Thanks for all the help. Let's see if I've got this right so far... (It's hard for me to put QC's directions in reverse and follow new suggestions as well!)
Fly into Providence, RI (staying with a friend). Tour Brown. Take Amtrak from Providence to New Haven. Stay at the Omni if possible. Tour Yale. Take Metro North from New Haven to NY Penn Station. Take subway to stay at Lucerne in upper west side. Tour Columbia. Then take NJ Transit to Princeton JCT then the Dinky train to Princeton. Where to stay in Princeton? Tour Princeton. Dinky train from Princeton to Princeton JCT. Then Amtrak to Philadelphia. Tour UPenn. Fly out of Philadelphia. I'm a little confused between Metro North and NJ Transit so if anyone could clarify that would be great.

Fly into Providence, RI. Tour Brown (RI), Yale (CT), Columbia (NY), Princeton (NJ), UPenn (PA), in that order. Fly out of Philadelphia. PLEASE HELP!!

That looks perfect, and it is very east to do. You can take Amtrak to all these destinations, don't even bother renting a car.

A few bits of local advice:

1) I suggest Amtrak for the WHOLE route because even though it is a little more expensive than commuter rail- it runs express between most of these cities, the ride is a little more luxurious, they serve food too.

2) The Dinky Train to Princeton is an essential part of the trip, the Princeton Jct. Station is FAR from the center of town- buy tickets for it BEFOREHAND at Penn Station. It is run by NJ Transit.

3) If flying into Boston is much cheaper than flying into Providence, do it! Boston is only 1 hr. from Providence, it's easy to get between cities and the Silver Line Bus from Logan Airport goes DIRECTLY INTO South Station, where you can catch Amtrak.

4) Who runs what:\

MBTA runs all transit in the Boston area. It runs Buses, Subways, Trolleys, Ferries, and Commuter Rail (which extends into Rhode Island).

MTA is the organization that runs all transit in the NYC area, which includes Bus, Subway, Commuter Rail, etc.

Metro-North is NYC Commuter Rail that serves suburbs north of the city and Connecticut. It is a subdivision of the MTA.

Note: All Metro-North trains go to GRAND CENTRAL. All Amtrak trains go to PENN STATION.

NJ Transit is NYC and Philadelphia Commuter Rail that serves New Jersey.

SEPTA runs all public transit serving Philadelphia and suburbs, including portions of New Jersey. It runs Buses, Subways, Trolleys, and Commuter Rail.

NOTE: There are SEVERAL Downtown stations that serve Philadelphia. For Penn, you want 30TH STREET STATION, which is conveniently also the Amtrak Station. SEPTA also runs service to Philadelphia International Airport.

All these organizations have web pages with maps, schedules, etc.

'If flying into Boston is much cheaper than flying into Providence, do it! Boston is only 1 hr. from Providence, it's easy to get between cities and the Silver Line Bus from Logan Airport goes DIRECTLY INTO South Station, where you can catch Amtrak."

At South Station you can also catch trains on the MBTA's Commuter Rail, which are much cheaper than Amtrak, and run more often (though not on weekends).

The time savings in taking Amtrak rather than commuter rail is minimal on most of these trips, and the food is certainly not a deciding factor! In most cases, commuter rail schedules are more frequent, so time saved in actual transit could be lost in waiting for the next scheduled Amtrak trip.

Clarification: Many of the MBTA Commuter Rail trains do run on weekends, but they don't go to *Providence* on weekends.

QC's advice is great. (I forgot to mention that NJ Transit and Amtrak leave from Penn Station in NY, while Metro North from Grand Central - second nature to me, but confusing for tourists!)

However, as someone who has done these routes her whole life (grew up in Pton, went to Yale, live in Manhattan now), I definitely agree with Anonymous that the commuter rails are actually often more convenient, since they run at least hourly, even on weekends, than Amtrak. In my mind, the cost savings (use that money for cabs and pizza!) far outweigh the 10 minutes saved or the extra comfort of Amtrak. Although, when possible, try to travel at off-peak times (not during rush hour) to avoid the crowds. But to each their own...

Here's the website for the Nassau Inn. Honestly, it's probably a bit overpriced for what you get, but in terms of location it is definitely the best choice for visiting the university. http://www.nassauinn.com/

Also, (just to get really specific) when you are in the train station in New Haven, look on the board for the Metro North to Grand Central to get to NY (NY is the last stop, so it is super easy). When in Penn Station in NY, look on the board for the Northeast Corridor to Trenton. (Princeton Jct is generally the third to last stop.)

For flights: it is sometimes cheaper to fly into Providence (TF Green/ actually in Warwick, RI but has transport option to Providence which is very close by maybe 15 minutes) - Southwest flies into Providence - don't know other routes for you, butyou could check -

also, even some other carriers offer cheaper options into TF Green vs. Logan

Amtrak: ask attendant when boarding (unless you purchase 1st class car) which end of the platform business/quiet car would be if that is an option you would like and depending on time traveling (busy or not) you can grab a seat on the quiet car which doesn't mean you can't talk, just means no cell phone conversations/ loud conversations/little kids making noise.

