<p>If he's strong enough academically to apply to Williams, he could as readily consider Amherst (coed). This makes more sense than Smith or Mt Holoyoke (all girls), and is in that same Five College Consortium (Smith, Mt. Holyoke, Amherst, Umass Amherst, & Hampshire.) There's a bus from UMassAmherst's student union into Boston, but it would take a bit of research to determine if that is to the city of boston or Logan Airport! Shuttles join the 5 colleges of the consortium. By car, the drive from Boston to Amherst is 2 hours. That's only slightly closer than Williams. They are competitors. Wesleyan --mentioned above-- is in their same Div-III athletic circuit.</p>
<p>Have you looked at Brown U? There's a bus from Logan into downtown Providence, which is actually easier, cheaper than taking the second leg of the flight from Bos-Prov airport. Providence, RI is 45 minutes from Boston.</p>
<p>Of course when you complete your list, be sure you've got a range of selectivity (USNWR, imperfect as it is, reports on that) so you apply to some schools where it's not like threading a needle to get in.</p>
<p>I think when you talk about Wms, Wesleyan, possibly Amherst, it's natural to also consider Brown in that same breath.</p>
<p>If you could fly nonstop from LA to Boston, then get onto the bus at Logan into Providence, you're done. OK, well, cab a mile from the Prov bus stop to the dorm, or take the city bus, but that's nothing. It would basically be one flight and a one-hour bus.</p>
<p>If you're looking at Boston schools, or at Providence schools, you may want to fly into Providence's airport - TF Green Airport. Small, easy to navigate, little traffic. And getting from Providence to Boston is no problem - Amtrak goes right to South Station in Boston, and you can even take the MBTA commuter rail from Providence to Back Bay or South Station. I know there are direct flights from the LA area to Providence, at least on Southwest.</p>
<p>Alternatively, you can try Manchester, NH's airport. Also small and easy to deal with.</p>
<p>P3T: I think I have said this before to you, but the difference between Long Beach and LAX is HUGE!!! Santa Ana/John Wayne is almost always more expensive than LB. If you can use Jet Blue, Long Beach is the cheapest, easiest way to fly (and most enjoyable). YOu can arrive at LB 45 min before a flight and check bags, go thru security and still have time on your hands. LAX requires you to arrive 2 - 3 hours ahead of time and the traffic from Chapman can be awful. One other option, and I don't know how to get from Chapman to Ontario, but that little airport is a gem. It might be worth exploring shuttles to Ontario airport and check out the fares. The money saved by using LAX is NOT worth it. Hope your S in lovin' Chapman.</p>
<p>P3T: I neglected to say...........if you can find a great deal out of Santa Ana/John Wayne, go for it every time. It is MUCH closer to Chapman than any other airport and there are few hassles there. Lines are fairly short. It is a nice airport. We have found that red-eyes from either LB or SA are the best way to fly east. Otherwise, you lose an entire day to travel. Flying west you can leave mid day and still get in at a reasonable time.</p>
<p>We live on the West Coast near a major airline hub and felt that a non-stop flight with easy ground transportation was an important consideration. Three out of the last six flights we've taken from the East to West Coasts in the last 2 years have been major hassles with delays, diversions, re-routings, cancellations, missed connections, overnight stays at hotels, being forced to wait for a flight on a standby basis on 2 hours of sleep, etc.The airlines are increasingly less reliable and more crowded and adding a stop along the way just increases the possibilities of problems. Having a student on the opposite coast means fewer visits home, but we felt it important that those visits should have a high probability of happening as scheduled rather than being especially subject to the vagaries of air travel and the weather.</p>
<p>Oh, no, Weenie...it was clear that it was your opinion, I just wanted to wave my countervailing one. Doesn't help that the last three days were spent at D's college and confirmed the "perfect fit" for her.</p>
<p>When I get caught up from the trip on work and sleep, I think I'll start a thread on "Perfect Fit." I've come to the conclusion that it's by no means universal but that for some student's it's very real and for others the lack of same is just as real.</p>
<p>blucroo - S is crazy about Chapman, just eating it up. Am flying him to cousins in San Fran for their 4-day Thanksgiving break, so he can meet that part of the family and see NoCal, too. You and others helped us make a great decision. Thanks.</p>