<p>(Best Western somewhere, I think) and Rose and Elizabeth will probably try out the ride from the airport to the campus on SEPTA so D can get some experience with that as that's what she'll be taking to and from the airport when she comes home in the future, travels elsewhere, etc.. Thursday of course she'll be on campus, Rose and I'll be checking out banks, bike shops (hopefully it won't be necessary to get hers repaired but who knows) etc. Anybody have any recommendations on that score?</p>
<p>I'm not a fan of Dali, we'll be looking at the concert lineup, though, caught a nice one when we were there last fall for the interview. That's some performing arts center. </p>
<p>Friday, fly out late that afternoon, probably check out the neighborhood before that. </p>
<p>If anyone is looking for inexpensive hotels, there is a McIntosh Inn (local chain) in Media that is clean and pleasant enough and convenient to Swarthmore (a few miles west). I would strongly recommend against the Days Inn in Chester which is the closest hotel. All of the airport hotels are convenient, especially those west of the airport along I95. And then there are a ton of hotels downtown.</p>
<p>As for the train from the airport, my daughter has yet to use it. So far, she's always been arriving and departing when Swat is running their shuttle vans to the airport. But, you just take the R1 train from the airport, get off at the UPenn University City station and transfer to an R3-Media/Elwyn train westbound that stops at Swarthmore. You could also take the R1 a little further to the main 30th Street Station (Amtrak connection) and get the R3-Media there.</p>
<p>Banks. There are only two immediately on campus. There a Credit Union ATM and office in Parrish Hall.</p>
<p>There is branch of the PNC Bank in the ville of Swarthmore, just across the railroad tracks. Both are convenient. I think that my daughter went with the PCN option, figuring there would more ATM options around Philly.</p>
<p>Here's a bike dealer/repair shop about 1.5 miles south of campus, right on Chester Road (the "main" road that runs through campus): </p>
<p>They sell Trek, Fuji, Raleigh, Diamondback, so it looks like your typical mom & pop quality bike shop. There's a city bus route that runs up and down Chester Road, so that would be accessible for repairs. Chester Road in that direction is all nice residential and pockets of light retail.</p>
<p>Most every other retail establishment under the sun is on the Baltimore Pike in Springfield, PA around the Springfield Mall. That's about half a mile in the other direction, NORTH of campus.</p>
<p>
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I would guess that someone at Swarthmore would point kids in the direction of whatever conveyance would take them to the Amtrak station...
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</p>
<p>That's a piece of cake. Just take the R3 commuter train from the Swarthmore station (right on campus) directly to the 30th Street Station in downtown Phila. That's Philly's Amtrak station.</p>
<p>Here's the link to a clickable transit system map:</p>
<p>I called last week. Their advertisements look okay. I was a bit surprised that the area around Swarthmore didn't have more lodging. Zoning? We've stayed at the airport Embassy Suites, nice property, onsite car rental, too. We're trying something different this time.</p>
<p>As a funny aside, when we visited Oberlin (one property, Oberlin Inn, in town), the campus tour guide quipped that anyone wanting a project as a motel/hotel management specialist could take on rennovating the property. We stayed there a couple of nights on our first trip there in 2002. It could indeed have used a bit of work but was okay.</p>
<p>As another funny aside, when we went out to Grinnell this past fall, pheasant season had just started and the motel (out by the interstate) had set up a pheasant cleaning station not too far from our room. Interesting breakfasts, most folks in camo and carrying shotguns.</p>
<p>The McInstosh Inn is nothing fancy. Comparable to your standard no-frills roadside Interstate motel, but clean enough, in a safe location, and convenient to Swat. I would put it in the "serviceable" category.</p>
<p>
[quote]
I was a bit surprised that the area around Swarthmore didn't have more lodging. Zoning?
