<p>This August, I am planning on visitting a bunch of schools in New England. My mother thinks we should stay at one hotel and take day trips to the schools from there. </p>
<p>So what I am asking is what area/town/city would be the closest to the middle of the majority of these schools?</p>
<pre><code>* Amherst C (Amherst, MA)
* Bowdoin C (Brunswick, ME)
* Brown U (Providence, RI)
* Columbia U (New York, NY)
* Middlebury C (Middlebury, VT)
* New York U (New York, NY)
* Princeton U (Princeton, NJ)
* Swarthmore C (Swarthmore, PA)
* Tufts U (Medford, MA)
* U Chicago (Chicago, IL)
* Vassar C (Poughkeepsie, NY)
* Wesleyan U (Middletown, CT)
* Williams C (Williamstown, MA)
* Yale U (New Haven, CT)
</code></pre>
<p>It might be best to stay at a few hotels so that you can group nearby schools together. Are you a sophomore or a junior? How long will you have to visit colleges?</p>
<p>Your trip to U of Chicago will definetely have to be from a separate hotel, since it's the most out of the way. And, like yemaya13 said, it's best to group the nearby schools together. So, I'd say you have a hotel outside of Boston to visit the New England group (Amherst, Bowdoin, Brown, Middlebury, Tufts, Wesleyan, Williams, and Yale) and another hotel in NYC to visit the Mid-atlantic group (Columbia, NYU, Princeton, Swarthmore, and Vassar).
By the way, it's best to have only one campus tour/interview per day, and bring a journal to the visits to jot down your initial impressions of the school.</p>
<p>Hm. So, scratch UChicago. I'm also interested in Reed and Pomona but I guess I won't be seeing them either, hm! =)</p>
<p>I am a junior, and I am from Jersey. I would have about a week to visit schools in August, and would like to interview at all the schools offering on-campus interviews in August. (My parents own their own business, so can't really be out of the office for that long. I might be able to go with my college-age sister and spend more time, though.) </p>
<p>So I should maybe be able to visit the "Mid-Atlantic Group" from home. You said around Boston for the New England schools - we have a family friend just outside of Boston, that might work.</p>
<p>In terms distances from Boston, how far away are most of the New England schools (Amherst, Bowdoin, Brown, Middlebury, Tufts, Wesleyan, Williams, and Yale)?</p>
<p>Thank you for all your help! You guys are great.</p>
<p>Richard, since you are from S.Jersey, you should see Princeton and Swarthmore in 2 separate daytrips from home; Then drive up to Maine,VT, Mass., see those, make your way down to RI, CT, and Poughkeepsie, and see those schools, use 3 different hotels, so you are not commuting as much.</p>
<p>By then you are going to be sick of seeing schools.</p>
<p>Do Columbia and NYU in another daytrip from home.</p>
<p>Really, after visiting 6 schools in one trip, it's all a blur, and you will not get as much from the schools in the latter part of your list. As a Junior, spread it out a little, see some in March, then April, and then a May trip.</p>
<p>As for Chicago, that is a 14 hour car-ride from S.Jersey, at the least. Sometimes it's okay to apply to schools and go visit them after you get accepted.</p>
<p>Trip 1a - Princeton (from home)
Trip 1b - Swarthmore (from home)
Trip 2a - Bowdoin, Middlebury, Amherst, Williams, and Tufts (from hotel A)
Trip 2b- Brown, Yale, Vassar, and Wesleyan (from hotel B)
Trip 3 - Columbia and NYU (from home)</p>
<p>You say to see the schools in March, April, and May but I was actually planning on visitting in August. Is that terrible? I know the schools will not be in session, but I am so heavily involved in school and I don't think I (and my family) would be able to go in the next few months. Plus, they probably won't be interviewing for my class at that point. Will I still be able to get a sense of the schools in the summer?</p>
<p>Go to Expedia.com, and check out the driving distances, so your family can see what's do-able. Go to the school websites and see what their tour-times are, and if you can 2 in one day, like Amherst and Williams. Theres some homework for you.</p>
<p>Also, August is not the best time, as it is still summer in most schools, and you will not get as good of a feel for the campus/students/classes. Try and do some during your spring and Winter breaks, call the schools in advance and see if they are on break too.</p>
<p>Right for 1a,1b and 3
As for 2a and 2b, it would more likely involve 4 nights in 4 different hotels. You are much better seeing a school or two, and then spending late evening hours getting to a hotel that is right next to your next day's scheduled schools, so you are not late, getting lost, etc. Believe me, in strange towns, and big cities, driving times are unpredictable.</p>
<p>Richard
Have you investigated all of these school online, their programs of study, majors, size of undergraduate body, type of town, or village (as some may be). On what basis have you selected these schools.</p>
<p>See Swarthmore and Princeton, just to get a feel for small town, preppy campuses. Then see NYU and Columbia, to see super-large Universities in super-sized cities. Then mull over a little bit before the next venture.</p>
<p>Bowdoin and Middlebury are the farthest from home, as well far apart (150 miles??)
