<p>Would like to see all these schools but can not. Which ones really stand out and why should we pick it to visit instead of others?</p>
<p>Reach- Union, RPI, Skidmore</p>
<p>Match- SUNY Albany( uptown campus-undecided major and downtown campus-School of Criminal Justice), Siena</p>
<p>Sightseeing- what's interesting for 16 yr old who does really not want to go but is going anyway? lol</p>
<p>It really depends on what your child is interested in. You might not get two more different schools than RPI and Skidmore. Union falls in the middle of the two in many ways. I would go to Skidmore if it has some of the programs your child wants as Saratoga Springs is great fun in the summer with horse racing, music scene and lots of people around. You can easily get to drive through SUNY Albany and Siena in an afternoon. If your child is a boy and you come after 7/27 the NY Giants football team has its summer camp at SUNY Albany and you can go to their practices. If you have a better sense of what your child is looking for then the priorities might change.</p>
<p>I grew up down the street from Union College.</p>
<p>If your son is into history, there are plenty of sites around related to the Revolutionary War and French and Indian War. The Saratoga battlfield and park would be interesting.</p>
<p>If he's into the outdoors, Thatcher Park is a beautiful place to hike. It is a gorgeous canyon knoen locally for its fossils. I'm sure you can find directions on the Internet. It's about a 35 min. drive from Schenectady. You also can easily drive into Mass. and see some lovely mountain scenery, and have some nice hikes. Mass. is about a 35 min. drive from Schenectady. </p>
<p>If music/dance interests him or you, the Saratoga Performing Arts center has concerts and is the summer home of a major dance company. Tanglewood in Mass., about an hour away from Schenectady, also has musical performances.</p>
<p>Albany has NY's state museum. Schenectady has a small museum.</p>
<p>.</p>
<p>One last thing: If your S likes urban areas, the trip you're planning will not be for him. Albany is just a small city. It's not a booming metropolis like Minneapolis-St. Paul or Boston. Schenectady is even smaller. Saratoga is even smaller.</p>
<p>I am a city person and was bored to death growing up in the Tri Cities area, and the happiest day of my life was when I went away to college in a city -- a real city! For all of my adult life, I've lived in cities far bigger than any of the places that you're going to visit. Anyway, make sure that the locations fit your S's needs, too, and make sure that he also would be fine living in a place with long winters with short days, months of solid gray skies, and lots of snow.</p>