AaronBurr

Hey all,

I will be a freshman at Penn come this August. I am wondering if there is any sort of cheap transportation between Ivy League universities. My guess is that there probably isn't, but I thought I'd ask and see what current students have to say. Anyway, how hard would it be to commute from Penn to Cornell (to visit friends and such)? Would it be possible to travel with athletic teams? Or how easy would it be to find someone to carpool with?

Also, for the fall semester, freshmen are only allowed to take 4.5 credits. So I ended up not having a class on Fridays. How inconvenient would it be to leave Penn for a three day weekend?

Thanks in advance!

chrisw

You're not going to travel with athletic teams unless you have an official reason to do so (i.e. you're involved with the team somehow).

Check out Megabus, Greyhound and Boltbus... I think one of them goes from either Philadelphia to Ithaca or from Valley Forge to Ithaca. Either way, you can get there affordably, though it will take a pretty long time..

212DAD

I do not believe freshmen are limited to 4.5 credits.
My son has actually been required to take at least 5 credits each term (Vagelos MLS).
Going to Ithaca from Philadelphia is probably one long, slow trip via public transportation.
Going to New York or Washington, however, is quite easy.

cbreeze

I wouldn't advise freshman, especially in the first semester to leave campus on weekends. You are going to miss out on opportunities to attend events and generally bond with fellow classmates. This is a huge adjustment period especially with academics and unless you can study and do homework on buses, you will be wasting a lot of time.

iamanapp

You can travel to Cornell via Syracuse. It's a long journey though.

Only freshmen in the College are. Not anyone else. Another one of those brilliant policies enacted by College administrators.

212DAD

Vagelos MLS is in the College...

JHS

You would travel through NYC, using Megabus, Bolt Bus, or commuter trains to get to NY, and Greyhound or Short Line to get from New York to Ithaca. The trip would take 8-10 hours each way, and cost $130-$160 round trip (more if you take Amtrak to NY, but that could cut about 90 minutes out of the trip). You are not going to do this often.

You could knock some of the time and cost off that trip if your friend in Ithaca could borrow a car to pick you up in Binghamton. But not enough time and cost to make a big difference.

Look for someone else with a girlfriend or boyfriend at Cornell or Ithaca, and a car. Offer to pay a big chunk of gas and tolls (probably around $70-80 round trip total). It's about a 4-hour drive.