5alive

First, congrats to your son! What an opportunity!

Don't most campuses have activities for the parents as well? I would take advantage of them. It may be the most you see of the school your son will be attending. Free time? Nose around the school bookstore, the campus art gallery.

If there's even more unstructured time in Boston or New York, I'd say, you should go have fun. Do a google search of this website for both cities and you'll find tons to do.

Vttraveler

Congratulation to your son on his acceptances to these three great schools. I hope you both enjoy the trip east to visit them.

I know you didn't ask for an opinion on whether it was a good idea for you to go on the trip, too, but since so many people have offered gratuitous advice, I would just say I think it is fine for you to go! Our kids grew up in rural VT and both looked at and ultimately attended schools in cities. We went to visit most of the schools with them, and they did just fine when they had to travel to/from school and negotiate urban subways and buses on their own.

I don't know what the admitted student days schedules are like for parents at these schools but I have been on campus tours at all of them and you would probably enjoy taking one with or without your son. All three are interesting historic campuses.

In addition to the glass flowers at Harvard, there are excellent collections at the Fogg art museum and the Peabody Museum of Archeology and Ethnology. And the Peabody museum at Yale is also well worth visiting.

Harvard square is a fun area to explore. And Boston is a short ride on the T (subway) if you want to do some sightseeing there.

When you are traveling between New Haven and NYC, there are many commuter trains on the Metro North New Haven Line in addition to Amtrak trains. These go to Grand Central terminal rather than Penn Station in NYC

nytraveler

I wasn't suggesting that a parent is unnecessary - I think a more mature perspective is always good. But I think the comments about using public transit and letting the kid spread his wings hold. They shouldn't be joined at the hip every moment - and since the average college student doesn't cab everywhere - I think the real people comment holds.

Vttraveler

I do agree it is important to feel comfortable using public transit at any of these schools. I went to school in the Boston area for four years w/o ever using a taxi and took a taxi once in the three years I studied in NYC. I almost never take taxis in cities now, either.

However, real students do sometimes take taxis, at least in some cities. My kids and their friends sometimes found it to be a cheaper option when a group of them were going out. It is good to know what to watch out for, how much to tip, etc. when taking a taxi, too.

1jeng

Thanks for all of the insight. I realize that some of the people commenting think that I am being over protective of my son, but we live in a bedroom community that is known for it's wine and hot air balloons and just last year was voted the 2nd safest place to live in the US. He has absolutely no experience with public transportation - my thought was that he shouldn't try to navigate NYC for the first time on his own. Thanks to some of your posts I am leaning toward letting my son travel alone and take the train/subway whenever possible.

What is the best way for him to get from the airport in New York to Columbia University? (I have yet to purch the tx, is it better to fly into a particular airport?)I also want to confirm the most efficient public transportation from Columbia to New Haven is a train? Can anyone provide the approximate cost to take the train?

He will be staying with a student at Yale for a day or two after the admitted students days. Is there anything he should definitely do or see while in New Haven? His friend at Yale suggested he take Megabus from New Haven to Cambridge. Does anyone know how close that gets him to Harvard and how he can from the Megabus stop to Harvard?

1jeng

Apparently I failed to refresh the page before my last post and missed the 6 prior posts encouraging my to go with my son. I would love to go if it is not cost prohibitive and provided that I can find a family of one of my younger son's friends to take him in for 10 days.

Today my son will continue researching the trip. Tonight I hope to actually make the reservations.

Whether he travels alone or with me, the advise provided on Fodors will be extremely useful. Thanks to all that have replied.

Vttraveler

I didn't realize that there was a Megabus from New Haven to Boston. that is almost certainly cheaper than the train. The cost varies depending on how far ahead you book and the time of day. My kids have both used Megabus and Bolt buses quite often.
The bus would go to South Station in Boston which is also where the Amtrak train would go. I agree with yk's post above that the best way to get to harvard Square from there would be to take the T (subway). It is easy and doesn't even require a transfer

this is the link to megabus
http://us.megabus.com/?news=google09...FUGo4Aod0gl_bg

He would fill in the date and departure and destination and get ticket options

doug_stallings

The train from NYC to New Haven costs about $40 (check on the Amtrak web site for the actual price). Metro North is cheaper but takes almost twice as long. It's a similar price to get from New Haven to Boston. Yes, you save on Megabus, but the train is more convenient and comfortable in my opinion. I'd do that anyway, though Megabus does have free Wi-Fi when it's working and pretty comfortable seats. All the students travel that way, but you have to meet the bus on the street rather than in the station itself and get off on the street, so if he doesn't know his way around, it's not going to be as convenient as coming into South Station by train.

Newark (EWR) airport is probably the most convenient airport for Columbia. He would take the Airtrain/NJ Transit into Penn Station and then the subway up to Columbia from there. He could also fly into JFK and take the Airtrain/Long Island Railroad (also into Penn Station). Transfer times are about the same.

LGA is, ironically, probably the least convenient airport for Columbia U. if he goes by public transit, but if he's taking a taxi, then it's the most convenient simply because he'd have door-to-door service for a fairly reasonable price.

111op

I guess it's all been covered, but there's the M60 bus between LaGuardia and Columbia (that I don't think I've taken):

http://www.columbia.edu/content/morn...e-heights.html

A taxi from LaGuardia is cheaper than a taxi from all the other airports. Personally I prefer LaGuardia as it's the easiest airport to get to by taxi.

But I guess you'll need to check and see how routing affects airfare.

yk

Whether he takes megabus or Amtrak into Boston; both will drop him off at SOUTH STATION. Just follow the directions I wrote in my earlier post about taking the RED LINE from South Station to Harvard Sq.

1jeng

Thank all of you for your insight and suggestions. I found a friend of a friend who lives in NYC who suggested my son fly in a day early to see some sights and he will show him how to get around on public transport. I am now comfortable with him traveling alone. His brother and I will be able to go with him to visit Stanford the following weekend.

Vttraveler

Especially with friends to help your son get oriented in NYc and New Haven he should do fine traveling alone. I hope he has some time to explore Cambridge/Boston a little when he visits Harvard. It's an easier/less intimidating area to navigate than NYC

Skiergirl

Please give him money to take a taxi from LaGuardia to wherever he has to go in NYC. I've been here for 12 years and never taken the bus - it takes longer and it's not as easy as taking the Air Train from JFK or EWR.

As for "Living like real people" - no problem doing that once the kid is in college, but in this case I just thought it was unrealistic to just send the kid off on his own to visit colleges after living in what the OP/Mom considers a virtual bubble. That's how it came off at least, in my opinion. Either way it's not our child and not our problem, but no sense in making the poor mom of this obviously exceptional student feel any worse if money is a problem and will be harder for her to see the wonderful schools to which her son has been accepted.