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</p>
<p>The "Blue Route" I-476 that runs north/south past Swarthmore and connects I-95 in Chester to the Penn Turnpike north of Bryn Mawr was not opened until 1991. It's construction was one of the most hard-fought environmental/neighborhood battles in history, with the court-challenges lasting eleven years. The Swarthmore College and the surrounding towns were among the leading opponents, but the entire road runs through expensive old residential neighborhoods with very few commercial centers that would attract hotel development. Plus, the zoning in these neighborhoods is intensely anti-development. The Blue Route may be the most environmentally-friendly interstate segment in the country, with restricted grades, seamless paving, and extensive noise barriers:</p>
<p>All of the hotel districts were well established along I-95 and I-76 long before the Blue Route construction began.</p>
<p>The other factor working against hotel development in the immediate Swat area is that the village of Swarthmore and the surrounding town of Springfield are both "dry". The village of Swarthmore did just pass a zoning ordinance allowing a small hotel (max 80 rooms), located on a college property (across the railroad tracks, down by the athletic fields) to serve alcohol in its restaurant. This opens the door for the construction of a Swarthmore Inn owned by the college and operated by a joint venture partner. They've identified a local hotel development company as a potential partner, but it's not clear that the project is economically viable or when it might actually proceed. The College would like it to happen, but does not want to lose money on the deal.</p>
<p>I think PNC was orginally the Pittsburgh National Bank. It's a fairly major bank in the PA region. The credit union on campus is the Franklin Mint Federal Credit Union.</p>
<p>You'll get a schedule of events for Ride the Tide in the mail. I think it also may be posted in the admitted student's website, the one you can access with your Latin tree name password.</p>
<p>YAAAY! I'm invited too! And I'm just a parent! But there are two parent events on Friday. So maybe I'll reverse directions and send my daughter up by Amtrak and pick her up in person. The material said they'd have an easily identifiable Swarthmore student at the train station all day on Thursday. I am SO excited!!</p>
<p>I don't know if I will attend Ride the Tide yet. I grew up near Philly and attended many of my dad's alumni events, and visited over the summer, so I know a lot about the school as it is. Plus I will be in Ann Arbor visiting UMich the day before, and I don't know where else I'm in and when other schools' admit days are. It all depends...</p>
<p>I probably won't be able to attend, (I don't know the exact days, but I've got important activities on the 22nd and 24th). I may be able to attend the Amherst equivilent, BUT I am afraid that going to one school's special days could create an unfair bias.</p>
<p>Admit weekends are a lot of fun, but I don't think they are very useful for actually choosing the school (which is supposed to be their purpose...). You don't see at those events what school is really like, just how good it is at putting on a show. I guess, you can still interact with the current students, and see what the student body (present, as well as your potential classmates) is like.</p>
<p>Well, at this point in time, all my colleges feel pretty much the same. I'm really looking for something to click with one of the student bodies, so I guess this admit weekend might do it... you can tell I'm really hoping for this to go well. :-D</p>
<p>So how is it "free" and do u know what kind of activities do we do there? Where do we stay over night? etc. is it really cold there now? how is the weather? i just need some general info about the whole thing? Would i be staying with the admitted students?</p>
<p>Yeah, I got that letter...
I talked to the tennis coach at Swat about the RTT thing (he also teaches sociology so he IS a faculty member)
He told me that it was really unnecessary if you've decided to go to Swat. I know that some of you might want to go just to meet some ppl before freshman year starts, and to you I say: stay home, sleep in.
If you're undecided, it looks like they have a cr**-load of programs crammed into 2 days, which actually sounds kind of fun.</p>
<p>IF YOU HAVEN'T VISITED SWARTHMORE:
DEFINITELY GO. IMO it's an amazingly beautiful campus w/ an arboretum.</p>
<p>In my opinion, it's better to schedule your OWN overnight: see what school is really like. Make sure you visit though caus it be beautiful.
...so eloquently put...
If you want to play a sport talk to da coaches and they'll board you with team mates.
as for the activities:</p>
<p>Day 1
Damn!! I lost the sheet. lol. Remind me how I got in....</p>