<p>However, LGA has an 1,800 mile or so flight distance restriction, so that the OP’s son would not be able to get a non-stop flight to LGA from California. Non-stops are generally preferable due to taking less time and having less chance of flight delay, missed connection, or lost checked baggage.</p>
<p>On the other hand, non-stop flights from major metro areas in California to JFK and EWR are available on several airlines. Be sure to consider the “other” airports in the metro area, such as OAK and SJC for SFO, and LGB, SNA, BUR, and ONT for LAX, when searching for flights.</p>
<p>Thank you all so much! It’s so nice to check in and see such wonderful messages. We are excited for him and hope that he loves it because there’s no turning back now. </p>
<p>I had NO idea that we couldn’t get non stop to LGA from the Bay Area! That was a shock to read. When I booked the flight for him to visit, I picked the flight with a layover simply because it was the cheapest I could find on short notice. It had a stop over in Detroit and was delayed an hour on the way there so I told him when he flies by himself, we would always book a nonstop. I guess I have to compare the ground transportation costs of flying nonstop into the other airports so I can really see the true costs of the trip and how much time he will save (or lose) flying into JFK or one of the other airports with a nonstop flight. If ground transportation from a different airport costs a lot more, it might be worth having the layover. Thank you for letting me know! I would have been searching and searching for the non stop from Bay Area to LGA.</p>
<p>Thanks, too, for the tips about the clothing. I hit the end of the season online sales and was able to get a lot of great deals. I think all he needs now are shoes, scarf and sheets! I’ll send him with the basics and ship the winter gear later. Luckily, boys need less stuff than girls so he won’t have a lot of “extras” and thanks to tips from other moms, I now know to use Amazon and the like for shampoo and laundry detergent. Son hates shopping so we’ll skip the trip to BB&B. He will just have to do without things he could have had in CA if we drove, like a fridge and tv. It doesn’t seem like he needs that anyway. I will have to ship his guitar and amp to him though. I wonder if a guitar can be a “carry on”-lol"?!</p>
<p>2016BarnardMom, I mentioned the marching band and he laughed. I guess they got to see them play on the visit and he thought they were very funny and he showed me some youtube videos. I don’t think he can play guitar while he marches but drums might come in handy. Thanks for all of your help before!</p>
<p>As a mom, I will always find stuff to worry about. Now, I have to worry about Columbia being ranked as the “Most Rigorous” school. I will be curious to see if it’s that much more difficult to what they are going through now. Someone just told me that a person dies once a week on the subway-um, thanks for giving me something else to worry about. I was warned to teach him the 'subway stance" and all about “mugger money”-yikes. There is so much for him to learn. Just think, at one point I was worried about him learning to walk in the snow-lol. His whole life is going to change and it’s exciting and scary at the same time!</p>
<p>Thank you again for all your nice, helpful messages!</p>
<p>He may never get on the subway if he is not interested in the city!</p>
<p>I also think the non-stop goal is not the best. You really want to check the cheapest flights and when booking with short notice they end up being southwest. You don’t find a whole lot of direct flights on southwest.</p>
<p>OP- here are the things you will never worry about with your S in NY:</p>
<p>Wandering off from a party and freezing to death in a snowbank (I think a kid did this last year somewhere in the Midwest, very sad)
Drunk driving (he won’t have a car for four years)
Being stuck at a party he doesn’t want to be at (drugs, whatever) and can’t find a taxi after midnight
Finding that fraternities are the only social option
Hating the food in the cafeteria and needing a car to get to the nearest supermarket
Needs a medical specialist and can’t find one within walking distance of campus
Needs something repaired (lock on a suitcase, eyeglasses, musical instrument) and has to send it out fedex to get it back on time.</p>
<p>The subways are statistically safer than your son riding along with another 18 year old who has only been driving for a few years. They run all night and for the most part, are extremely safe. Your S will quickly learn to congregate with either first responders or health care workers who are commuting during weird hours (i.e. wearing uniforms and scrubs) so he won’t be alone on a subway car or platform.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t buy a lot of clothes for him. He should get to NYC first to see what people are wearing first. He may become a hipster and start getting a lot of his stuff down at Broadway around Soho. New Yorkers don’t wear a lot of bright colors. It also doesn’t get that cold.</p>
<p>Yes, texaspg, I think you may be right about planning the flights. Plus the luggage fees can easily tip the scale price. Southwest still lets you have 2 bags free so that’s a $50 difference right there. The taxi from LGA was under $50 so it will be worth it to compare all the prices. </p>
