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Doing Boston area college tour. Is this plan sound?

humanities2014humanities2014 206 replies21 threads Junior Member
edited October 2013 in Harvard University
Hey all,

I'm applying for Harvard SCEA, but I'm thinking about applying for Tufts and BC for RD as a match-low match. I'm currently attending boarding school about 3 hours away from Boston, so I was thinking about going there for October break. I think I wanna try some courses at Harvard, and I'm certainly gonna have an interview with senior/alumni there on the first day I get there. I don't know about Tufts or BC yet. I think I'd just look around the campus in one day. So, I'm planning to stay in Boston for two nights and leave to RI or CT on the third day in the morning for other colleges... Is this plan plausible? Does anyone from Boston have any idea? Oh and I'm taking subway in Boston.

And anywhere else I must see? Cambridge town and Boston downtown for sure, I guess?
Do you think it would be a stretch to get to Boston in the morning, spend whole day at Harvard, look around either Tufts or BC, and check the other college out in the next morning and leave Boston? (So spending one night and half in total, not two nights) I've never visited Boston, so I have no idea. Is it easy to get lost in Boston? (I'm from NYC, so I'm very used to subways or crowded places.)

Thank you.
edited October 2013
14 replies
Post edited by humanities2014 on
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Replies to: Doing Boston area college tour. Is this plan sound?

  • gibbygibby 10530 replies246 threads Senior Member
    I don't think you can just show up and sit in on Harvard classes. You probably have to get the permission of individual instructors and get the okay from the Admissions office. I would call Harvard Admissions and ask them about sitting in on classes.

    The subway (the T') does not go to Tufts, but you catch a bus from Harvard Square to Tufts.

    You could probably do tours of Harvard and Tufts in one day, but fitting in BC the same day is going to be difficult because of transportation issues. I suppose you could take a cab and start at 9:00am at Harvard, hit Tufts around 1pm and BC around 4:00pm, but you need to check all three schools for tour schedules (you can find them on-line) as campus tours and information sessions probably overlap.
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  • SikorskySikorsky 5745 replies106 threads Senior Member
    Actually, gibby, you can walk from the Davis Square T stop to Tufts. It might be 10-15 minutes, but it's walkable.
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  • gibbygibby 10530 replies246 threads Senior Member
    ^^ That's good to know. I always took the bus to Tufts and to Steve's Ice Cream (but that was a long time ago).
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  • jshainjshain 5807 replies54 threads Senior Member
    Another thought is to see Brown. You could possibly see Harvard and BC or Tufts on day 1, then travel to Providence by bus and stay overnight there. The next morning you could see Brown, then fly home out of Warwick RI airport.
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  • texaspgtexaspg 16523 replies340 threadsForum Champion Pre-Med & Medical Forum Champion
    "I'm thinking about applying for Tufts and BC for RD as a match-low match"

    I don't think anyone should consider them a match or low-match but that is just my opinion.
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  • humanities2014humanities2014 206 replies21 threads Junior Member
    @Gibby I'm pretty sure it's possible. It's on Harvard's website. It's not absolutely any classes, but there are open courses that professor let visitors to sit: "The Admissions Office provides a list of meeting times and locations of courses held during the academic year that are able to welcome visitors." And there also are larger lectures that accept visitors: Harvard College Admissions § Visit Harvard

    @Texaspg I didn't say safety. Tufts is my match and BC is low match. BC isn't that hard to get in. If it's your reach, then it's yours. My brother didn't consider BC as reach, and neither am I. They accept almost 30% of their applicants.
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  • humanities2014humanities2014 206 replies21 threads Junior Member
    @Gibby, Oh that was the list for spring. My mistake. But my point is there are certainly courses (or rather lectures) opened to the public. Harvard College Admissions § Visit Harvard << this. This doesn't show the list online, but it's where I quoted the thing. You don't need to get a permission. They are opened to visitors. Admission office merely provides the list of the courses.

    @jshain, That's also in my plan! I'm planning to see BC and Tufts on the first day, spend a morning and afternoon in Harvard and take the commuter train to Providence and look around Brown next morning. Then I'm off to New Haven... I'm very psyched.
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  • texaspgtexaspg 16523 replies340 threadsForum Champion Pre-Med & Medical Forum Champion
    "Tufts is my match and BC is low match"

    You may consider them matches but at least Tufts has a reputation for turning down kids who got into Harvard.
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  • HuntHunt 26787 replies131 threads Senior Member
    I don't see how you can see Harvard, Tufts, and BC all in one day, unless you're just going to walk through the campus. I suppose you could do Harvard and Tufts in one day, and walk around BC in the evening. I would suggest taking the campus tour at both Harvard and Tufts (the info session is more skippable). You could watch some Harvard classes online at iTunes U to avoid spending your time on that.
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  • gibbygibby 10530 replies246 threads Senior Member
    humanities2014: I believe the Spring List of courses on Harvard's website was posted for last year's admitted students -- so students could visit a class during Visitas. As there isn't a listing of classes for the fall semester, you should contact the Admissions office to see if can visit a class.
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  • HuntHunt 26787 replies131 threads Senior Member
    I'm not sure I understand the point of going to a lecture class at Harvard. They have some great lecturers, and that's who they'll point you toward. If you hear a great lecture, what will that tell you?
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  • 3togo3togo 5218 replies15 threads Senior Member
    edited September 2013
    My kids often did two schools in one day. So you could easily do Harvard one day (and also check out Cambridge and Boston) ... and tour BC and Tufts the other day. I'd recommend taking the formal tour instead of just walking around ... (in addition, I'd also recommend skipping the info session if you're tight for time at all). Then the third day you can catch a couple more schools in RI/CT.
    edited September 2013
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  • EnoughAlreadyEnoughAlready 227 replies10 threads Junior Member
    Gibby wrote: "I always took the bus to Tufts and to Steve's Ice Cream (but that was a long time ago)."

    Gibby, you are dating yourself! Do you remember that the original Steve's and the original Bertucci's were practically next to each other? Oh, for chocolate pudding ice cream again.
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  • gibbygibby 10530 replies246 threads Senior Member
    ^^ Even in the dead of winter, it was heaven!
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