Hello-
We are tryingto plan a long weekend (Fri-Mon, 4 days & 3 nights), leaving from Boston and visiting Villanova, Lehigh ad Penn State. Tours at all schools are Friday & Monday. I was thinking of driving to Philly Thursday night, going to Villanova and Lehigh on Friday, back to Philly. The catch is, the Penn State tour is Monday morning and then we have an 8-hour haul back! There has to be a better way?? Haha. Friday Penn State Tour ( if we were to leave Thurs night and get 1/2 way, dive early Friday morning) is at 9:30 am, so that’s a little much! I am not sure what we would do Saturday & Sunday, I am sure we could just be tourists or find another school or two to visit. Do I need to look at this differently?
I would suggest that you arrive wherever you plan to tour the evening before the first tour…so you aren’t scurrying around the morning of the tours.
So I think your original plan is a good one. Do Lehigh and Villanova on Friday, then spend Saturday as a tourist in Philadelphia. Plenty to do there. Drive to Penn State on Sunday during the day. Take time to walk around the campus and have dinner someplace. Do the morning tour, and then do the (long) drive home. Just try to go some way that minimizes your time on 95…
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Just a note about Lehigh - they still offer interviews with admissions officers. If you can schedule that while you are on campus, I’d highly recommend. It will extend your time there but they are huge on demonstrated interest and that will help your student.
I personally think doing two schools in one day is too much. I’d prioritize the school that you like best in in the morning in case you run out of time.
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It does look like Lehigh has admission sessions on many Saturdays. Then, you could add a school Friday closer to Philadelphia/Villanova, and maybe add Lafayette on Saturday when you visit Lehigh. Not sure about Sunday…could do a self-guided tour of Bucknell, if that school is of interest. Maybe on Sunday also stop at Susquehanna if that’s of interest for a school with a higher admit rate.
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On Sunday…drive to Penn State…and relax. My opinion…don’t overfill this visit just to overfill the time.
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Could you take Amtrak back and forth and rent a car in Philly? That could be a lot less stress and the train can be really fun!
And…there’s tons to do in Philly over a weekend. Lots and lots of historical sites — Independence Hall, Betsy Ross house, Ben Franklin square. Tons of great museums. Lovely parks. Longwood gardens is phenomenal (although a long drive and expensive). About 90 minutes to the Jersey shore and some beaches still have lifeguards in September and the water is usually quite warm. (Can you tell I’m a transplanted Philadelphian who misses the city???)
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I would add to this that Villanova does not even track demonstrated interest. As you, @SeaToSea, think about what to prioritize, keep that in mind. If you want more time at Lehigh to do an interview, you could self-tour Villanova. Or see if they have any Saturday tours.
Three very different types of schools. Two schools in a day is rough especially with a commute.
What is the intended major? Penn State won’t be a direct admit for most competitive majors.
Bucknell and Lafayette could be additional stops.
I think trying to do Villanova and Lehigh in one day is too much. It’s going to be an hour to get from one to the other, plus the time on the tours, wandering the bookstore, parking etc. That is a lot physically and I’d be concerned that you won’t have a good experience.
Villanova/Lehigh are very different from PSU too. Is this visit to try to establish a big state U experience vs small liberal arts? You might visit a school closer to home to experience that.
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