ramona_h_carter

We are planning a trip to visit colleges with our son for spring break of this year. We will be bringing our two younger children aged 10 & 11 as well. We will fly in from South Carolina and can spend as much as the whole 9 days.

We would like to begin or end in Boston circling through to New York, etc. The colleges we would definitely like to include are MIT, Princeton, Harvard, Cornell University, Boston College, & Northeastern University. We would enjoy a few days in NYC to see a couple of shows.

Can anyone suggest a sample itinerary? Also, nice hotels that are located near good restaurants and sightseeing? And the best airport to fly into?

Thanks for anything you can add before I start booking the details.

cw

You could fly into Boston, spend three or four days seeing the area schools, rent a car to visit Cornell, then on to Princeton, return the car before staying a few days in NYC before flying home. Or do the reverse.

When is Spring break? The Boston Marathon is the third weekend in April and would be a busy time for Boston hotels.

All the Boston schools you mention are easily accessible by public transportation and Boston is a compact city so you can stay most anywhere in Back Bay, Downtown, or the Quincy Market/harbor area. More of a challenge is finding a hotel room that can accommodate five. There are some Residence Inns in Boston and perhaps the Revere Hotel takes five to a room. We're you thinking of getting two rooms? That would give you many more options.

rizzo0904

I would fly in to Boston on day one. On day two, tour MIT and Harvard. On day three, tour northeastern and BC. Spend day four in Boston. Its going to be a huge lifestyle change for him moving from SC to Boston. Make sure he has some time in the city to get a feel for the weather, people, pace, etc.

Day five drive the six hours to Cornell. Tour the area...very different from Boston. Tour Cornell on the morning of day six and then drive the four hours to Princeton. Tour Princeton on the morning of day seven and then head to NYC. You've got day eight there before flying home day nine.

My opinions... I love Boston. I would live there in a heartbeat. Many of my southern friends who have moved to new england are not fans, however. As for NJ, you couldn't pay me to live there again.

nytraveler

Have you checked with the colleges to find out when they give tours and how long they take.

IMHO there is little point in just heading to a campus and walking around - he will want to take the official tour with a student guide, possibly meet some other students in his potential major or at least his school (liberal art, science, engineering, fine arts, business, etc). Im not sure doing 2 schools per day is possible even if they are very close together. When we did this with our DDs each school took most of the day. (But then we did 3 or 4 trips with only 2 or 3 schools each.)

Also - if this is spring break will the students be there at all. Again little point in being at an empty school.

Your plan will give him a quick preview of what the city is like - but not necessarily much about the school. I encourage you - and him - to review all of the info about in the schools in the various guides so he goes prepared and with specific questions.

rizzo0904

My plan above was hoping they could do one official tour around 8am and another around 1pm. I agree, you need to do a real tour and not just walk around campus. Personally, I would just focus on the four Boston area schools on this trip. Also, can he narrow down his number of choices? What are his career goals?

I tried looking online for SC high school spring break and it looks to be the first week in April???

rizzo0904

Harvard does one hour public tours every hour from 10-3. MIT does public tours at 11am and 3pm. You can also set up private tours at both.

emalloy

Do plan activities for the younger kids while the older one is visiting colleges. The museum of science, aquarium, boat ride in the harbor, walk along freedom trail, etc.

travelgourmet

Most of the itineraries sound good. Cornell is the really tough one, since it is so isolated, but rizzo's route makes the most sense (you could also start in NYC and flip it).

The only question I'd have would be why Northeastern? It simply doesn't fit with the others. Brandeis and/or Tufts would be more in keeping with the rest of the schools you list. Depending upon the major they may make more sense than BC even.

For hotels in Boston... While I would normally recommend somewhere on the Boston side of the river, the Residence Inn in Kendall Square might actually be perfect for this trip. They have suites with 2 queens and a sofa bed. It is very close to the Kendall Square T (subway). It is walking distance to a few restaurants (Commonwealth, Hungry Mother, ArtScience, Ramen & Mein, Legal Seafood, Catalyst, Emma's ), or a short taxi/Uber/T to other places. Plus, you are right at the edge of MIT's campus and a couple stops on the T from Harvard. BC is so far away that you wouldn't want to plan your hotel around it. If you wanted to rent a car (useful for getting out to BC, or Tufts, needed if you wanted to go out to Brandeis), it would also be cheaper to park in Kendall than in Boston.

Danielle811

Cornell is the outlier for sure, but, as Rizzo mentioned, a COMPLETELY different atmosphere than Boston. Ithaca is a beautiful area, and you may enjoy a half day exploring one of the State Parks there. Keep in mind, though, that Spring Break in the Northeast can still be quite cold (snow wouldn't be unexpected, especially at Cornell).

Luv2travel15

Some websites for you: 1st one has some good info. Others have visiting schedules.


http://www.studyboston.com/
indicates there is a visit boston colleges hotel rate

http://www.bc.edu/admission/undergra...day-visit.html
visiting Boston College for a day program

http://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry...oston_colleges
(this is an old website but the info may still be pertinent to your visiting)

If you check out the visit section on above website MIT has a calendar and dates for visiting.

https://college.harvard.edu/admissions/visit