We like The Spot.
1 Like
Thanks everyone for the food suggestions. We leave tomorrow to head to Hamilton and Mt. Holyoke - Iāll keep you posted.
14 Likes
Are you sure that is still how it works after they opened the new rental car center?
Beginning 2 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 15, the 10 rental car companies operating at Newark Liberty International Airport will operate out of the new consolidated rental car center that is co-located within the Parking A garage on levels 1 through 3. All rental transactions, including returns, will take place at the new center.
The facility is connected to Newark Libertyās terminals B and C via AirTrain Newark, with a direct connection to the new Terminal A via a pedestrian bridge. Passengers exiting the Terminal A can walk across the bridge to arrive on level two of the rental car facility.
The instructions we got from Enterprise seem to track that news article:
For terminal A arrivals, please go to the 2nd floor. You will walk across the sky bridge to the Rental Car Center. The Enterprise Rent-A-Car Counter will be directly to your right hand side after exiting the sky bridge.
For terminal B and C arrivals, Enterprise Rent-A-Car is located by following the signage to the Air Train. Depart the Air Train at station P2 and proceed down the escalator to the outside where the signage will indicate a short walk to the Rental Car Center. Enterprise Rent-A-Car will be located on the 2nd floor immediately up the escalator and to the right. Please proceed to the counter to be checked in.
Iād follow the car rental advice then. But it was just last month I got off the shuttle at P3 (which according to them is closed). Maybe not every car rental company has moved? Now you have me confused! I fly out of that airport 1-2x/month but donāt rent cars. And P2 isnāt even on the map! Like a Harry Potter train trackā¦
Editted to add, maybe this is why there were no shuttles for 45 minutes one day!
1 Like
Hmmm, weāre from Chicago so we have strong pizza opinions, but we might have to give it a try.
2 Likes
(My attempt at the housesā colors.)
2 Likes
Never even thought about it, to be honest. We didnāt visit nearly often enough to make having a place worth it, and my two that are already in college lived/will live on campus all year. My oldest is just now moving off campus this May (after his masterās), and signed the lease on his first apartment two days ago. Different strokes (and finances) I guess, but I donāt think I would buy a place for my kids even I could afford it.
Iām sure the kids will appreciate a late night with me wandering aimlessly in Newark . . . .
8 Likes
I know many families from OOS attending the Texas publics do exactly this to get residency. However, in most of the cases I hear they end up renting the unit to other students, not their own. Do you know how many friends you child will want to room with etc?
I donāt know much about S Carolina, but I have a BA and MA from Baylor. I havenāt spent much time on campus in recent years, so bear that context in mind (no pun intended 
).
The student experience is great - Baylor does a really good job of integrating new students into the Baylor traditions and creating a sense of family, and by standards of R1 research institutions, teaching is highly valued. (Baylor actually sponsors a national award for great undergrad teaching, and the winning professor comes to campus and gives a series of lectures.) Academic rigor is generally pretty high, though not on a CalTech/MIT level.
Sports, as mentioned above, has really improved in the last 15 years or so. When I was there 30 years ago, Baylor was mostly a laughingstock in every sport other than menās track; since then, the since-departed Kim Mulkey turned womenās bball into a powerhouse and Scott Drew made menās bball into a winner, culminating in a national championship in 2021. Football has swung wildly from great to awful multiple times, but thatās better than permanently awful as in 1980-2010. Intramural sports are popular and the rec facilities are very good.
Culture is interesting. Itās a religious school for sure, somewhere in the middle ground - more overtly religious than the religious-in-name-only places like SMU/TCU, but less so than deeply devout places like Liberty/BYU. When I was there, campus life was broadly defined by two large groups - the āchurch youth groupā types, who were more middle-class and very devout, and the Greek life crowd, who were more affluent and generally disregarded the religious aspects of campus. There was some overlap (there were and are Christian-themed Greek orgs), but if you didnāt fit into one of those general groups, being a part of campus life was more of a struggle. Nowadays, the student body is significantly larger and more diverse than it was then (~85% white in the 90s vs. ~65% now), and Iām told that the old power centers donāt control everything quite like they did. But Greek life is still strong and will likely remain so.
4 Likes
One thing I will offer: if you intend to rent a car at EWR, leave plenty of time to go get it! Husband and C24 flew through there two weeks ago and there was one person serving all of the rental counters (not one person at each counter, one for all of them). They waited in line for over 45 minutes.
4 Likes
Or better yet, sign up for a member account, which usually allows you to go straight to the car.
5 Likes
Hmm, that sounds like a good idea. At this point I am actually getting picky about companies . . . .
D24 has been on a school trip this week to the UK. Being with her friends and away from home seems to have influenced her thinking about this coming summer and her choice to leave home after graduation to work at camp. She texted me today āguess whoās going to be home this summer?ā While her summer plans have been her own choice all along, and I told her such, Iām secretly relieved and thrilled I get more time with her before she leaves for college in August. Now maybe to plan a celebratory family trip!
16 Likes
One additional suggestion from my Hamilton daughter- The Red Samurai Steak House. She has gone there for hibachi several times with friends.
1 Like
I have a son who is wrapping up his Freshman year as a Capstone scholar at USC. A couple of quick observations, and I am happy to answer additional questions.
Number 1 for Student Experience for a reason- sports, academics, and support (most often forgotten)-
Greek Life can be a bit cut throat as a Freshman. If its your thing keep plugging and realize many people rush their Sophomore year-
Capstone Dorm forces a good deal of interaction on Day 1, and while it is not the nicest it is a very active dorm and has a lot of like minded, smart and interesting kids
Food is really good with may different options
2 Likes
If you want to rent a car, you can do it through Costco. They have great rates and all the discounts. Iāve found Budget to be reasonable. Budget/Avis are owned by the same company and National/Enterprise are owned by the same company. For some reason, a lot of business travelers prefer Avis over Budget but thereās no difference that I know of.
National is nice because you pick your own car but if you ever rent at one airport and drop off at another, Nationalās pricing is brutal (thatās been my experience).
1 Like
Could be bc of corporate discounts. I think our Suburban in Hawaii was something like 30-40$ a day.
If you are looking to pick car in one location and drop in another location the best I found was hertz (recently booked)
I also use Corporate discount and and have found this to be cheaper than Costco price many times.
It seems similar to Boston Logan where they have all car rentals companies under one roof
1 Like