<p>Don’t worry, Old Fort, I did not go overboard with the clothes! Just some basics like long sleeve shirts, socks, coat and a few sweaters. I knew to buy mostly black and dark navy. If he needs more, he’ll let me know but I will be shocked if he ever wants to go shopping and becomes a hipster. What does that even mean?! He does like to get dressed up nice and already has some sport coats, a basic black suit and his own tux but I don’t think he’ll need those at Columbia, do you?</p>
<p>blossom, I LOVE your post! I might have to print that out and read it weekly while he is in NY. I just said to DH that it will be so NICE not to worry about son driving in NY. As you can imagine, since you now know what a worrier I am, son driving has almost driven me to drink-lol. To this day, I still can’t get in the car with him driving and regret that we got him a car. And you are SO right when he rides with some other kid, it’s even worse! I read that some other mom told her kid that after midnight, take a cab and the mom would pay for it so I thought that sounded like good advice?</p>
<p>He will be fine! He will be in culture shock for a while but he will adjust and it’s so good for a country bumpkin to go to NYC, don’t you think? I hope he is able to enjoy all the city has to offer. He LOVES museums, art galleries, music, & historical sites so I’m sure he will find time to fit those things in along with the “most rigorous” school work. A whole new world…</p>
<p>Speaking from the experience of having a kid at each, Williams was way more rigorous than Columbia. Columbia and Barnard did provide more standard preparation for grad school.</p>
<p>In scales I’ve seen Swat and Williams were one and two for rigor and Barnard/Columbia a ways down. I wouldn’t say one provided better education than the other.</p>
<p>Most flight search web sites will let you put “NYC” to search for flights to LGA, JFK, and EWR. In the Bay Area, be sure to check all of SFO, OAK, and SJC. Note that SFO tends to have a higher risk of flight delays (and therefore missed connections for connecting flights) except for first flights of the morning.</p>
<p>If you use a flight search web site that does not have Jet Blue or Virgin America, check their own web sites as well. Southwest also has to be checked on its own web site.</p>
<p>NYC’s good public transportation network should be a lot cheaper than taxis.</p>
<p>Please note: public transportation from EWR or JFK to CU campus will add HOURS to the trip, EWR being well south and west of campus and JFK just being an embarrassment of inaccessibility.</p>
<p>You can go to mta.info for travel by public transportaiton from airports to anywhere in or around the city. Type in your airport and Columbia U. and you’ll get many options, and you can customize the time.</p>
<p>There is a fantastic train from Newark airport (stops once at Secaucus junction in NJ and then at Penn Station) which is clean, cheap, and runs frequently. You access it from inside the airport. From Penn Station it’s a 15 minute subway ride to Columbia. I have taken that train many times and it is significantly faster than a taxi, bus, driving your own car. Mutti- have you ever taken public transportation from Newark? Your information is decades out of date.</p>
<p>My kids have taken the bus from JFK midtown many times. It doesn’t add “HOURS” to the trip. It’s no slower than a taxi and of course, depends on traffic.</p>
<p>These last few posts have been great - thank you. My S has an internship lined up in NY this summer, living and working in midtown. The transportation tips are priceless - I will be sure to pass on the information to him.</p>
<p>Mutti2012 lives in NY and she has lots of transport info. When my D went to Columbia admitted days last year, she planned out the trip from Boston to Columbia Univ by bus/subway and to LGA by bus for me.</p>
<p>^Even back in the 1980s I thought it was easier to fly into Newark than JFK. Train sounds like a great option. I’ve taken the bus to JFK pretty often too.</p>
<p>Personally, I would still prefer a non-stop to EWR or JFK over a connection to LGA, even with the longer ground leg.</p>
<p>The reason is that a connection can be missed if your first segment is delayed, potentially resulting in a much longer delay if the next available connection flight is hours or days in the future. But if your non-stop flight is delayed, you can still get on the public transportation or taxi to your destination right after you land with minimal additional delay. Also, even without delays, each connection adds about two hours to the travel time.</p>
<p>Of course, if the non-stops are too expensive or full, leaving you with only connecting flights to choose from, then flying to LGA becomes preferable due to being closer on the ground.</p>
<p>texaspg, you are as lovely and generous a poster as ever. I hope your D is having a great year! I know we both have to wait that extra month to get our kids back, sigh…</p>
<p>The train from Penn station to EWR then take the airtrain is a very easy/cheap way of getting to and from NYC. I’ll take the train sometimes even when I am on a business trip because it is faster. From Penn station it is easy to take a subway to upper west side.</p>
It also doesn’t get that cold.</p>