Amherst, Tufts, and Williams can be done from 1 hotel.
Yale and Wesleyan definitely in 1 day. Brown another day, but same hotel.</p>
<p>The basis on which I have based my decisions to visit and consider these schools is well-researched, I believe. I'm very academic-oriented, and believe I have a decent chance at the most selective schools. But I didn't want to fall into the trap of looking at schools just for their name or Ivy League status. </p>
<p>All the schools have solid departments in the subjects that I am interested in (history, international relations, political science, etc). The reason they are so different in size is that I don't know exactly what I will be most comfortable with (be it large like Columbia or smaller like, uh, Middlebury). Also, I don't know what sort of area I will like the most - a city is great because there would be so many cultural opportunities at your disposal, but I am concerned with whether there will be a cohesive sense of campus, or will the social life bleed into the surrounding area. Also, would a small, isolated town be able to satisfy my interest in going out every once in a while to a concert or museum? </p>
<p>I'm hoping whenever I visit these schools, be it once in August to see it with my mother and to interview, then again in the beginning of my senior year when I have more time and can sleep over/see some classes, I will be able to get a sense of what the school is truly about, and be able to make the decision of what type of campus I am most comfortable at. </p>
<p>Then the only thing I have to worry about is the (impossibly frustrating) debacle of being accepted.</p>
<p>Do you have any more suggestions for schools I should be visiting, based on the types of schools I have listed?</p>
<p>Do you go to Bowdoin? It seems like a really neat school. My friend Cori is in the process of trying to transfer there from the college she's going to now. She said the food was good when she visited. =) I don't really mind cold weather, so I think I'd be able to cope with being up in Maine. I look forward to seeing the school and the area.</p>
<p>For example, Bowdoin in August is nothing like it is in the academic year. There are lots of tourists around and various programs going on on campus that are loosely connected with the school. You would get a feel for the physical layout of the campus and the relationship to Brunswick but that's all. I don't recommend it. If you're going all that way, why not visit when the school is actually in session? You'll get a lot more relevant info when it's in session.</p>
<p>Hm, now you guys are having me rethink my plans I've had for awhile.</p>
<p>Well, I don't think I'd want to go when the schools were first starting in September.</p>
<p>What do you think about October? (I think I'll be able to miss a week or so in October next year. Crew will have not have started yet and I could make sure to get all the information about the work I would be missing ahead of time.)</p>
<p>Looks like you have done some good research. All of those schools are well known , in those 3 areas. Have you considered Brown, Dartmouth, Colgate, George Wash. and Georgetown? They are very well known for Pol.Sci, IR and Hist.</p>
<p>I do urge you to try and visit when the schools are in session. If you contact the admissions offices, you may be able to sit in on a class that interests you. </p>
<p>I am sure that you will get a lot of suggestions now that you have posted majors that you are interested in.</p>
<p>so you can sit in on a class, talk with students, have lunch etc. Use your spring and fall breaks, and take an occaisional Friday off.</p>
<p>Also, visit Bates when you visit Bowdoin. Both excellent schools for your interests, but the campus cultures are different. </p>
<p>As for the plans to use one hotel and then drive multiple schools, forget it. At best, maybe one hotel for every two schools, and don't drive any more than 2 hrs each way. Too much wasted time. Strategic hotel placement and driving in the evening between hotels is your best bet.</p>
<p>richard - You were very smart to ask this question now when you have mucho time for planning. Others have given you great advice on where to visit/how to get the most out of. So I am focusing on helping you out with the pure driving logistics, which could quickly turn into "driving hell." </p>
<p>Looking at a map, several of these schools may seem very close together. They are not. EG, the drive from Bowdoin to Middlebury is about 5 hours (each way). That means if you stay in one "central" hotel, even for that portion of your trip, you will be driving 5 hours to Middlebury and 5 hours back - not a fun thing, nor a good use of your time.</p>
<p>So, looking at your
Trip 2a - Bowdoin, Middlebury, Amherst, Williams, and Tufts . You can do Tufts, Amherst and Williams from same hotel. You can then go to Bowdoin using a hotel in Brunswick (or in Portland - PM me if you want specifics). You can leave from that same hotel to go to Middlebury, but you will not want to go back to it. You can stay in Middlebury, head on to the next leg of your visit and/or head home.
Trip 2b- Brown, Yale, Vassar, and Wesleyan (from hotel B). Don't know the distances here as well, but would not include Vassar in the group, for sure. Poughkeepsie is waaay far afield.</p>