Advice needed for Massachusetts college tour in April
Not ski related, but I am looking for some ideas/advice for a college tour I have planned for April. My daughter is a High School junior, and wants to go to school to become a pharmacist. There are few schools that offer this program, so we have started doing tours. While she is off for the seek after Easte (first week in April) I figured we hit the New England schools. We are going to look at two in Boston (NorthEastern, MCPHS), one in Springfield MA ( U of Western New England), and possibly Albany College of Pharmacy in Albany NY. We have already done Rutgers NJ, UConn, and U of RI.
I am trying to make this a combo college tour for my older daughter, as well as a fun trip for my younger daughter (HS freshman). So I would love some ideas for itinerary, hotels, resorts, things to do. I am sure there will still be skiing somewhere, but not for this trip.
Thanks in advance
Comments
Anyway for a dummy like me the person giving or prescribing drugs.
Just looking forward to calling her Dr D
Prob well into six figures to start but she is a huggable respect your elders( big fat uncle) young lady
Thanks Joshua, but the schools we are looking at are limited to the ones I mentioned as they are the only ones in the Northeast that have a Pharmacy school.
Looking for some ideas of non-skiing things to do while on the one week college tour, and figured I would post it here since so many members live in the region.
Does anyone have an opinion on a visit to Treehouse Brewery? My friend said I will NEED to stop there by the end of the week!
>>an opinion
Yes. IMHO daughters will be bored out of their skulls. save it for another trip. plenty of beer to be found without making an event out of it, and treehouse ain't going out of biz any time soon. You'll want to save that visit to enjoy with friends who enjoy beer, or at least without the distraction of underage daughters who will be rolling their eyes every few minutes asking when do we leave. make this trip about them, and...
get hotels with indoor pools. send them to the pool, find local beer near hotel. win-win
Worcester is arguably the most accessible (by car) city in New England. Check a map and look at the number of highways that go through or very near it from all points of the compass.
It is a college town, which comes as a surprise to many people. In addition to the MCPHS branch, it has six four-year colleges or universities within the city limits (Becker, Assumption, Worcester State University, Clark University, Worcester Polytechnic Institute and the College of the Holy Cross, plus Quinsigamond Community College and the University of Massachusetts Medical School), so there are plenty of college-age kids in town.
For skiing, Mt. Wachusett is about 20 miles north. Ski Ward (210 vert.if you want to warm up) is about 6 miles east. And the aforementioned highway system makes getting to ski areas in Vermont, New Hampshire, western Massachusetts and even Maine relatively easy. In fact, from Mt. Wachusett on a clear day you can see the top of Mt. Greylock (Mass.),Mt. Snow, Stratton (the Sun Bowl), and a bit of Killington (Vt.), the backs of some of the ski areas in New Hampshire and even, some people say, the top of Mt. Washington. I think that last one takes wonderful eyesight and an even more wonderful imagination, but I could be wrong.
You said you plan a trip to Boston and Springfield in April. Worcester is an easy stop off the Mass. Pike about halfway between those two cities. Route I290 take you right into the center of the city. I know I sound like the Worcester Chamber of Commerce, but Worcester often is overlooked (especially by some people in Boston) but it is an interesting city and has a lot to offer.
My niece and her husband both graduated in the last 5 years from MCPHS and have done well, along with all their buddies I met at their wedding. I don't know what they charge or the admissions rate these days but I do know 1st hand that my Northeastern is getting very expensive and harder to get into. I've heard stories that UConns program is real hard to get into and some people find it easier to transfer in. If you want I could try asking her advice on schools for you.
Bill suggestions are spot on too.
MCPHS isn't in the best or the worse part of the city but most likely she will be studying so much it won't matter. Harvard Medical is practically next door and the trolley that heads downtown is steps away as are a number of museums.
Treehouse? It is very good BUT do you want to wait in line to buy beer? I don't care all that much for their signature beer, Julius, it's good, people LOVE it, but I like some of the others better. It is more juicy, rounded beer than other Hoppy IPAs. You may love it, I don't. If you go I suggest going midweek, early, and read the rules & hours before you go. If it is a special can release day, which it usually is, it can get crowded until all the beer snobs get their beer and early won't necessarily matter. There are social media beer apps where peeps will tell you the wait time. They recently built a new facility and closed the old one, then I heard a rumor that both may be open now. When I've gone, you can only buy a set # of the cans they are selling that day, which may be only one kind, perhaps 2 kinds. "Hey, you've got 4 pallets of Julius behind you in the warehouse, can I have some of those?" " No, you can have 12 of this kind (implying, or nothing)" At the old facility, they wouldn't even sell tastings when it was a busy release day. At the new joint, they do it all, tastings, pours, merch, etc... but IIRC you have to wait in the same line to pay for whatever you want. That may change depending on the crowds, IDK. They have a huge outside pavilion, bands in the brewhouse, I think a fire pit too. We went the Thursday before Thanksgiving in the early afternoon and it was pretty crowded. They were busing us up & back down from the lower parking lot via a 6-8 person Gator (big ATV). There was an 80 person line out the door which got even longer but it didn't take all that long to get in. I didn't check before I went but it was Julius Can Day so....that could explain the crowd. They had it down to a science that day though, with lots of help and the employees were hustling.
So to summarize, if you like tasty beverages you must go!
Rickbolger mentioned Purgatory Chasm, which is in Sutton, just off Route 146 and a short drive from Worcester, a geologic reserve and state part and well worth a visit. Just watch your step, there are some tricky spots there.
I don't mean to plan your trip for you, but making Worcester your center for visits to Boston and Springfield might make sense. I'm beginning to convince myself that it's the center of the universe, and with lots of good restaurants, too.
Outside the 4 hour range but a quick 45-60 minutes flight from Burlington to JFK, Laguardia or Newark.
Betsy, you forgot to mention all the tasty beverages available!
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PS: I finally made it to BBC & 14th Star last Indigenous Peoples Day. Both very tasty. My daughter took that quick flight up but JetBlue cancelled the quick one home. :x
Thanks all!
ski_it: Yes, I saw the tuition for NorthEastern is the highest amongst all pharmacy schools, plus they only guarantee freshman housing. After that, you are on your own to find something in Bo$ton. It has a great reputation, but is hard to get into. I was surprised at how close the two Boston schools are. Literally a couple of blocks apart. NE campus looks beautiful. Heard a few horror stories about UConn's pharmacy school from the kids giving tours at the other schools we have been to. They have gotten a bad rep since switching to a 2+4 school. You have killed any desire I had to go to Treehouse. I hate crowds and lines.
Woody: I looked at the distance to Shenandoah, and we are at 4 hours and 45 minutes. I might try to take a look when we head south to do the Philadelphia (Temple and U of Sciences) and Baltimore (U of Maryland)
Bill: I am starting to agree with you about Worcester being a good base.
Betsy: I wish I could do it over all over again, and I might go there. I almost went to Johnson State College by Stowe when I was younger.
NE campus has been steadily modernized. Just don't expect to see any fields of grass. They've been telling that to people about the housing for years, but usually if you apply early enough you'll get a room. At least my daughter always did back 5 years ago.
I'm sorry if I talked you out of Treehouse, it could be fine on the day you go...but its become pretty popular, like the Alchemist. Tough to know when's the best time/day to be there. There's always Trillium, they have 2 or 3 spots in the area.