<p>Regarding Itinerary #1, we did the Dartmouth/Amherst thing on the same day - in reverse order and it was do-able but super -rushed and only caught the tail end of a tour but did have an info session @ D. Gained favorable impressions of both colleges, able to discern definite differences - so it was okay in that regard, but really did not have time to talk to anyone outside the info sessions and tours. Plan to get up quite early in the day to drive out of Boston and give yourself 3 hours drive time, to cover the unexpected, find parking, admissions office etc. If you get there early you can explore a little on your own. If you don't mind getting back to Boston late, you can spend time after the formal info sessions and tour exploring the town of Amherst and the North Hampton area on your own, so at least you will get a flavor. So, I say its possible if you really want to do it - it will just be less than ideal. Know that tours sometimes take longer than scheduled and you might have to cut out of the morning session early. Try to get the information session in.</p>
<p>If you want to see the Dartmouth/Middlebury/Amherst/Williams schools, you could fly into and out of Manchester for your next trip (as you are locked into Providence this time around). The Five College Consortium (Amherst, Smith, Mt. Holyoke, Hampshire, and UMass Amherst) would also be a good trip - you could spend a few days doing that one alone. </p>
<p>TheDad: Harvard and MIT are one stop away on the Red Line, or two if you do the Kendall MIT stop instead of Central Square. Tufts is two stops away from Harvard. Does the extra T stop make that much of a difference?</p>
<p>Aries, you're quite right. I had been thinking of going campus to campus by <em>driving</em> (it's the SoCal in me) in <em>Boston.</em> Objection withdrawn.
Well, and I also had Tufts being a little further away...I thought it was kinda south and east from BC...or is it BU that's along the Fenway?</p>
<p>BU is along Fenway (Green Line). BC is out on the Green Line, really in the suburbs. </p>
<p>Tufts, Harvard, & MIT are all within a 15 minute subway ride of each other. Tufts is a smidge off Mass Ave, while Harvard & MIT are right on it.</p>
<p>Could not imagine why you would consider driving in Boston. Isn't once enough to scare almost anyone?</p>
<p>MIT-Harvard-Tufts is more doable than Harvard-MIT-BU because of having to transfer to a different line on the T for the second combo. Someone told me that it takes 20 minutes to walk from BU to Central Square (and less to MIT), but going from BU to Harvard Square on the T takes 45 minutes (it takes only 10 minutes by car in light traffic).</p>
<p>
[quote]
MIT-Harvard-Tufts is more doable than Harvard-MIT-BU because of having to transfer to a different line on the T for the second combo. Someone told me that it takes 20 minutes to walk from BU to Central Square (and less to MIT), but going from BU to Harvard Square on the T takes 45 minutes (it takes only 10 minutes by car in light traffic).
[/quote]
This is true! When we visited Harvard/MIT/BU we triangulated by staying at the Cambridge Ramada Inn. BU was literally a walk across the bridge, Harvard and MIT were each 15-20 minutes away by foot, and a relatively easy drive that avoided downtown Boston.</p>
<p>Okay, I'm getting my bearings. BC is the one that I saw from the 'Pike driving in. BU is the one where I stepped around the traffic jam while walking to the MFA on what proved to be move-in weekend for BU. Harvard and MIT I've got. The only thing left hazy is precisely where Tufts is. </p>
<p>Aries, I like Boston so much that I'd drive to get there to visit once again. For just a couple of visits, it's one of my favorite cities.</p>
<p>For clarification, there's a difference between "Fenway" and "The Fenway." Schools along "The Fenway" include Simmons, Emmanuel, The School of the Museum of Fine Arts, and Boston Conservatory. "Fenway," on the other hand, is the T-stop or Fenway Park.</p>
<p>BU is on the Green Line but not on the same branch as Fenway (T-stop on "D"). It's actually on the same branch "B" as BC. If you take the 47 or CT2 bus, you can travel from BU to Cambridge is much less time than taking the streetcar because the bus takes a more direct route (see <a href="http://www.mbta.com)%5B/url%5D">www.mbta.com)</a>.</p>
<p>As for driving around Boston, it's a lot scarier to drive in LA, especially if it's raining. ;-)</p>
<p>path1, </p>
<p>I heartily agree, it is important to look at the LACs. In fact, the Ivies are mostly pretty small, so top LACS will be very close in both academic reputation & "feel." Also the LAC-like D1 non-Ivy schools (like Colgate & Bucknell) are worth a look.</p>
<p>The thing is, feel is much easier to get a handle on when school is in session. </p>
<p>One thing you may want to do (we did this) is to travel to the east coast when a regional tourney is going on in your D's sport. My D plays tennis, so we visited the east coast during the regionals and saw a bunch of the D3 teams playing all on one day. This was great for meeting several coaches at once and also for getting a good feel for the ability level of the teams. </p>
<p>On the same trip, D did overninghts at several schools. Both the tourney and the overnights served to rule out or to intensify interest in schools. I strongly encourage this. Furthermore, the coaches can hook your D up with overnight hosts (this is one of the biggest bonuses of athletic recruitment!)</p>
<p>
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I want her to see some of the famous schools she's heard of and allow her to see a selection of LAC or near LAC schools that have great undergrad reps before she discounts them out of hand.
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</p>
<p>Hopefully you can help her see that these LACs may actually appeal to her as much as or more than the Ivies, for diverse reasons. If not, they may be her best "athletic safeties." Furthermore, depending on the Ivy that appeals to her, her "next favorite" school may be a LAC. For example if she fell for Dartmouth, Dartmouth's most-similar schools are probably Williams, Middlebury, Colgate, Hamilton-- certainly not Columbia.</p>
<p>Colgate and Bucknell are in -the middle-of-nowhere.</p>