<p>We live in San Diego, but DS (a junior) is interested in visiting the following Midwest colleges:</p>
<p>Macalester
Kalamazoo
Oberlin
University of Chicago (I know its' not a LAC, but he's still interested)</p>
<p>and possibly:</p>
<p>Dennison
Grinnell
Kenyon</p>
<p>Can anyone suggest a preferred route to visit all these? I'm thinking we may not have enought time to do this in one trip -- maybe 2 long weekends? We're open to flying, driving, trains -- whatever will work. We will be visiting colleges in NY and Boston during Spring Break, so the midwest trip(s) will have to be in summer, next fall, or maybe a couple of long weekends sometime this spring. The midwest is a foreign country to us, so we would appreciate any guidance anyone can offer! Thanks. I will post this question on the College Search forum, too.</p>
<p>I will start with the schools in Ohio (Denison, Kenyon, Oberlin) first and travel westward. Then visit Kalamazoo in Michigan and travel I-90/94 to UChicago (only 2-3 hours driving distance). Macalaster and Grinnell can be the last destinations.</p>
<p>If you flew to Cleveland and rented a car, Oberlin to Kalamazoo to Chicago isn't too bad. Oberlin's maybe half an hour west of Cleveland's airport. Kalamazoo is about four hours drive to the west from Oberlin. Chicago is about 2 and a half hours west of Kalamazoo. Grinnell and Macalaster are quite a bit further. Chicago to Grinnell is probably a five hour drive. Grinnell to Macalester is another 4. But if you don't mind the driving, and could arrange all the visits, you could drop off your car in the Twin Cities and fly back from there. You definitely would want to do it when it's warm, of course.</p>
<p>It would be harder to fit Kenyon and Denison into that particular itinerary as they are a couple hours south of Oberlin.</p>
<p>Kalamazoo and Chicago are not terribly far apart (geographically). It would be tough to see them both in a day, but not on sequential days. You could fly to and from Chicago, and drive from there to Kalamazoo and back in a (long) day. It's probably about 2-1/2 hours each way without too much traffic.</p>
<p>Grinnell is about 250 miles west of Chicago. That's do-able, too, although maybe not there-and-back in a day.</p>
<p>Another possible LAC pairing with the University of Chicago is Beloit (about 80 miles away). It's north, though: not on the way to either Kalamazoo or Grinnell.</p>
<p>For all of the schools in this group, it probably makes sense to fly round trip to Chicago and drive from there. Midway Airport is much closer to the University of Chicago than O'Hare, by the way, and an easy bus ride to/from the University. Actually, Grinnell is probably equidistant from Chicago and Minneapolis. You could combine it with Macalaster (and Carleton or St. Olaf's, as long as you are in the neighborhood), too.</p>
<p>One other thought. If you don't want to do them all at once, fly to Kalamazoo, then take Amtrak to Chicago, and then to the Twin Cities. You'd have to deal with some cabs in Chicago and the Cities but it's a much more relaxing way to travel. You could also go Cleveland - Chicago - Twin Cities this way, and visit Oberlin instead of Kalamazoo, but since I have a son at Kalamazoo and am partial to it, I thought I'd mention the other route first. ;)</p>
<p>Last year I planned the mid-West tour for D and her best friend. We did Dennison, Kenyon, Wooster, Oberlin and Case over a long weekend (the girls were off from school some day when the colleges were in session). We flew in through Columbus and out through Cleveland. </p>
<p>Day 1: fly out (early am); Dennison (afternoon); drive to Gambier
Day 2: Kenyon (arrive 8-9am) and Wooster (afternoon); dirve to Cleveland
Day 3: Oberlin Case (can't recall which we visited first); fly home (evening)</p>
<p>We were at each school 2-3 hrs. The girls interviewed, toured and met with one coach at each school. I wasn't nearly as hectic as it sounds (had lunch at Kenyon and Oberlin; coffee at Case).</p>
<p>Don't miss Grinnell just because it's off the beaten path. We saw Oberlin and Macalester (and 8 other LACs) and S liked them all. (We did one school a day, by the way.) I was hoping to ditch Grinnell-it sounded too remote and rural and he was happy enough with the others he'd seen. We went anyway, and once S saw Grinnell, he knew he'd ED there.</p>
<p>Trains are not a good choice in the midwest. You may try to fly round trip to Chicago with a stop in Minneapolis- I know it works from small airports to spend a few days in Mpls when it is on the way (relative sees friends on her way to visit her brother...). BTW- driving around/through Chicago takes a lot of time and is unavoidable (pet peeve of mine is looking for stores online within an x mile radius and being given a list including Michigan stores as if one could drive across the lake, even the ferry takes as much time as driving around the lake).</p>
<p>You are about to see some excellent schools! I'd only encourage you to come when they are in session.</p>
<p>The school on your Midwest list that I know well is Oberlin but I think it'd be especially true for all those LAC's: you can't figure out the differences there without meeting the people who attend. I strongly encourage a Spring or Autumn trip.</p>
