@bjkmom - thanks!! I’m worried about driving back here on Tuesday night (snow/ice storm expected?)…
Visiting vs Traveling
To visit in Winter is ideal if you want to see what it’s like to be snowbound… staying over night at a small campus in New England, not close to city life, confirmed for our child that he could do it for 4 winters.
To travel in Winter is a different issue. Decide based on what’s safest while travelling and convenient once at the destination.
Any variable, involved in deciding what to do when acceptances arrive in the spring, that’s not an unknown is a real plus.
I’ll put it this way-- it’s predicted to snow around midnight. We’re already getting big flakes. Maybe, like the other day, it won’t stick. Or maybe it will. Since we don’t know where OP is coming from, who even knows what T station to recommend? Certainly don’t want Quincy.
On another thread, staying in Needham came up, maybe she can cab it to Newton and take the GreenLine in?
Thanks for all of the advice! I am in the Northeast already (about 3.5 hours away) so, although it is also unseasonably cold, I was more worried about the driving. I had assumed that the hotels would have parking, and that the college will have parking (maybe I’m assuming too much though), but I am starting to hear that getting around is taking three time longer than normal. There’s winter and then there’s WINTER. Friend’s daughter at Tufts (one of our destinations) says the snow is so high that you can’t see well when driving and have to be careful turning, etc.
I think we may cancel but I’m kind of worried about how to fit all the visits in. We have one week in April, and D is not here this summer. I considered driving south but there isn’t anyplace close enough that we haven’t already been, that still has slots open. I’m leaving the reservations until the last possible moment though, just in case something changes.
I’ve lived in the Boston area for 32 years–this is the most snow I’ve experienced in all that time. The problem is that the T (public transportation) isn’t running on schedule or not running at all, there are street parking bans in some areas, and not all walkways are plowed. Maybe you can park at your hotel and walk tio the colleges/universities, but it will take a long time. Also, you aren’t going to walk from say Tufts to BC–too far. You could walk from BU to Northeastern or between Harvard and MIT. How many schools were you visiting?
Check with the school and see if there is parking on campus. I noticed in the list of closings on TV this week that most of the colleges and universities were closed when the storm hit. That doesn’t happen often, which tells you something. I’d reschedule unless your willing to be adventurous and put up with lots of hassles and inconvenience.
Main roads right now aren’t bad–but if the predicted storm happens over the weekend, it will change.
Don’t go-if you’re not used to driving in Boston in bad weather, you’ll struggle and stress out. Friends who live in Cambridge (and are born and raised massholes) are like, this sucks! Give the colleges a chance to shine a little more and the weather to distract a little less.
I would normally say “go for it!” because i think its exciting to take adventures like this…your kid will never forget it.
BUT, i will note that my younger S had his weekend debate trip to harvard canceled yesterday…the tournament is still going on (i think) but the kids ran into one problem after another…the flight can still get into Logan but the bus company said they couldn’t pick them up at airport…and the hotel has parking issues…and then there was talk (perhaps overblown) of Logan canceling flights on Sunday…it’s a heartbreaker for the kids but there was no choice…
When I saw the title of this thread, I had to laugh at the idea of “SEEING” the colleges…better be tall to see over these MASSIVE snow banks!! 
I understand what people are saying about seeing a school in its typical elements and I would agree. However, the situation in Boston right now is NOT typical. I live in Cambridge. We’ve had almost 6 feet of snow in the past 2 1/2 weeks and more on the way. It has been record breaking (and I lived here even in the Blizzard of '78). It has impacted driving, parking and public transportation (T). Many streets are very narrow right now. Many parking lanes can’t be used as they are covered in snow banks. You would have to really know in advance if you could get some sort of parking at each place you are going and staying. Navigating isn’t as easy right now either. Last night, I couldn’t go down my street because someone got stuck. You certainly can come but scope out and understand this situation. Don’t rely on the T necessarily. It is taking longer to get places by car than usual. Even walking in certain locations is harder. Be comfortable driving in these conditions and walking in what is going to be bitter cold.
