<p>When going to summer school in another region of the United States, being the age of around 15-16, do you/have you flown alone?</p>
<p>I am a sophomore and I am going to Harvard SSP this summer from another state. My mother refuses to allow me to fly alone, although I point out that I am considered to be able to fly alone by every airline at my age. Basically what she wants to do is double the cost of airfare to fly with me to Harvard opening weekend and leave immediately after I check in. The flight is 4 hours both ways and is considerably expensive. She believes that if she does not come with me, the taxi driver will <em>this is an actual quote</em> “drive me somewhere else, empty my pockets, and murder me.” </p>
<p>Is this really the gargantuan deal that my mother seems to be making of it? Frankly, I see it as completely irrational. Her reasoning is that she will be psychologically destroyed and unable to move if I go alone. I ask her what happens when I have to leave for college for 4 years and the measly reply is that I will be a little bit older then. This is really annoying to me because it sounds stupid to pay twice the expensive airfare just to spend 95% of your time in an uncomfortable plane and the other 5% aiding me in doing exactly what I would do without her.</p>
<p>The probability that the airline will lose your luggage is about three hundred times greater than the probability that you will be sexually assaulted, murdered, abducted, or robbed while traveling. I think that probability increases slightly for females.</p>
<p>But really, I don’t think it’s a big deal. Remember, though–she’s your mother, and unless you’re paying for the entire thing yourself, she’s the cash flow and you should just let her come with you. Why can’t she stay an extra few days and do some sightseeing?</p>
<p>Either way–don’t worry about it. Compared to SSP, the flight isn’t the main point of your summer.</p>
<p>Is it possible for you to get in contact with another participant flying out of the same city to coordinate your flights so you two can travel together and share the cab ride to your destination?</p>
<p>Honestly, your mother just want to brag about you going to Harvard this summer and how she needs to go with you.</p>
<p>Irritating that she treats you like a baby.</p>
<p>Is there somebody there to meet you at the airport? My daughter is flying alone but someone will meet her at the airport.
Can you take a shuttle to and from Harvard? It’s safer than a taxi.</p>
<p>Some parents (I am not one of them in most situations) just feel like they need to see you get dropped off and settled in. D2 (age 15 last summer) flew to a city across the country with a plane change without me (and back). As someone else mentioned, we did find someone who was on the second leg of her flight that she met up with when boarding. And someone in her program flying back to our city on the same two flights. The program did have someone meet them at the airport, though.</p>
<p>This might be one of those battles it just isn’t worth fighting, though. Tell your mom you feel like it is a waste of her time to go with you, but if she insists, then it is her money and time… She will find out when she spends an hour or two at most in the dropoff process, then has to turn around and leave. </p>
<p>Also… is she planning to fly out to meet you at the end and ride in the cab with you back to the airport? That would REALLY be a waste of time and money.</p>
<p>I flew across the country last summer by myself in a trip that involved 2 stopovers and felt pretty good. If you’re a responsible person who is reasonably independent, you should be fine. Of course, if you’re one who is frequently disorganized and gets nervous / frantic, flying alone might not be a super good idea… Also, one of my flights had an equipment malfunction so we had to return to the airport and then wait there for awhile. I ended up arriving at like 4 AM, and my parents were crazy stressed out… </p>
<p>If your mother is concerned about the taxi driver, see if you can take a shuttle / subway instead. Honestly, the risks associated with you being without parental supervision in Boston for several weeks are far greater than the risks of flying alone… Also, most of the risks of flying won’t be helped at all by parental presence.</p>
<p>I first flew on a plane alone when I was 9, and I’ve flown multiple times alone since. I’m female and haven’t been raped yet, so…</p>
<p>Flying alone is not a big deal, and I think at 15 you’re more than able to handle it yourself. Your mother is well-intentioned, but I think she’s overreacting.</p>
<p>OP, I was almost in the same situation (Only for me it’s a 3.5 hour flight to Summer@Brown), my grandpa (he’s footing the bill since I missed the financial aid deadline because of my dad’s laziness haha) almost insisted I have someone go with me, but I just pointed out all of the reasons why that’s irrational; eventually it was decided that I could go alone. The money thing was the major factor in my case, while my grandpa may be wealthy, my dad who would’ve went with me certainly isn’t, so that was what helped me the most. Hmm, just highlight the right disadvantages to the right people. Good luck. But if it’s not that much of a burden for your family then you might want to consider letting one of them just go with you… No one there will remember who’s parents were there for a few hours for a tour on the first day. But anyway, best of luck!</p>
