Hello! I’m a rising junior who will be taking a trip to the Boston area this summer. Having never been on an official college tour or explored a school, I’m not sure how to approach it. So far I have scheduled two tours, one at Harvard and one at Tufts. I really want to see new campuses and get a feel for what a non-state school is like.
What I’m wondering is if anyone has suggestions of schools in the Boston area for me to visit with my family besides Harvard and Tufts? (I’m interested in political science and history). Keep in mind my family will most likely not have access to a car throughout the trip, so we will have to rely on public transport/taxi. Also, does anyone have ideas on how to plan a college trip (eg. what to look for, where to eat, what questions to ask, how much time to spend)? Sharing your own personal experience would be awesome! Thanks for your help in advance!
How much time will you have? What are your stats?
I visited Boston College last summer, and it was my favorite of any campus I’ve ever been on! And the tour was great, highly recommended.
@fogcity We will be in the city for about a week and a half and will be staying in the city. I believe we should have time to check out any schools that seem intriguing, if only for ten minutes at some. For your question about my stats, they are as follows:
Objective: GPA: 4.0 UW - 4.5 W
SAT/ACT: haven’t taken either officially as I plan to this fall/winter, but my practice tests for the SAT are above 2000… how high I end getting remains to be seen.
Quick Subjective: I am ASB (Student Govt) Vice President this year and I hope to be President next year and I have plenty of other history national accolades.
@jackrabbit14 Thanks for the recommendation! My parents have suggested it to me as an alternative to some of the uber-competitive I have on my list, but I don’t know anything about it. On Google Maps I couldn’t tell what’s around the campus. Is there anything exciting to do near the school, because then we could turn it into a full day trip?
@LAD2266 Boston College is about 5 miles from the city. BTW, Boston College is hard to get into. It is easily the nicest campus of the Boston schools. Tufts is a half hour out of Boston.
You really haven’t taken any tests yet?
@BatesParents2019 Thanks for the info! I just meant it wasn’t as competitive as Harvard, Stanford, Yale, etc. If it’s really that nice then I’ll make sure to check it out–especially if it’s that close to the city.
Yes, I haven’t taken any of the main tests yet. If you are looking at my “What Are My Chances?” post in confusion, the discrepancies are because I posted that as an “ideal” situation because as a rising junior it wouldn’t have been worth my time to attempt to take the SAT sophomore year. Yaaaaa dig?
Tufts is a 15-20 minute drive or probably a 30 minute T ride plus 10 minute walk from downtown Boston. If you’re already in Cambridge (which I’m assuming you will be, because you’re visiting Harvard as well) it goes down to a 10 minute drive or a 20 minute t ride + walking. It’s really not that far away.
It’s not weird that you haven’t taken the SATs before Junior year- I think @BatesParents2019 assumed you were a rising senior. However I’m not sure how wise it is to take numerous college tours far from home at über-prestigious universities prior to truly knowing how you will do on exams.
Summer is not the best time to visit potential colleges because the core undergraduate college is not in session. Be sure not to take away deep impressions from summer tours. Their usefulness and perspective varies a great deal on who leads them. If you visit during the school year you can attend a class or two, speak to undergraduates, etc. But during the summer this in not possible. Walk through the campus after the tour. The library is likely to be open. Go there. Walk through the neighborhood within a 1/4 or 1/2 mile of the college. Most students don’t wander much further than that during the school year. Check out the gym and (often) pool at the college. At least during the winter these will be good focal points for getting a bit of exercise.
Explore colleges beyond the center of Boston. You can take the train to Providence (e.g. Brown and RISD) , and walk from the Providence train station to the Brown campus. In addition to a tour (assuming there is one when you’re at Brown) walk around the Brown and RISD campuses. It’s possible to stay at the International dorm at Brown overnight. Doing so will give you a feel of what it’s like to be a student at Brown (and indirectly elsewhere).
You haven’t mentioned any smaller colleges ("LAC"s) in your post. Two that are worth seeing while you’re in the Boston area are Brandeis and Wellesley. Although Wellesley is a women’s only college the campus is not untypical of LACs elsewhere in the country. Brandeis has a more suburan/urban feel. Consider if they offer the kind of environment that suits you. Be careful not to put too much importance on the deserted feel at these colleges. It’s summer and the student are away.
You may also want to take the train/bus to Amherst and visit one or more of the colleges there. Best is to rent a car for this trip.
Since you are a while off from applying and you don’t have some essential stats that can serve to narrow down your list I recommend that you use the Boston trip as an introduction to possible colleges and avoid taking deep impressions regarding specific colleges.
Northeastern comes to mind. Good school, but probably more of a safety with your stats.
I didn’t take my first test until April of my junior year, so don’t worry. 
I’m almost positive you’ll get a high score anyway.
