Taking a spring break trip to Boston to see colleges and do tourist things. It’s a good location to see various types/locations of schools. We’ll tour BU, BC, Tufts and Northeastern. D25 may not apply to any of these, but she thinks she wants a city or near city school, and her GC highly recommended Tufts to her. She loved McGill, didn’t like NYU, and liked Georgetown. She’s never been to Boston so this seemed like a good idea to further solidify the types of things she desires as we build her college list.
I’ve used tripadvisor forums and the daytripper university website to get some info, but looking for more suggestions on coffee shops/restaurants/bars/other recommendations to get a feel for where students might hang out. Or things to see on campus that might not be part of a tour.
Thank you in advance for any recommendations. We will be in Boston for 6 days, with one day devoted to each school, so we have plenty of time for exploring.
Likely won’t like BU if didn’t NYU. You might add Brandeis to see a smaller school. Or Wellesley if she’s looking at schools the level of Tufts (all female).
Boston has a lot which you’ll find on the websites you are using but it’s also a very reasonable day trip to cool cities like Portsmouth NH - which btw is only 20 mins from UNH (which has a train direct to Boston) - and even a little further Newport RI which is always a nice day.
To stay in Boston, walk the entire freedom trail. I, personally, love it.
Thank you for the suggestions. D25 loves history so we’ll definitely be doing the freedom trail. I haven’t been to Boston in about 20 years, so I’m excited for the trip.
I agree that she probably won’t like BU, but I figure if she doesn’t, we can completely knock all city center colleges off the list. Sometimes with a large list, knowing what you don’t want can be as important as what you do.
Agreed. Having visits you don’t like is awesome. We left the GW tour and others my daughter thought she’d like she didn’t.
While she didn’t like GW due to the Uber urbanness, she’s at a smaller urban school (Charleston) - with a campus. Then you have others like Pitt that are in big city but also with a defined campus vs an NYU/BU. So even in city, colleges vary.
If you like history, my kids enjoyed walking the Freedom Trail during our college visits to Boston. I also highly recommend dinner in the North End - we liked Carmelina’s for dinner and Mike’s Pastry for dessert afterwards!
When we go to Boston, my kids like to eat a lot, lol. Things we don’t have as many options for where we live: seafood, Italian in the North End, cannolis, etc.
Spend some time walking around Faneuil Hall and the waterfront, if your child has never been.
The rest depends on how much extra time you have. Don’t want to be exhausted on tours. Speaking of tours, try to space them out. And take notes during/after each tour on your phone(s), because the visits will all run together in your memories, very quickly. I like to take a few photos on each tour, if I can do so without embarrassing my kids. I find that, if it’s ok with your tour guide, a photo that happens to have the tour guide in it, perhaps while they’re talking, will help jog memories of the vibe on that day.
I also like them to have lunch in the dining halls on campus, or eateries close to campus, where time permits.
If you happen to swing by the Lexington/Concord area at some point, Minuteman National Park has a nice presentation that’s offered something like every half hour. Jost a taste of history, not overwhelming and you can sit
When my older son was working in New York City he was asked by a coworker for advice on touring these schools with her daughter. He gave some pointers. When the parent returned she was not happy. Her daughter was turned off by the Green Line tracks running through the Northeastern and BU campuses. The daughter was also turned off by the hilliness of the BC and Tufts campuses. So if your student does not like street car tracks and hills, be advised.
Seriously, I would recommend staying at a hotel in the Back Bay area of Boston. It is expensive but it would give you all a feeling for the urbanness of the city, as opposed to driving in from a suburban hotel. In fact, one of the two towers of the Sheraton Boston Hotel is now a permanent residence hall for Northeastern.
If your daughter is into STEM you should tour Northeastern’s new ISEC and EXP complex. Not sure if they are on the standard tour. If into computer science you must tour the new CDS building at BU, also referred to as the Stack of Books building. You can’t miss it.
Once settled into your hotel you should use the T to get around, as that is what most students do. Driving in Boston is a challenge, especially for the uninitiated. All four colleges are directly accessible from the various branches of the Green Line. Tufts is the latest member of the “streetcar college” club, although that new line has had issues since opening.
As mentioned earlier, BU has a concrete campus but with more open space than NYU. Northeastern is in a way like McGill in that it is very urban but nonetheless has a mostly defined campus with a surprising amount of greenery.
Tufts and BC are suburban campuses with a lot of greenery and open space. But they are suburban only in the sense that Medford/Somerville and Newton are not part of the city of Boston, The surrounding communities are older urban areas, especially Medford/Somerville.
As for student hangouts I am not current. Newbury Street is still popular, and I love Faneuil Hall Marketplace but that it not as popular as it once was. The North End is very popular for Italian food and pastries.
Boston is a great college town! We have a first year student at BC.
