Planning a trip in the spring to visit northeast schools with kid. Not concerned about choices just about getting around.
Amherst, Vassar, Skidmore, possibly Sarah Lawrence, Haverford
Best place to fly in and out? Should we fly in to Newark, drive to the Mass and New York schools, then fly or train from Newark to Philly to visit Haverford? Long drive otherwise. Could the whole thing be done on public transit? I hate city driving and in fact am not good at it. I’d like the kid to actually get to go to college and also still have a mom.
Fly into Boston. Rent a car. Drive to Amherst, then Skidmore, then Vassar, then Sarah Lawrence. If you skip Skidmore, you cut out a lot of driving, but then you don’t see Skidmore.
From Sarah Lawrence, you have two choices. You can drive a bit more than 2 hours to Haverford. The route skirts the edge of Manhattan, but I swear to you, it’s not terrible city driving. It’s a highway. You do have to go over the George Washington Bridge, which can be backed up and have a lot of traffic.
Alternatively, drop the rental car in Yonkers, where Sarah Lawrence is. Get a cab to the Metro-North station (commuter railroad) and take that into NYC. You’ll be getting off at Grand Central Terminal. Subway or taxi to Penn Station. Take Amtrak to Philadelphia. Then there’s a commuter train, sorry, don’t know what it’s called, but I know there’s something, that will get you to the Haverford train station. The overwhelming likelihood is that it will be much faster and much less hassle to just drive to Haverford.
As an FYI – driving in NYC proper isn’t that hairy compared (to my mind) with driving in New Jersey along the turnpike or in Boston, where the drivers seem to take pleasure in leaving microns of their paint on your front bumper as they weave in and out of traffic. The traffic in Manhattan just sort of inches along mostly and since there’s no turn on red in the City, when the light changes to red, the traffic actually stops. It’s a pedestrian-friendly city so the cars actually go slow mostly. The traffic is pretty tame. Just stay away from midtown (59th to about 34th streets) where there’s gridlock all of the time as it’s a big tourist area. If you for some reason need to enter NYC – park in the northern area near say Columbia U and then take the subway. That’s the best way around town.
I know that you’re happy with your college choices but I’m interested in why Sarah Lawrence and not, say, Bard or Wesleyan. Just thought I’d mention that
As far as directions past NYC – you should know that there are a series of parkways north of the City that make driving pleasant.
If you cross the GW, and take the HENRY HUDSON 9A north, the northern tip of Manhattan is lovely and forested. The HH 9a road goes straight north (or straight south depending on your point of origin) and joins fairly seamlessly with the GW.
the HH9A heading north also joins then with the SAWMILL the CROSS COUNTY and depending on where you’re headed – north or east – the TACONIC (north to Vassar) or the HUTCHINSON and the MERIT PKWY (headed east toward the Amherst area). All are pleasant driving.
You are all making me terrified with talk of traffic. I live in a small town, where the traffic at rush hour means 5-6 cars ahead of you, and you have to wait 2-3 minutes. Nowhere do I have to drive more than 60 mph, ever. Maybe we’ll just take small commuter flights for the longer hops, although expensive.
Regarding Bard, too rural for my son. Wesleyan is known for frats. We had one kid at a frat school, and it’s not a good choice. My kids aren’t prudes, but party til you puke is just not their thing. They’re just more mature than a lot of students their age. There are parties everywhere but frats are just bad. Group think, follow like sheep, and fail to think for yourself. Not the right fit.
I’m still looking at other options though, for schools in those areas.
@granolakrunchr - Wesleyan’s traditional fraternities (such as they are) receive a lot of publicity, in part, because they are so out of step with the rest of the university. There are two or three of them; one has been in protracted litigation with the university over whether they can regain residential status; the other two seem to trade turns at being suspended for various reasons, including allegations of sexual assault. I’d be very surprised if together they could produce a roster of 100 students. There are two or three additional independent societies that occupy prominent old houses and each one is as far from being a traditional fraternity as you get. One is known primarily for its student-run restaurant and another is a prime venue for band concerts. All are co-ed. Again, I’d be surprised if the raw membership numbers exceeded a hundred people. Wesleyan has a student body of ~3,000 students: https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/03/wesleyan-coed-frats/389177/
Wesleyan is not the frat school you are describing. It might be worth your while to visit, just to see it. Similar party scene to everything else on the list.
