<p>The MidTown Hotel is very convenient and fairly affordable in Boston. Outside of Boston, Woburn and Waltham have some good hotels (all the usual national chains). You can use public transit for many schools but a few will require a car.
Note that up here, ‘spring’ can definitely include snow - at least through March. You can easily drive down to Brown and back from the Boston area.
If appropriate , check out flights on Southwest which mostly flies into Providence - about an hour south of Boston.</p>
<p>Yes, I did a spring break (3rd week of March) college tour in 2007. I can vividly remember waiting at the train station for the inbound from Boston College and being pelted sideways by freezing rain/snow. Three out of four days was like that. My daughter never applied to a single Boston area school!</p>
<p>Rates in and around Boston are highly influenced by seasonal tourism. Fall is leaves. Spring is college graduations. Summer is inundation. If you time your tour before graduation season, you’ll do better.</p>
<p>Try hostels. It’s very affordable and some have private rooms too.</p>