Hi all!

I'm going to be taking a class at Harvard this fall and will be commuting from the DC area.

Does anyone who has made this run on a regular basis have any tips on getting regular reliable flights to BOS? My closest airport is IAD but I can do DCA as well without much more difficulty.

My class is in the evening and I will probably stay overnight as there doesn't seem to be any late night flights from BOS back to WAS.

I know there are shuttles to BOS from LGA/JFK, any experiences?

I'm really just looking for suggestions on ways to make this as painless as possible.

Fares to BOS are probably going to be lower out of IAD, since low-cost Independence Air flies this route and drives down ticket prices tremendously. And since your class schedule will be predictable well in advance, you'll be able to buy the cheapest, 14-day+ advance purchase tickets for your frequent trips.

You can fly either Independence or United nonstop from IAD-BOS. From DCA, American, US Airways, and Delta go to Boston.

As for shuttles from LGA/JFK to Boston, you mean air shuttles or ground shuttles? There are plenty of both from New York to Boston, but you might as well just fly nonstop from DC as fares are quite low.

Class at night- are you in the Harvard Extension School (as opposed to FAS- Harvard College & GSAS, or Divinity, or Design, or Business, or Government, or Medical, etc...)
Just wondering why you'd do this to yourself- there are plenty of colleges in WAS, or you should move to BOS if you're going to take many classes. Just curious.
Anyway, about the flights I think the latest BOS-IAD would be at 8:40pm, and earliest around 6 am, and both United Airlines/United Express and Independence Air run numerous nonstop flights between BOS and IAD.

You would probably do alot better taking the Acela service. I do understand that you cant make it from DC to Boston for a 9am, but if you are a student I would think you'd welcome all that extra time on the train working in peace (with a place to plug in your laptop). Rather than dealing with the hassle of what are imho some of the worst airports in the US to deal with, some shuttle flight boarding areas *cough* AA *cough*dont even have restrooms inside of security checkpoint in Logan (yeccch)

Plus Amtrak is very generous with points on those segments and you will probably get select status, free trips and use of the Acela clubs really quick. Remember that shuttles often dont get you miles

You are going to end up flying sometimes, but dont rule out Acela service for the trips where you can take the time.
-Fish

Yes. I will be going to Harvard Extension. I've got a few credit hours to go to get my ALB.

With respect to the colleges available in WAS: none of them had quite the program I wanted and they didn't quite treat the "night-school" students as serious degree candidates. My goal in all of this is to get the bachelors degree and I can get a set of courses at Harvard that I can't find anywhere else. That includes Georgetown, American, GWU, and GMU.

Plus, it's Harvard. Has a nice ring to it.

I actually considered doing that but it expanded the total commute time way too much. The trips are about 5-6 hours in each direction, compared to about 1.5 hours in the air. They are also very expensive when compared to the cheap flights from IAD to BOS.

I have kind of resigned myself to dealing with the flights because it's simply the best of all the bad options I have. I'm eternally grateful for Independence Air which has been driving the airfares to BOS down out of IAD. They are really the ones that are making this possible for me.

When you take travel to/from the airports into consideration and allow the necessary time for checking in, going through security, and boarding, how long is the trip in each direction?

More like 3 hours. Still beats 6.5 though.

Hi,

While the flight option may be a good one theoretically, it probably won't be the best one in practice. Mainly because you don't factor in the cost of taking a taxicab or T ride from Harvard Square to Logan (to and from) and assuming the commuting cost is negligible on your end in DC. Also, there's certainly issues being cramped on a commuter plane with loads of people (especially if you class was on a Monday or Thursday).

I would definitely consider buying up the train tickets if you can afford the time to be on the train. I think when you factor in all the commuting costs (You could be at North Station which is definitely closer than Logan) and the benefits, it may save you the headache. Also, you can do some work on the train or watch a movie...and it's more comfortable.

Good luck!

It's also MUCH more expensive. I've been checking prices and a comparable trip would be almost $360 on Acela vs. about $150-200 for the air option. Even with the 1.50 for the T, it's a no-brainer on cost alone.

And the trains that they have from WAS don't go to BON, only BOS. So there goes any advantage of being closer to Cambridge via the T.

What I might do is try both and see which one I like more. I've already done a dry run of the flight option and it didn't present any special hazards or inconveniences. I'll likely give the train option a try and see how I feel afterwards.

$10 Chinatown bus between NYC and BOS Chinatowns. Too bad those don't have middle seats.

Thought of it. WAS-NYC = 5 hrs & $20 ; NYC-BOS 4 hrs & $10

I just couldn't bring myself to spend 9 hrs on a bus.

Yeah, the Extension School doesn't really count as a full-fledged true Harvard degree. The extension school is an extension- part of the continuing education program founded as an "experiment in popular education". It serves many respected people, mostly those who need more skills for job or adults who already have bachelors and a job but now are going back to grad/med school. Nothing bad or wrong with extension school, but it's not like graduating from Harvard College.

Well...I certainly don't think it has the same cachet as getting a degree from Harvard College, but I would take exception to saying it isn't a real "Harvard" degree.

I did a lot of research before I decided on taking this path. I live not 3 miles from a respected state school and not far from Georgetown, George Washington University, American, and Univ of Md. NONE of these schools could offer me what I could get from Harvard, namely, a REAL education. Too many of these schools are simply not set up to take in a 35-year old who has a job and a family and give them a shot at a degree OR they will give you a kind of rush-job degree that really isn't worth the paper it's printed on.

I've spent a considerable amount of time talking with people and trying to figure out if this is REALLY a good option for me and in particular, how this degree is TRULY viewed. I went out to Harvard and started asking questions and met with instructors and advisors there. SEVERAL of their students went on to Harvard Law School. Many others went on to Harvard Medical School and more went to graduate programs at other respected schools. Also, there is the option of becomming a "special student" which entitles you to take the exact same classes that the regular Harvard College students take during the day.

It's NOT easy to do this. Let me dissuade you of that notion. They haven't handed out degrees to a lot of students because the program is academically challenging.

I've heard the naysayer arguments before. This isn't University of Phoenix. If I have to get my degree in a non-traditional program, I want it to be the BEST program I can find.

True- I hope I didn't come across as too brutally critical of the Extension School. I know a few people who are in Extension school right now to go to Med school. My point was that it wasn't Harvard College, but the Extension school is a fine school and probably the best adult program. But won't your family miss you-how much mental/physical toll will your commute take out on you?
Anyway, go CRIMSON!