Since you only live 3.5 hours away, it seems you could make such a trip on another weekend later in winter and perhaps have it be less problematic. If this is your only option to come to Boston, then come. If you have any choices, pick another weekend.
PS, I just checked the weather report and Saturday night and Sunday are possibly going to be blizzard conditions. While the total snowfall may be “only” a foot or less, this will be hard for traveling, and also is compounded by the fact that we already have almost 6 feet of snow. Good luck!
I think it could be okay this weekend if you have a schedule that isn’t too packed (more time to get places than you think you need), weighting as much before the snow as possible, and have a budget for cabs to get around the city.
@soozievt - I really wish more schools had Saturday visit dates. It would then make it so much easier to just reschedule and be done with it!
I think that with a kid that lives within driving distance and already knows what a northeast winter is like, I would postpone. She doesn’t need to see schools under snowy conditions, she lives it. You want her to get a feel for the different campuses and not have the focus be on the difficult travel conditions and potentially treacherous and stressful drive. Under these extreme conditions and with a potential blizzard Sat and Sun, I don’t think she will have the best opportunity to get a feel for the schools. Visiting in inclement weather is fine, but this is much more.
If there wasn’t the potential for a blizzard I would say go ahead (since it’s not me who will be freezing my bum off) but why on earth would anyone want to go anywhere in such dreadful weather? Go over April vacation.
This weekend is not good because of the storm forecasted - as Soozievt said, with the snow already on the ground, it’s going to be an impossible situation. One suggestion for next weekend - you could stay in Providence, which is in much better shape snow-wise than Boston, and take Amtrak to South Station. You could visit Brown, then the colleges in Boston. The trip is only about 35-40 minutes, and the regional and Acela trains run very reliably between Providence and Boston…my son who lives in Cambridge is taking it to Providence tonight, in fact…running on time and a very easy trip.
They just upped the weekend snow estimate for Boston and eastern Massachusetts: 12+ inches with winds of 50-60 MPH, per WBZ-TV website.
My son went to college at McGill in Montreal. He said that the past 3 weeks of snow would be extreme even there. However the city is built for it: the subway is entirely underground for one thing.
Word of the day: bombogenesis!
My kid’s supposed to be leaving Sunday morning on a school sponsored trip to DC. No way that’s gonna happen.
I would check the colleges. If they are forecasting blizzard conditions, they might not be open for tours and info sessions.
Usually I would be all for seeing colleges in the snow! However, especially with the large amounts of snow coming this weekend, I would say DON’T come to Boston. Our sidewalks are slippery, driving is almost impossible with the snowbanks, and forget about taking the T. This amount of snow is abnormal and not representative, in my opinion, of a typical MA winter. In my (admittedly short) 17 year life, I can’t remember a winter with this much snow! It just makes travelling next to impossible. If we’re getting as much snow this weekend as they’re predicting (12-18 in), schools will probably close, anyway. If there’s a blizzard warning or winter storm warning, I can say with a good deal of confidence that taking a tour would be impossible and that the school itself would be closed.
I live in New England, and the irony for me is that when my daughter left for a semester abroad in Copenhagen, we cautioned about getting through a Nordic winter. But the weather there has been averaging about 20 degrees warmer. The precipitation has been mostly rain but the upcoming week looks to be in the 40s and sunny.
The Scandinavians do say there’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing.
OH, and fretfulmother, if you should decide to come down, two things to keep in mind:
Hofstra is on Hempstead Turnpike, right off the Meadowbrook Parkway… no side streets to navigate.
Also, in the half mile or so between the parkway exit and the school you’ll find a Marriot (Uniondale) just in case weather conditions do deteriorate. (The Nassau Coliseum is between them, just in case you’re stranded and can catch an Islander game. The players walk from the Marriot to the Coliseum.)