<p>As a Mom it is tough to let go. Seeing first hand where my daughter would staying would be incredibly important to me even if I just got a glimpse. </p>
<p>Is she comfortable with you flying home by yourself? If so, I would give her a big hug and thank you. If not, I recommend creating an itinerary of flight schedule, public transports, costs, method of payments they accept, mapping out route and safe reliable taxi companies. Do your research and prove to her that eventhough you are underage- you can handle the responsibilities of an adult.</p>
<p>Flying alone isn’t bad at all. You’re surrounded by people. If anyone tried any funny business, you could call for help and 30 people would be right there as witnesses.</p>
<p>I’ve never been in a taxi alone before though (I’m a sophomore in high school also) so I can’t offer advice on that. But maybe you could take a bus instead or something. Or maybe just go into the taxi…if your mom is so worried you could just talk to her on the phone the entire time.</p>
<p>Sounds like the flight is not really the issue for your mom, rather the arrival and pickup is. My kids have flown alone since age 11 for various activities, though the pickup has typically been highly organized. Since age 12, they have met their rides in baggage claim so they have been on their own from the gate to the baggage claim. No problems. </p>
<p>That being said, as a parent i would want a really clear cut plan at the receiving end since you will have no one to pick you up. My advice is to show your mom that you are responsible enough to get from the airport to harvard. I would map out three ways to get there: taxi, shuttle, and public transportation. Print up maps include a map of the airport layout. Include cost with tip. Then sit down with your mom and present the options in detail. </p>
<p>If she still won’t go for it then respect her wishes and let her come. You will be giving her peace of mind.</p>
<p>OP - Is your mom going to stay in the Boston vicinity while you are at your summer program (in which case the airfare is doubled, and the hotel is frightfully expensive), or will she fly home, and then return to get you at the end of the trip (in which case she’s tripling to airfare, not doubling)?</p>
<p>Or, is she ok with you getting from Harvard to Logan in a taxi? Somehow she thinks the taxi drivers from Logan to Harvard are dangerous, but the drivers from Harvard to Logan are legit?</p>
<p>In all likelihood, she already has purchased the plane tix, so this conversation is moot.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, here are a few suggestions:
if she goes with you, suggest that you act as the leader. So that you can learn to navigate the airport and be in control, etc.</p>
<ul>
<li><p>as the primary concern appears to be ground transportation from Logan Airport to Cambridge, go on line and find out the pricing for pre-arranged transfers (as opposed to a random taxi). You can probably get rates for going alone or shared. Something like SuperShuttle.com, as suggested by mombbg. Or even a private service where the driver will meet you with a sign (like in the movies). I don’t recommend public transportation in Boston… way too much to handle with luggage etc.</p></li>
<li><p>Harvard SSP’s website suggests a taxi as the recommended way for students to get from the airport to the school. I suspect that they would not do this if their incoming students were ending up dead… I like Batilo’s suggestion of rendezvousing at Logan with other students, and traveling together to Harvard. As the Harvard SSP site says, a taxi is the easiest way.</p></li>
<li><p>when my daughters travel independently, they both show great responsibility and respect towards me, by texting me repeatedly thru the journey. “OK Mom, I’m at the Gate”, “Mom - we just boarded”, “We landed!”, “I"m at luggage claim”, “I"m waiting for the shuttle” etc etc etc. Granted, that was just for the first 2-3 trips. Now I get fewer text updates.</p></li>
<li><p>have you joined the Facebook group for Harvard SSP? That might be a good way to rendezvous with other students at Logan, certainly to find out what their plans are for ground transportation.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>If the issue is a concern about getting from the airport to your dorm how about a car service? I just googled “car service” and there are many choices. This way she will know who is picking you up rather than just a random cabbie. It may be $100 but that will be much cheaper than all the extra plane tickets. When my son was first traveling alone I also asked him to call me each step of the way so I knew he hadn’t missed any connections. The first time he did take the train home by himself he had some issues with connections and I was able to help him sort things out.</p>