If you end up leaving somewhere earlier than planned - or later - Amtrak tix can be easily changed to whatever train you want.

sorry - meaning changing to another Amtrak time, not different train company

Sactomama-

I agree that the Nassau Inn is very overpriced...but the location is terrific for walking around the campus and the town.

there are a few other Inns in town..maybe google to find them. Teh chain hotels are quite a ways from school and you'd need to cab or bus back and forth- eating up any savings. If the Inns in town are sold out though, they are a comfortable option.

When are you going to NYC...I'm staying at the Lucerne to visit Columbia daughter. Maybe we'll wave in the elevator, or my daughter can tell yours why she loves it there!

This was my trip report of a Princeton visit this fall:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...1&tid=34707366

Thanks a million for all the help. Flights have already been booked and now I'm making hotel reservations for our stay. Does anyone have a recommendation for someplace to stay near the U Penn and Brown campuses? Also, can you tell me how to get information about the "dinky train" between Princeton JCT and Princeton? I want to look up the cost and connection times.

Here are some restaurants we like in Providence:
Al Forno - if you go to this link
http://dinesite.com/city/city-3443/??&t=0
you can read about that restaurant and others - it's a good site b/c you can pull down the type of restaurant you want - as in picking affordable, family, upscale, etc. Federal Hill area has great restaurants/cafes.

this is a good site for you, it also has MA and CT in it and recs
http://www.discovernewengland.org/rh...nd/index.shtml

i said some and only listed one ! - b/c the other is jacket and tie only- and i realized looking at schools likely you won't be going that route - you should try and eat near the schools to see what they offer for him and for you on visits - I would suggest trying each schools web page, parent section, and see what they rcommend for local dining also.

Just go to http://www.njtransit.com/sf_tr_schedules.shtml and remember that you want the Northeast Corridor Line.

thanks for the dinky train info. can anyone recommend a hotel in downtown providence that is convenient to brown and amtrak?

If you go on the Brown web site, usually the colleges have a visitor link w/ accomodations they recommend - perhaps there is one you can even use points at if that is soemthing you do, as I recall tehre are some chains (Marriott, etc) nearby as well as some smaller B&B's. Sorry I can't personally recommend one as we've never done an overnight there.

The best hotel in Providence in terms of location to AMTRAK and Brown are the Courtyard Marriott and the more expensive Westin.

I just came back from Philadelphia visiting UP. We stayed in the Thomas Bond House which is in the Old City of PA. WOnderful place to walk around and very close to the subway which goes right out to UP (which I loved but my on wanted more "green space). We stayed in the Radisson Hotel on the Harbor Providence 401-272-5577 when we visited Brown with my daughter three years ago but we had a car so I don't know how convenient it is. One thing I found invaluable when visiting colleges was the Princeton Revew website. If you look under the college and click on "visiting college" they have great advice for hotels in a range of costs. There evaluations were "right on."

My two cents re visiting schools is to try and schedule enough time to have your son go to class and eat lunch/dinner in the cafeteria. The info sessions are a waste of his time usually. We always split up and have our daughter/son go to class while I go to the info sessions. Tours are frequently worth it because they are lead by a student. I also have gotten good at randomly stopping students in the library or wherever and ask what they like/don't like about the school.

How engaged the kids were in class really helped my daugher pick her school. The only other thing you might want to think about is to try and see Swathmore while you're in PA unless your son definitely wants a big school. It's at the same "intellectual level" as the others but is just different.

Fantastic info all the way around. Thanks everybody!! I really couldn't have planned this trip without your help and suggestions. I'll try to post a quick trip report in late April to let you know how it went!!

I agree that most info sessions are useless, conveying info that you're better-off getting in the catalogue or website. Attending a class can be iffy -- you could get an unusually good or bad one, or catch the prof on a bad day.

We found that the best strategy was to talk to as many students as possible, and as big a variety as possible. In the cafeterias, student center, dorm visits, anyplace they're hanging around, most students are happy to give 5 minutes to a prospective freshman. Their replies to general questions about best/worst/campus issues can be very revealing, and much more informative than an hour spent in an info session!

Maybe it's bad of me to complicate things further, but as long as you're travelling so far, why not check out some of the wonderful liberal arts colleges? Swarthmore, for example, offers a different experience than the larger universities, and perhaps your student would like to evaluate that option. Then there's Amherst, Williams, Barnard/Bryn Mawr/Wellesley, if you have a daughter, and my own daughter was very taken with Bowdoin, if you want to take a scenic drive up to Maine. Also, since all the ivies are hard to get into, would you want to look at a couple of schools which might be more accessible, and yet would offer a great education?