<p>I have no idea why the poster above would say that Amtrak is not a good way to get around the Midwest. Amtrak is a great way to get around. That's how my son gets to and from Kalamazoo College. I have a niece who goes to Macalester College who gets there from Milwaukee that way and a partner whose daughter uses Amtrak to get to and from St. Louis University. Chicago is still a great passenger rail hub to most of the Midwest. Frankly I don't know of a more relaxing way to get around. Amtrak also runs a special for parents and their kids visiting colleges. Some kind of a two for one deal, I think, or a substantial discount. My wife and son used it to visit K.</p>
<p>Renting a car will give you the greatest flexibility, of course, but the train service in this part of the country is really quite good.</p>
<p>The train from Kalamazoo to Chicago is a good idea. It takes longer than a car, but you will be in the heart of Chicago (Union Station). University of Chicago is just south of the Loop.</p>
<p>The only midwest school we visited was Kenyon (which my son and I really liked). I would make a special mention of the Kenyon Inn. It's right on the the Kenyon campus and was my favorite among the many inns, b&b's and motels that we stayed in during the visiting process.</p>
<p>"University of Chicago is just south of the Loop."</p>
<p>This is true only if "just" encompasses about seven miles and 25-40 minutes by public transportation. (A lot less in a car if there's not traffic, more if there is.) But, yes, it is easy to get from the Loop to the University of Chicago. And there are vastly more hotels in the Loop area than in Hyde Park.</p>
<p>Oh, I almost envy you, seeing these schools for the first time--and why isn't Carleton on the list? We LOVED our tour of The Great Midwest colleges--it was like one big treasure hunt. From VT, we flew in and out of Ohio, starting with Antioch, driving to Minneapolis to see Macalester and Carleton (an hour away), then to Grinnell, Beloit and Oberlin. It took a whole week and Antioch we saw on a Saturday which does NOT give a complete picture. If you can possibly see schools on weekdays when students are on campus and your kid can go to a class or two, that is the way to go. And if you can give a whole day to each school, I also recommend that.</p>
<p>I agree with M's Mom--do NOT miss Grinnell. It looks remote and it is remote, but it's a wonderful place and ended up being my son's first choice. And it's one of the few top-notch LAC's that is generous with merit $$. The facilities and resources are incredible and the people are just great. I'm perhaps slightly biased.</p>
<p>The Midwest schools were so exciting, my husband and I couldn't imagine how our son would be able to choose just one. But of course, he had to and did. Enjoy!</p>
<p>There are cheap direct Skybus flights to Columbus for the Ohio schools. (on the right days as low as $100 or less R/T, but they also sell one way tickets.) I would visit Denison first, drive to Kenyon (only 30 miles!) and then up to Oberlin, which is 80 miles on country roads. You can stay at the Oberlin Inn or the Kenyon Inn, depending when you prefer the drive. Then drive back the 100 or so miles back to Columbus to catch your flight.</p>
<p>My daughter and I did a midwestern trip last spring to Chicago/Kalamazoo/Wooster, Ohio. The Chicago/Kalamazoo combination is easy to do. We stayed downtown at Swissotel (got a pretty good deal, thought, and staying downtown is really fun) and there was a bus from practically right outside the hotel to Hyde Park. We took the train to Kalamazoo from downtown Chicago. Very enjoyable and pretty easy. Then we rented a car in Kalamazoo, drove back to Chicago (kind of a nightmare driving through Chicago if you ask me), stayed with an aunt for Easter, then drove to Wooster, Ohio (near Cleveland) -- it took about nine hours from Chicago to Wooster, including getting lost on a country road in the dark. If I were doing it again, I'd probably fly to Cleveland from Chicago. At any rate, I enjoyed the trip immensely. There is quite a contrast between the UChicago campus and little Kalamazoo and College of Wooster. I must say, though, if you ever get a chance to visit the small LAC's -- do it! They treat visitors like royalty! My daughter ended up at College of Wooster. I really liked Kalamazoo. I remember my daughter describing the students there as <em>ridiculously friendly</em>. I felt a little sad when my daughter decided it was a little too small for her.</p>
<p>Kalamazoo isn't actually that small; it's big as LACs go. About 3,000 students, vs. about 5,000 undergraduates at Chicago (and a lot of other people, too, which of course makes it look much bigger).</p>
<p>Kalamazoo I thought had about 1200 students. Did a quick google and see that they have 1340 students. The campus is tiny. Sort of felt like a doll house. It seemed too small to my daughter. But it is a wonderful school. Almost everyone goes abroad Jr. year. Many double major in a language and something else. The alumni provide many opportunities for internships. Wooster is small too. Just not <em>quite</em> as small as Kalamazoo. Chicago is very different from both.</p>