If you have a car, definitely take the time to drive around the Newton campus at BC which is only 1-2 miles down the road from the main campus. About 40% of freshmen end up of living on this Newton campus so it’s worth checking out. The kids take a free shuttle bus back to main campus for classes etc. Newton campus is in a beautiful, more suburban neighborhood.
Take the green-line subway from BC into Boston to get a feel for what students do. Try to go to a game at some point during your visit…at any of the campuses or a Celtics of Redsox game. Not sure when your spring break falls which would dictate sports options. Check campus calendars for other events on campus that might be fun to check out to give you the vibe of the students. Maybe a concert or whatever interests your students. Sometimes, it helps to eat a meal or grab coffee on campus and just do some people watching.
I’ll add that BC’s lower campus is technically in the city of Boston (this includes the upperclass dorms, football stadium and hockey arena). The city line is by the hill between lower and middle campus.
Thank you so much for taking the time to respond. D25 loves public transportation. Her long term goal is to live in/near a large city without the need for a car. Trying to figure out if she wants that for undergrad too. She’s a fit varsity athlete, so hills should be ok.
Dinner in the North End sold my S24 on Boston. He ended up admitted ED to a school in a different city and I’m a little afraid that if he has cold feet at some point, it will be because he misses the North End lol.
Food is important! My S24 is happily at a school where he had his favorite burger ever at a nearby college bar. The school was his second choice until he had that burger. lol.
S24 also eats a lot of burgers. Small sample size, but he said the burger at BU’s GSU dining hall was far better than the burger at a restaurant near Northeastern called B Good.
(True confession, I might tend to snap a pic of my kid while they are eating, merely to preserve the memory of the place, food, etc. My kids don’t like it when I do this, so I try to catch a candid, carefully.)
We did a visit to Boston to see the exact same four schools with my daughter. We also had visited schools in New York, and my daughter had not liked NYU, so we were not surprised that she also did not like BU, but we were glad that we did the tour. She really liked Northeastern and BC, and is now a freshman at BC.
I’ll echo some of the recs from others: Freedom Trail, which will go right past Boston Commons which is a beautiful park. Faneuil Hall is touristy but has shopping. For good shopping, coffee shops, gelato, I’d highly recommend Newbury Street. I think my daughter heads there about every weekend.
Definitely go to the North End for great Italian Food and cannolis. I’d recommend Prezza (get the ravioli appetizer with the egg inside) and then Mikes Pastry afterward.
I’m assuming your spring break is in March, so you’ll likely be too late, but if in very early March, I’d recommend going to a BC mens hockey game. The team is ranked #1 in the country and the games are super fun. But, I think the season ends in early March.
We’ve stayed in the Hotel Commonwealth a couple of times, and I’d recommend it. It’s walking distance to Northeastern, and Newbury Street, and is right next to a T Station.
If your daughter is into music at all, see if there is a concert at Symphony Hall. It’s a great venue!
Yes to the Freedom Trail. And don’t forget to walk through the public garden. You can do that when you go to Newbury Street.
One of my kids is a BU graduate and loved Boston. He absolutely hated NYU (loves NYC but hated NYU). So don’t assume your kid will hate one if they hated the other.
Yes, the T goes to the Northeastern campus, but really, we thought that campus had a self contained campus feel.
If you want to explore Boston, I would suggest not venturing to Portsmouth NH.
There are also tons of museums in Boston. If you like that sort of thing, there is something for everyone. We like the natural history museum.
Lots of good downtown suggestions above. In addition, you might consider a stop to check out Coolidge Corner in Brookline. It’s on the green line and nearish to both BC and BU. Lots of shops and restaurants, including Brookline Booksmith, a fantastic independent bookstore, and JP Licks, a delectable local ice cream chain. It’s also home to the JFK National Historic Site (currently closed, but you could still stroll by to see his birthplace if that’s of interest).
Re: cafes - When my daughter comes down from her college in Maine, there are always lots of college kids she runs into at Tatte cafe. There’s one in Beacon hill (Charles St) and another on the Commons I think. You can walk all through the Commons and Public Garden (swan boats!) and stop at one of these cafes to rest your feet. Really I would also just walk through the city as much as possible - Back Bay, North End (yes Mike’s Pastry!), Quincy Market/Faneuil Hall. So much to see and a very walkable city! Gorgeous in the spring. Omni Parker is a famous old hotel (Boston Cream Pie place) and could be worth a stay there as well.
Lots of great suggestions, I would add hitting the Seaport. My BC senior has spent a lot of time there during her time in Boston. It has great restaurants and shopping. Very easy to get to via public transportation as it is a quick walk from south station, a main hub.
If you go to the North end, skip Mike’s. Head to Modern Pastry instead, or better yet Bova’s. Although good, Mike’s is known as a tourist trap among locals.
