This reminds me of the friend who pointed out to me that my degree from the adult division of a school that I attended was not technically Ivy League even though the regular program was...

Who cares.

I went to that school after being horribly disappointed with a "very well respected" state school in New England that reminded me more of Ferris Bueller's Day Off than anything else. (Picture Ben Stein looking at the sea of blank faces... "Anybody? Anybody?")

Much more important is that you get the teachers, the curriculum and perhaps most importantly of all, the motivated, prepared, interested and enthusiastic fellow students sitting all around you in every class.

Sure I "got over" in that I was able to substitute a few of the core curriculum courses with other courses of my choosing, but 90% of the time I was sitting right next to those "Ivy Leaguers" having the same experience and doing the same work, as them... except I was working 8 hours a day in a real job at the same time.

I went summers, after work, before work, whatever, and I got my BA 2 days before my 30th birthday. (And I also stretched it out long enough that my employer paid for most of it!! ^ ^ ^ )

Mid, good for you. Don't let people's ridiculous snobbery or skepticism take away from this. It's a great decision and you'll be happy you did it.

Thanks for the kind words and encouragement Remy. This will end up being a significant committment in time and money for me. I'm only going to be doing the commuting for a single semester and then taking other classes via distance education until I can actually move there to finish up the program.

I'm only doing the commuting thing because I want to get into the ALB program and they require that you take a particular course that is not offered remotely at all before they grant you admission. I can't move there now for various reasons that may or may not be important in the coming years.

Right now I'm trying to figure out if it's worth it to stay in a hotel overnight or try and "rough-it" by hanging out at one of the all-night coffee shops at MIT or Logan. I've slept in an airport before and it's not my idea of a good night out BUT it sure beats paying $200 for about 6 hours of sleep. The flight schedules are murder. There is a period of about 8 hours in the middle of the night where I will have to occupy myself until the flight leaves at 6:00AM. That means taxi from a hotel since the T isn't really in full swing before then to get me to BOS -or- spend the night at Logan in front of the Dunkin Donuts in terminal B.

Grrrr.

Check the prices at the Hampton Inn at the airport. I stayed there one night about three years ago and I seem to recall it costing less than $100.

The price on expedia.com is about $149 plus taxes. Not much better than what I could get in Cambridge.

Yeah, I still have a lot of work to do in checking out my sleeping options. The one thing I have to nail down is transportation to and fro since I won't have a rental car during any of these trips.

I been thinking about bombarding priceline.com for hotels and seeing how far that gets me.

At any rate, I've got something like 3-4 months before I start classes so I've got a lot of time to check out alternatives and options.

Priceline is sure to have plenty of options under $100. Check out betterbidding.com for a list of successful recent bids.

It's also possible that Harvard might have a 24-hour library. Many universities (including my alma mater, the University of Virginia) now keep one of their libraries, or at least a dedicated study area, open all night.

You might also consider flying one-way up to Boston and then taking Amtrak's night train on your return (I believe it leaves at 10 p.m. and arrives in DC at 7 a.m. the next morning).

Here's more information on the train:

#67, leaving Boston South Station at 9:45 p.m., arriving Washington Union Station the next morning at 7:00 a.m. One-way tickets are $91.

Coolio! That's good information. I'll definately look into that! THANKS!

craigslist
 

also, check out craigslist.com to see if you can find a way of subletting around harvard,kenmore,mit square. i'm sure you'll something for one night a week in the middle of the week that'll be cheaper than hotels.

but i still think the acela is the best bet for the commute from dc to boston.

I second the suggestion of Priceline - check out www.betterbidding.com and www.biddingfortravel.com - IIRC the Hyatt at the airport or Cambridge is a regular for about $50.

Unless you have big $$$, I can't see Acela. The problem is pricing. Even factoring EVERYTHING in, its still way more expensive AND it takes longer to take Acela.

Now that night train might make sense, but...give up on Acela. I can't fathom the attraction if you are going DC-Boston.

Independence Air, on the other hand, is excellent. Quick, easy, low stress, and high on flexibility. An absolute winner.

I had considered that but seeing as I will only be spending 8 hours overnight in Cambridge it seemed like a waste on par with getting a hotel. I kept thinking that I wouldn't open my home to some stranger for $25-$50 once a week, etc., etc. As least not if I had the coin to live in Cambridge.

That might be a winner. I'll look into it as soon as I have the registration information from the school.

The key for Hotels is going to be proximity to either Cambridge or BOS, and availability or scheduling of public transport to the airport.

Thanks again for everyone's help.

I'm beginning to think that Indy Air is going to have a big hand in making this possible for me. Their flight prices are cheap cheap cheap and the fact that they are at terminal A at IAD makes getting to them THAT much easier.

The only real question I have right now is which flights to pick and whether or not hotels will be a big part of this mix during all or part of my little adventure. I'm almost attracted to the idea of staying up all night (being the night owl that I am).

Of course, I also like sleeping like the dead.

got a friend or anyone that can link you into a corporate or group travel plan?

last i checked a company *cughcough* mine did acela for like $104 one-way.

Actually you might be surprised. I'm pretty sure I've seen ads on craigslist looking for just that.