Admitted Students' Day - SAIS & SIPA

[jxw]

Hi all, 

I was accepted into SIPA and SAIS and am planning on attending both admitted students' days. I was hoping I could get some feedback from NYC/DC folks on a logistics question.

SIPA's admitted students' day is April 10th (in NYC) and SAIS is April 11th (in DC). How would you recommend I get to both with the least amount of stress/maximum amount of sleep? SIPA has an evening reception scheduled to end at 8:30pm, and my friend in NYC recommends I take the Megabus down to DC, which works out to (best case scenario) me reaching DC at 12:30am. And SAIS's programme starts at 8:30am the next day. I'm not thrilled about this plan but I could do it; just want to make sure this is the best option before I book tickets. Is it worth staying for the SIPA evening reception?

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

[AddSmith]

Have you thought about the overnight train? It’s easier to sleep on. It’s called the Vermonter, and it leaves NYC pretty late. The NYC Megabus stop is the worst place in the world and unreachable by subway, so you would need to take a cab there from Columbia, which would really make your leave time ~9:30-10 p.m. Whereas, you can easily hop on the A, C, etc. to get to Penn Station from Columbia and be there in about 30 minutes. Both options will get you to Union Station, which is centrally located in DC, so you could easily get to a hotel, friend’s place, etc. 

[nycpolicy]

I've taken the Megabus to DC less than a month ago and although the stop in NYC is not super central, it is easily reachable by the number 7 subway. It is essentially one block away from the last stop on the 7. If money is not a problem you can checkout trains as well such as Amtrak. I've heard they are super comfortable, will get you there faster (3 instead of 4 hours via bus I believe) and can be taken from a more central location in NYC. 

BTW I've been accepted to Tufts, SIPA and SAIS and their open days are back to back :/ trying to figure out travel plans too without driving myself crazy. I'm trying to decide on my top 2 choices in the next 10 days so that I don't need to attend all open houses.

Having said that, would like to hear this group's opinion on if it's a bad idea to reject a school before going to their open house?

[yellina122]

A one-way amtrak leaving at 9 or 10 pm would run you ~50 if you book soon and it is HIGHLY preferable to taking the bus. You never know what will happen as far as busses go, but amtrak is comfortable and usually on time (unless there is pre-announced delays).

[jxw]

Thanks for the tips everyone! I got the $50 Amtrak ticket. Looking forward to meeting everyone else!