<p>My son has a day off next Friday and we would like to do a college tour/visit. He is interested in Engineering Technology and has eyes on Penn State University (must see), but also wants to look at Cornell, Rensselaer Polytechnic Inst., Lehigh and maybe Bucknell. We live in Maryland can drive up Thursday night to get an early start. Maybe stay over on Saturday too. </p>
<p>Seeking nice safe place to stay and other schools that may fit this one/two day trip! </p>
<p>BTW he's a junior with 3.86 GPA (historically 4.0... tough year)</p>
<p>That’s a lot to see in one day. Better try to limit some of these.</p>
<p>A visit to Lancaster County, PA will get to Bucknell and Lehigh. You might also want to see Lafayette too. They are Lehigh rivals and has an excellent engineering school as well. </p>
<p>If instead you want to travel upstate NY, RPI and Cornell are doable. You should also try to see Union College, which is near RPI and has an excellent engineering school. In between RPI and Cornell is Colgate. I don’t think they’re known for engineering, but another great school.</p>
<p>Another thought: if you go up towards Cornell, you might also venture up and over to URochester and RIT. They might be too much a research school and a pre-professional school, but at least go online and see if they appeal.</p>
<p>I would urge you to give one day to each school, and if at all possible get them to let him sit in on a class or two while there. You can do those info sessions & tours all summer long, but you can only sit in on classes while they are in session. Is it possible for him to get Thurs off as well, and you could drive up on Wed?</p>
<p>We visited Cornell years ago, but I remember there is a nice motel just outside the entrance to the campus that we stayed at. I can’t remember its name but it is literally right outside the entrance to the campus. Bring your warm coat, even now!</p>
<p>Giving a full day to each school, you don’t have to keep looking at your watch – you get to walk around and ask random students how they feel about the place, and sit in on classes, and eat at the dining hall. You might get to catch a chat with some faculty or staff—we have been lucky to do that more than once. </p>
<p>Visiting schools on Saturdays, we have learned, is a mistake. The students do not begin to stir until around noon and colleges all look like ghost towns. You get an entirely incorrect view of the vibe there!</p>
<p>Go to Tripadvisor.com for leads to inexpensive hotels. Sorry I can’t help more on lodging info.</p>
<p>If you ever decide to vsit schools in the RI area, though, stay at the Johnson & Wales Inn in Seekonk MA. $89/night and run by students from J&W school of hotel management. Sparkling clean & friendly, & eat at Gregg’s down the street. Quit reasonably priced, large portions (good for h.s. boys).</p>
<p>Bucknell and Penn State are just about an hour apart on Route 45. Depending on where you are in Maryland, you may be heading to Penn State on 322 or Bucknell on 15, with Route 45 between them. </p>
<p>It’s across the state to Lehigh and Lafayette. Perhaps 2 hours to Lehigh and another half hour to Lafayette. (Also, these schools are not in Lancaster County). </p>
<p>Or Go to Penn State, then Bucknell, then North on 15 to head to Cornell. That drive could be 3 hours. I haven’t done it in awhile. </p>
<p>I think you really have two trips here. Try to tackle the Pennsylvania schools this weekend and target the NY schools at a later date. </p>
<p>Cornell is quite remote. It would be difficult to get there, do a tour, walk through the campus, and make it to the “next” place on your list in less than a day. Quick visits are rarely productive, and as one of the responders pointed out it is useful to attend one class. There’s a hotel on the Cornell campus (run as part of the Cornell School of Hotel Management). It’s the Statler Hotel. While central it’s more expensive than motels in greater Ithaca. That said, you will certainly get a feeling for the campus and the surrounding area by staying overnight.</p>
<p>Wow! You guys are great! We’re coming from Annapolis Maryland. My son only has the one day off, the rest of the week is Stanford Achievement Testing, and so he can’t miss Thursday. Maybe we will visit Penn State (his first choice) and Bucknell next week and try to get to the others before their summer break. We really would like to see the classes in session and taking it a bit slower sounds like a better plan and it might give us a better view of the school. Great advice!</p>
<p>If you do get around to visiting Cornell, you can usually save a substantial amount of money by staying in a motel in Cortland, 30 miles away, rather than in Ithaca itself. And don’t come at graduation time (Cornell’s, Ithaca College’s, or Cortland State). All the motels in the area jack up their prices then.</p>
<p>Thanks for the warning, I never thought of that. I see we have our work cut out for us. Maybe I should have started this process earlier in the school year! I’m not sure when grad time is but I’m sure it’s coming up soon.</p>
<p>There are definite times to avoid schools: graduation as well as exam week and the week before. Kids are under a lot of stress and not nearly as friendly as other times.</p>
<p>We always found it best to enjoy a college visit early in the morning (tour and information session). But the time it’s done, we’d eat lunch in their cafeteria and meander around. Go to the library, talk to kids. Maybe catch a class. Then we’d drive in the afternoon-evening to the next college tour for the following day.</p>
<p>PS: I must have been thinking F&M, which in Lancaster.</p>
and it might give us a better view of the school. Great advice!</p>