With some of the others on the list – given the rural nature of western MA, etc. , it could be worthwhile to see if Bard really is too rural. It is known as the dinner party school, so the vibe might be right.
But we digress… Traffic is heavy in lots of this area. I might suggest that you time it so you are not driving at rush hour. It’s much less stressful, and maybe you can fly in on Sunday so you can drive to your first visit on Sunday when the traffic is lighter.
Just for kicks…if you start with Haverford. … Fly to Newark. Take NJ transit from the airport (yes, it stops there) to Trenton. Switch to Septa to center city than septa to Haverford. You can always take Amtrak from philadelphia to NYC (where you can take the train to Yonkers from Grand Central, which isn’t the Amtrak station) or Poughkeepsie. You could probably rent a car from Enterprise in either.
This allows you to avoid a lot of driving. The reality, though, is that the drive from Newark to Haverford isn’t that bad, so is all that schlepping worth it? And driving out of there to your more western targets isn’t awful either. There will be 2 of you so one can navigate.
I would fly into Albany, hit Skidmore then Amherst then head down 91 to the NYC/PA schools. Definitely fewer headaches than dealing with Logan and then Skidmore isn’t really out of the way. Another option is to fly into Hartford and hit Amherst, then Skidmore, then head down I87. Unless you are thinking of adding a Boston school, I’d avoid it. Hartford and Albany are both easy to fly into though depending where you are coming from, probably not a direct flight.
If I were going from Sarah Lawrence to Haverford, I’d probably go a bit out of my way to take the Tappan Zee to the Garden State to the NJ and PA Turnpike. My kid went to Swarthmore and I live a bit north of the Tappan Zee. I avoided the GWB at all costs, but that’s just me. (Coming off the GWB into NJ is a nightmare, with many highway signs screaming for your immediate decision) My version of the drive is pretty easy, and since EZPass was introduced, and the NJ Turnpike widened, it really is pretty simple.
Yeah, all the directional signs and fast turns at high speed are awful. I generally end up in a neighborhood somewhere, with no options to get back on the highway, and no idea where I am. I’ve done that in many cities! Traffic and endless freeways helped me choose an isolate rural area to live in. But as a result I’m even less skilled in city style driving. I love Europe where I can simply take transit and relax!
Reading this thread, and having driven most of the routes discussed, it occurs to me that you will need a GPS. If you have a smart phone then you need to learn to use its GPS and get something to allow you to mount it on your dash. Otherwise, you need to purchase a GPS for the trip.
Also, from Boston out to Amherst then down to NY and Philly you will need a car. Public transit would be pretty bad, and the distances are too great for cabs.
Where I live the GPS doesn’t work very well, so I’ve never learned to use it (plus I don’t need it here). So I guess that’s something I need to figure out. I definitely will NOT have someone with me who can navigate; the driving and nav is all on me. It does sound like driving is still the best option though, especially with limited time. I don’t want to spend a lot of time waiting for trains instead of seeing schools. Flying into Albany sounds maybe ok. Might be able to do open jaw and leave out of Philadelphia, leaving PA schools for last.
I have a cheap-cheap thing that sort of plugs into the vents for the air, and has a paired flat magnet that you slip into the back of your phone case. Cost about 5 bucks. Works great.
I really appreciate all the driving tips from people who’ve been there! I live in Alaska so if anyone has questions for up here, happy to help! Driving is easy here, just watch for moose and people who don’t know how to use turn signals. And pedestrians never have the right of way, practically speaking (although legally they do).
I think I have a plan but still open to ideas. Fly in to Albany, drive to Skidmore, then Amherst, Vassar, haverford. If I skip Sarah Lawrence, which isn’t high on the list anyway, I bypass the most difficult traffic. TBH Vassar is the main interest, but it doesn’t make sense not to compare more schools to make sure.