<p>Any ideas how we can plan this trip and maintain sanity? We live in California, but rising senior D want to swim on a d3 team at a fine school. Last year, she visited (and liked) Amhurst, Swarthmore, and (somewhat) Wheaton in MA.</p>
<p>This summer, she would like to vist (o.k., hold your breathe)
Washington U. in Saint Louis
Grinnell (between Des Moines and Cedar Rapids)
Bates and Colby in Maine
Middlebury in Vermont
Williams, Wellesley, and Brandeis in Massachusetts
Hamilton in New York.</p>
<p>She would add other schools if she could, but we really only have 7-10 days, including travel time and I don't want to be crazy. </p>
<p>Right now, my thought is to fly to St. Louis (cheap Southwest flight). See WUSTL one day. Drive 6 hours to see Grinnell. Then fly (somehow. . . ) to Portland Maine (to see Bates and Colby on different days) and then drive another 6 hours to Middlebury. Then drive 3 hours to Williams and then drive to Hamilton. Then drive goodness knows how many hours to Wellesley and Brandeis and then fly home.</p>
<p>Any one out there have suggestions? By the way, my hunch as to the schools that are the best match for my D are in declining order: Wellesley, Middlebury, WUSTL, Williams--but who knows . . .</p>
<p>I want you to make the trip so I can hear the reports. I'll let our Northeastern folks comment specifically on airports and flights but I think your Cali to SL to Grinnell, fly out of Des Moines to Maine is in the correct order but I'm betting that it ought to go to Middlebury, Williams, the Boston area schools next, and Hamilton last or else you are back tracking pretty seriously. I'll wait impatiently for reports as D would love to be on this admittedly adventurous trip with you. (We've done trips equally difficult and lived. Go for it.)</p>
<p>I agree with Curmudgeon about the backtracking unless you leave Hamilton for last. I am also not sure of what you will find for flights into Portland. There are lots of flights into Manchester NH (Southwest, US Air, Delta, etc) - three hours from there to Middlebury. Then go over to ME for Colby and Bates, then down to Brandeis and Wellesley. Finish up with Williams and Hamilton.</p>
<p>Also, there's a book called Visiting College Campuses with driving instructions, maps and lodging accommodations which I relied on a lot.
I would caution you however that some details like tour times need to be double checked.</p>
<p>I might like to offer this possible sequence. I think starting and ending in the Boston area will give you the most flight options. Manchester airport is only 1 hour from Boston's Logan and offers many flights-Southwest is an option from MHT. Jetblue and Song fly from BOS.</p>
<p>Fly into MHT or BOS. Head to Middlebury 3-3 1/2 hrs
Middlebury to Hamilton 4 1/2 hrs (do the longest leg while you are still fresh)
Hamilton to Williams 2 1/2-3 hrs
Williams to Wellesley & Brandeis 2 1/2 hrs
Brandeis to Colby 3 hrs then back to Bates 1 hr
2-3 hrs to either MHT or BOS</p>
<p>Since you didn't list Colby or Bates as best match schools this gives you the option of ending the trip early and having some R&R in Boston before flying home. Be sure to check the summer tour and interview schedules at the schools. This also works in reverse and you can do the midwest leg at either end. Good Luck.</p>
<p>Midwest opinion here. DesMoines doesn't have much air service. I would see what you can get from home to Desmoines, at least one end is a major airport. I know you'll have more flights from St L to Boston. S plays D3 soccer at Grinnell. The sports teams there seem to be a lot of fun. Something like 30% of the students are on a team and there is quite a lot of fan participation. Should be able to find some articles on their men's basketball team, they were covered by both sports illustrated and ESPN, to get an idea of the sports community at Grinnell. </p>
<p>How good are your D's times? If she is a serious swimmer she might want to consider Kenyon, not they you want to make your trip more complicated. They have been D3 champs for something like 23 of the last 25 years. There is a separate thread on the Kenyon page about swimming.</p>
<p>Minor input--you can almost certainly do Bates and Colby in one day--schedule earliest possible tours and/or interviews at one and midafternoon at the other. Also, I think because Hamilton is considerably west of Willliams that you might do better to visit Williams and then head east on Route 2 or the Mass Pike to Boston-area schools. I am not sure how Hamilton fits into the travel plans actually--it is sort of stuck out there in a more remote part of NY than you might think (along with Colgate of course). I think the suggestion to go from Middlebury to Hamilton probably makes the most sense.</p>
<p>Guess you know that Hamilton's swimming program is quite good and currently boasts a couple of all-Americans. While you're there, your daughter might also visit Colgate which is about 20 minutes south; although it's a D-1 school, she might do well there. </p>
<p>Also, I suggest strongly that she look at Kenyon which has a superior D-3 swimming program. And while you're looking in Ohio, also consider Denison which also has an excellent swimming program.</p>
<p>I am carefully noting all your very helpful comments and would be happy to provide an update at the end of the tour (around August 20th). Please keep any ideas coming!</p>
<p>Some of you asked about my D's swim times. She is definately d3, not d1. Her grades, scores, and ECs are very strong. The reason she didn't put Kenyon and Colgate on the list was that she was afraid that she would be (1) accepted at the schools but (2) rejected for the team.</p>