letitride/lonelycrowd - thanks for the tips.

Taken hotel in SYR. Bit of a drive but I am probably gonna spend most time around campus.

I'd definitely want to rent a car that's not so gung-ho on public transportation. Now for flights... I definitely would prefer direct flight especially if there is a 1hr-3hr drive to/from airport. Even 1-stop would easily take flight time to 5-6hrs and then driving time.... it totally kills the weekend.

Now car - if I fly into EWR, I can get Silvercar for $65/day. Not a cheap car rental. But atleast it will be a pleasant drive.

Flights again - Most small airports don't have a direct from ORD. I believe it's only SYR, ROC and BUF that have a direct flight. How is the drive between EWR and iTH? One of the big carriers will probably open award inventory at some point which I can't expect to happen for SYR or ROC. Flying into NY takes away few hours but saves several hundred bucks.

Edit - oops! few other posts recommend shying away from NY region airports i guess, SYR is the best option if I have to shell out cash