I’m truly curious myself to see what I think after these visits, and what his Mom thinks, and then of course what he decides. I could see all three of us going different ways!
And then there is D30, who will probably only remember the screen of her phone, but part of me does hope this gets her somewhat excited about not just college but HS (since so much of what S24 likes about these colleges relates back to what he liked about HS).
Booking multiple stop flights and meeting the admitted student tours and dates became very challenging or very expensive so we have decided to simplify the flight part by Flying to UMD and then drive from UMD to NYU (3 hours) and the NYU to Cleveland (7 hours) and then Cleveland to Madison (7 hours). We take a return flight back from Wisconsin. The driving is not going to be easy but we felt this was less complicated then trying to book flights at times that work.
The concern right now is if the weather. If the weather does not co-operate then driving may be a challenge. Fingers crossed that mid April the storms will be done.
You may want to take the train from DC to NY. At least you wouldn’t have to deal with the traffic and parking in NY. NY drivers are crazy.
Or even a nice bus. Heck we took a not so nice Bolt bus from DC to NY and it was fine.
I will never drive in NYC again. I have nightmares 
Had not considered train. Will look into this.
I work in nyc. The train from dc to midtown is pretty easy but not cheap. You can go now onto spot hero and look for a parking spot that will be cheaper than hotel valet parking. Will definitely be cheaper than multiple train tickets. And there are cheap multiple flights from nyc to Cleveland if you want to try to fly that leg. Out of newark
@RadM
Strong recommend of train from DC to NY. But if you drive, know that it will take considerably more than three hours. Assume four, maybe more depending on traffic.
If your daughter likes film, she may enjoy The Sterile Cuckoo, which depicts scenes from Hamilton’s surrounding area: 1969 THE STERILE CUCKOO Official Trailer 1 Paramount Pictures - YouTube .
Here’s a link to get a discount for multiple travelers. Unfortunately the really cheap tickets must be bought in advance.
Discount applied automatically when qualifying travel is selected from this page or apply code V291 on the Amtrak app. A 2-day advance purchase is required.
The main thing I remember from our Vassar visit is that the library was just jaw droppingly gorgeous. Also that we decided to fit the tour in on a day when we were also visiting FDR’s home in Hyde Park AND had to pick up dogs at the kennel by 5 or 6 or something, so we had to bail early (this was part of a very long summer road trip that included fitting in a million college visits on our way to and from Nova Scotia).
In Grinnell right now for April college visit #1! S24 off at an orchestra rehearsal, so I’m sitting in the hipster hotel in the old junior high school. I stayed here when S19 visited several years ago and have fond memories. It’s a lot nicer than last night’s Best Western in Illinois. We’re supposed to be in Appleton to see Lawrence on Saturday, and they just got something like 17 inches of snow. I hope they can get that cleared out for us by Saturday! I think this my third snowy midwestern April trip in the past 5 years.
My wife and I are rejoicing in the fact that D24 was very decisive and had us send in the deposit last week. She has been wearing her new college sweatshirts for a week straight. It gives us a head start on hotel for move in and parent’s weekend.
If you decide to drive that distance, Id definitely make sure your credit card covers any damage to your rental car. NY driving is something else - basically it’s a free-for-all and the parking spots are tight.
The other thing to consider is the toll passes. if you’re driving one car all the way through, you could run into some tolls and the rental car companies could charge you by-the-day for those toll passes.
Ha! I drive and park in nyc 6 days a week. It is really not that bad. Just make sure for the motorized scooters and the pedestrians
Thanks. I am glad I posted as I had not considered these options before.
Wow never heard of Spot hero before. Will look into this.
Another thought if driving to New York is a night mare would driving to New Jersey (have some family/friends here) and then take train to New York. Would this be a better option then figuring out parking and driving to NY.
One of them friends has been asking us to cancel hotel in NY and stay at their house so another option to consider.
I agree with the flight options. For example, a one way, non stop ticket from JFK to CLE on April 17th is $109/person. That’s really cheap.
What town? If they have a train in town it is an excellent option. The NJ transit bus is a little more dependent on traffic but the trains are great.
Ok will have a buffer here for sure if we drive. If we decide to drive is there a better time in terms of traffic such late evening or early morning to reach here?
If we decide to take train to NYU then flying NYC to Cleveland is a great plan.
Friends of ours are starting to ask what does D24 want for a graduation gift, so I sat her down today and made her approve & update the Amazon wish list. Finally got that nailed down, but can’t put a mattress topper or sheets on the list until June because 1 of the dorms has regular twin sized mattresses but the others have twin XL.