehow i don't feel comfortable about it...Overnight at campus is o.k.
rachacha-hotel would be the very last resource, but my D is a minor 17 y/o, so I think it wouldn't work...
thanks all for your helpful comments.</p>
<p>My son went on one college visit and I accompanied him that time. He hadn't flown, taken a bus, etc. so I needed to show him the ropes. With my youngest, though, I think I'd feel comfortable having him go on his own after a trip to the airport to read the arrivals and departures displays and to see how the check-in and security screenings work.</p>
<p>So far as shuttles go, we've had Admissions recommend a shuttle. I've been able to go online to make a reservation and pay for the shuttle in advance including a tip. If such service is available for the campuses your daughter will visit, I recommend going that route as the simplest yet cost-effective way to get to campus from an airport.</p>
<p>OP, is it possible that you might hunt up some students at the various colleges through CC parents or calling the admission office so that she can stay at the campus?<br>
Depending on the city, I've found that sometimes you can get a town car from airport to campus for about $5. more than a taxi cab. The bonus is that the car is waiting for you, the driver helps with luggage, etc.</p>
<p>Rachacha, my D is flying Northwest next month. Even though she's 17 and basically flying as an adult, they did say if by some chance her flight was diverted or missed somewhere, she'd be taken care of by NWA with a hotel room and taken there by a staffer. For this reason, many airlines don't take unaccompanied minors on the last connecting flight of the day. Rules vary by airline though, read their policy. Also, NWA's website said that you could not make a reservation online for an UA minor. When I called, the agent told me I could save the $20 charge for phone reservations by just making the reservation online for her as an adult, then calling and telling them she's 17, which I did today with no problem.</p>
<p>OP. ebeeeee is right about limos/town cars both as to ease and relative expense. </p>
<p>I hear your concerns about "safety," but I think you need to consider that the visit needs to give the student a taste of the "reality" of attending any particular school. </p>
<p>As an example, if an out of state student is considering Berkeley, part of that reality is negotiating the SF airport and getting on the public transportation and making the trip to campus through scenic Oakland. Unless the student is never going to have to do that if they went to school there, making it "easy" on the campus visit may be a mistake.</p>
<p>Yes, my son did ALL of his college visits alone, and my daughter will do the same. </p>
<p>We're an EFC=0 family, so my children have to expect that they will have to get to and from college by themselves. They'll also have to use public transit wherever they end up at college. Because of this, it's important to me (and them) that they get a feel for what that's like. How easy is it to get between the airport and the campus? How easy is it to get around the area? Things like that are part of the decision process. </p>
<p>Additionally, we're an EFC=0 family. I'm not paying into college. My children have to attend there, not me. Because of that, it's ultimately their decision to make. I am willing to advise, but I don't think I should have a big say, because it's not my life that's going to be affected by the choice. </p>
<p>Finally, we've found that parents on tours and things like that prevent having as full an experience at the campus as possible. My children's high school expects the students to self-advocate -- it's a core value there -- and to that end, expects them to drive the college decision process. It would undermine that for me to be there. </p>
<p>All of this said, my children didn't have to suddenly take up traveling for the college decision process. They've been travelling by themselves for years, for custody changes and day to day travel on public transit. I think if your child had never gone anywhere without you, it might be harder -- but then again, if you don't start now, when will you?</p>
<p>07Dad, if you're going to visit Berkeley, you'd either fly into SFO <em>or</em> "make the trip through scenic Oakland", but not both. :-) The route from SFO is BART from the airport, up the peninsua, through San Francisco straight through to Berkeley, with maybe a BART train change (but you can do that on the peninsula). The route from OAK would involve going through Oakland.</p>
<p>I've heard that many hotels don't allow teenagers to check in by themselves. You might want to make sure that will work by calling some before you book a plane ticket.</p>
<p>Look at youth hostels in the area. They can be a fun experience, are less expensive, and will allow those under 18 to check in, usually. Do check reviews on them, though, as some are not as nice as others.</p>
<p>TrinSF-- I was there for the Ninth Circuit and stayed downtown.</p>
<p>I could have sworn that I got on Bart in downtown SF and that it went through part of Oakland and then spurred off to Berkeley. Sorry if I got the route messed up but my point is the same. The student needs to get a realistic example of what they have to expect if they actually attended.</p>
<p>BTW--I would have walked from the airport to have attended Berkeley when I was college age. What a campus, school and location.</p>
<p>My D did several college visits by herself, fall of senior year. She drove 7 hours to visit DePauw. She flew to visit Hendrix & Rhodes. Both schools sent students to pick her up at the airport. At all 3, the schools arranged for her to stay overnight with a student. She also did an overnight with someone the school arranged for her to stay with at Centre - but I drove with her for that one & stayed in a motel.</p>
<p>She also visited Nashville twice before transferring, but she was a college freshman by then (and drove with friends).</p>
<p>I figured if my kid was going to go to school so far away, she needed to be able to travel by herself.</p>
<p>Thanks so much for all the helpful advice that everybody has given me. As soon as I D decides what colleges she'll be visiting, I post again to ask about tips about the city/campus. Thanks again!</p>
<p>I think it is GENERALLY the case that hotels will not permit those under 21 to check in and stay.</p>
<p>This might be the toughest part of arranging for student to visit schools alone, as many schools do not offer overnights. I would attempt to arrange overnights (informally if need be) at the school, or, when this is not possible, travel on at the end of the visit.</p>
<p>My d will not visit most schools until after she sees where she's been accepted, and she would prefer that her mother not tag along, so we also will face this issue.</p>
