<p>My son from Southern California is a senior. Freshman year we rented a car from Albany and drove him down. Albany is easier to get in and out of if you have a car. However, since then, he has flown to NYC (either La Guardia or JFK) and travelled as stated above. (There are shuttles from the airport to Grand Central or more recently he has been taking the Long Island Railroad into Penn Station–you can catch the Amtrak from Penn, or Metro North from Grand Central). It seems like a lot of work to me, but I am amazed at how quickly my son adapted to the trip. He has never minded it. He likes the fact that he can get a non-stop flight into NYC (not possible to Albany), he loves going through NYC, and the transportation has not been an issue. I didn’t realize how good we had it until his younger sister decided to go to another school on the East coast that is not as close to a major city. It has been a major hassle getting flights in and out–expensive, more likely to be cancelled when it snows, and very difficult to get airport transportation. The train really works well to Vassar from NYC-- so many students use it that he usually runs into friends on the train. He has shared a storage facility with friends every summer. </p>