I also did my first big college trip in the summer before my junior year. I found it was still helpful even without the students. You get a feel for the city (a factor that was one of the most important to me), and if you go for an information session you learn about the values of the school. It might be useful to go back during the school year, maybe after you get accepted and what not, just to get a feel for the student life. But you can usually get some perspective on that through social media (Yik Yak is a surprisingly useful college search tool) and student review sites like Cappex.
I don’t know if you’re a nature fan, but my favorite part of my trip to Boston was Walden Pond. There’s a nice trail around the pond, and there’s always people playing in the water to cool off during the summer. And of course, there’s an interesting history behind it. If you’re a literature lover, Louisa May Alcott’s house is a must visit. If you’re a history buff, Freedom Trail. If you’re an art fan, their Museum of Fine Art is one of my favorites in the world. The Aquarium, the Swan Boats the Public Garden, the Boston Harbor, Paul Revere’s house, the Boston Harbor… Boston is full of things to do. And if nothing else you can always go shopping downtown.
Have fun 
Northeastern’s mid 50% for enrolled freshmen is 2020-2190 so be careful about considering it as a safety.
BU is an easy trip across the Charles from Harvard. If your SATs put you into competition for Harvard and Tufts, think about MIT. Although they are best known for STEM subjects, they have surprisingly strong social sciences, and like well-rounded applicants. Tufts is very easy to get to from Cambridge. There is direct train connection. If you have time around Harvard Square, Harvard’s museums are superb and well worth a visit.
I forgot to mention- the freedom trail is a must for a history lover/potential history major! Boston is a great city for people who love history.
On every college trip we find places that were on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. We picked Rino’s in Boston and it was excellent.
Not sure what @batesparents2019 is referring to as Tufts is actually slightly closer to Boston than BC (easily verified via Google Maps). Significantly closer if you are taking the subway because of the large number of stops on the Green Line. (Tufts is 1/2 mile from the Davis Square station on the Red Line). Tufts is about 2 miles (2 subway stops) from Harvard and Harvard is about 2 miles (2 subway stops) from MIT. BC, BU and Northeastern are all on the Green Line (subway). Brandeis is close, but it is on the commuter rail (train) that intersects the Red Line at the Porter Square (between Tufts and Harvard). Wellesley/Babson/Olin are also close, but on the commuter rail out of South Station.
Wheaton College (in Norton) is also accessible via the commuter rail.
http://www.stonebrowndesign.com/boston-t-time.html
Here is a list of colleges in the Boston Area
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_colleges_and_universities_in_metropolitan_Boston
Thanks to everyone for the advice! It’s been really helpful so far in my planning.
@fogcity Yes, I was thinking about taking the train to Rhode Island, and I have a cousin who goes to Brown so that may actually work. Also, I have been looking at some LACs and I will make sure to check some out. I am a multiple legacy at Amherst, so that is a school I will look closely at and of course we will make a stop there; whether that is on this trip or another one sometime in the future remains to be seen.
@dragonfly26 I guess I’ll have to redownload YikYak because I had deleted it for its semi-graphically annoyingness, but I can see how it would be helpful here. Northeastern too…jeez Boston really is college central. I will look at stopping by their campus, however I’m not sure we will have time for a complete tour there. I would love to see Walden Pond (Is that the same Walden Pond as Thoreau’s)… I am really intrigued by transcendentalism so hopefully the ghost of Thoreau pops out. 
@woogzmama Thanks for the info; I was looking at that, but I’m not sure if I’ll want to spend four years around mostly STEM people, given that isn’t really my thing. I have planned out a day for hopefully checking out all Harvard/Cambridge have to offer. As long as there’s good food–I’m happy.
@Qwerty568 Of course the Freedom Trail, how could I forget! I hope Boston lives up to my expectations and piques my interest in US History even more-so.
@BatesParents2019 Great suggestion, I never thought about that. I’ll make sure to check out Rino’s!
@Mastadon So far I have set up tours at Harvard and Tufts on adjacent days. Maybe I’ll check out BC after Tufts on that day, unless we’re enchanted by Medford and spend the whole day there.
My family was also thinking of traveling up to Maine for a day or two. Does anyone know any good campuses to check out along the way up there (assuming we rent a car)? Once again, thanks everyone for the help!
Maine colleges: Bowdoin, Bates, and Colby
@doschicos I heard Bowdoin has a great poly sci department so I might be interested in it. What about Dartmouth? How far out of the way would it be?
Dartmouth is not close by if you are driving from Boston to Maine. Its in Hanover, NH so check out google maps to get an idea of distances. If you are going to Maine, I recommend eating lobster and visiting the 3 Maine LACs I mentioned, all good schools. And remember, your goal should be to build a balanced list of reaches, matches, and safeties so try to include a range of schools in your visit.
No one is enchanted by Medford!