<p>When I went to take my freshman S to move into college in Colorado last year, I asked the hotel clerk at check-in about any rate discounts other than AAA and a few others I knew I had. </p>
<p>He asked why was I in town. I told him that it was to bring my freshman S to college. He asked what college. I told him and he informed me that the hotel had a discount policy (better than AAA) for parents, students, faculty and those attending functions at the school.</p>
<p>I specifically asked about my 18 year old S and he said he could rent a room. I have subsequently looked at the Colorado statutes and the innkeeper can restrict renting rooms to where financial responsibility for payment is shown. It does not indicate that the person sleeping there is responsible, rather that there is something in place to make sure the rate gets paid. </p>
<p>It appears to me from several articles I've read that the "age" is an issue that different hotel operators handle different ways.</p>
<p>
[quote]
My d will not visit most schools until after she sees where she's been accepted, and she would prefer that her mother not tag along, so we also will face this issue.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I offered my S the opportunity to visit schools prior to applying. He said that he'd rather visit those where he was accepted. One of the colleges that accepted him also offered to fly him out at the college's expense on a Thursday to visit Thusrsday and Friday for a scholarship event. He went alone.</p>
<p>The college made arrangements to pick him up and had a program to provide him with a place in the dorms for Thursday night. He knew a girl that was a soph at the college, so he accepted the transportation from the airport, but declined the room arrangement and crashed in her room. </p>
<p>BTW-- he asked the admissions officer with whom he was dealing whether the return airplane ticket had to be for Friday late afternoon after the scholarship event was over or could it be for Saturday or Sunday. She said there was no problem with it not being for Friday. He stayed into the weekend and got to experience not just the class routine, but also the campus activities on the weekend. That was the college in Colorado and he ultimately decided to attend that college.</p>
<p>Where money is a concern, visiting after acceptance seems to make dollars and sense (cents?)?</p>
<p>Finances are a huge issue to us, too, but although my son has traveled by himself a <em>lot</em> -- like international and inter-asian flights, we went on college visits with him. We felt like it was so important to have more than one set of eyes there - especially a set of mature eyes - and to be able to talk it through afterwards. It was hard - we had to travel some long days to avoid hotels, we stayed with acquaintances, we went to grocery stores and made sandwiches, but I'm glad we did. Usually just one of us went with him.</p>
<p>If you absolutely can't do it, I would at least make sure you've made some college visits with your child first. We learned so much in those first visits that helped him make a much better impression the next time and more importantly, know what to look for in a college. I don't think he'd have figured all that out on his own necessarily.</p>
<p>I would also be concerned about the cost involved (both financially and emotionally) of being so far away if finances were an issue. There are great schools on both coasts and in middle America, too. I told our son that we couldn't fall in love with a school until we saw the money situation. Keeping his heart open to other choices made it much more possible to make a wise decision in the end.</p>
<p>Re: Oakland Airport, there is a shuttle from the Airport to the Bart Station. It's really easy and you can take the Bart up to Berkeley from there (not sure about a train change).</p>
<p>Re travelling alone: I was 14 the first time I travelled alone. It involved a plane change and of course my flight was delayed and I missed the connection. The people at the gate got me on another airline. They directed me to the proper terminal (this was at LAX) and I made it to my destination fine. And this was before Cell phones so my parents were unaware until I arrived.</p>
<p>At many larger airports there are shared ride vans that cost between 10 and 20 to take you to a specific location. You just need to research each trip. I also recommend calling the schools as they will have the best travel info. There should not be any problem with the parent calling for that type of information.</p>
<p>huguenot, thanks for your commends and good point. I think once we know what colleges my D was accepted we'll go with with my D to tour the schools, and then give her our opinion.
tojanchick99, yes, i'll call the schools and about the logistics. You and a couple of parents have mentioned that it would be o.k.to call the college for that kind of questions.</p>
<p>Are these initial visits? In most cases, those would not be overnight visits. In my experience the initial visit is an information session and campus tour and possibly and interview or sitting in on a class. For those visits, there were no meal vouchers. Once students are accepted, they usually have the opportunity to visit overnight with meal vouchers and possibly other perks. While colleges like students to show interest, visiting a far-away school before applying is not a must. You can often talk to local alumni and go to a local college information session to show interest without having to go to campus. </p>
<p>I would send my kids on day trips to visit schools, even if it meant a plane ride. I would send them alone overnight if a friend or relative was available for an overnight stay. But I would be less comfortable with having them navigate staying alone overnight at a hotel in a strange city. </p>
<p>Perhaps your d can reduce her list and one of you can do one trip to the top schools and not visit the rest prior to applying. Good luck.</p>
<p>When my daughter did a solo school visit, I made the hotel reservation and paid for it by credit card ahead of time, and I also reserved an airport limo to take her to and from the college and paid for that ahead, including tip. She had never traveled alone (except for trips where she was met by someone) so she was a little nervous, but she did just fine. It helped that the hotel was bordering the campus and the limo service was used to dealing with students.</p>
<p>Back in the dark ages -- 1959 or so -- my sister visited a few schools by herself. She's feisty -- and was even then -- and she had instructions, directions, and so forth, and she managed it just fine. It depends on the person. You know your kid.</p>