Arrival day is Sunday June 28, with a specific window of hours for arrival. Departure day is Sunday July 26, again with specific hours.
Arrivals and departures on other days are not permitted.
The registration form for admitted students contractually commits your MathPather to attend for the full 4 weeks, no exceptions.
For MathPath 2020 at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, MA, there are 3 recommended ways to travel: car, train/bus, and plane.
The first meal at MathPath will be the midday meal (lunch) on Sunday, June 28;
and the last meal at MathPath will be breakfast on Sunday, July 26. Students who arrive to campus by 11:30am will be in time for lunch.
Travel by Car
People coming by car on June 28 should arrive between 9am and 5pm.
This applies to any family that intends to arrive at Mount Holyoke's Campus on their own - including those planning to rent a car at the airport or use a rideshare service or public transportation.
We recommend arrival before 11am, in time to unpack before lunch; or after you have had lunch and before 4pm, in time to unpack before dinner.
Our residence halls will be Abbey and Buckland Halls - they are connected by a large common space; see the campus map. We will supply more specific information about unloading and parking before arrival day.
For driving directions to campus, and much more transportation information,
click here.
People departing by car on July 26 may do so any time between 8am and 11am.
We recommend an early departure. Breakfast will be the last meal available to MathPath students.
Travel by Train/Bus
We will be prepared to meet arriving students at Union Station in Springfield, MA, about 20 minutes drive from campus. Do not schedule trips to/from any other train or bus station or stop.
Arrival: Please only schedule trains or buses that arrive in Springfield on June 28 between 10am and 5pm.
Departure: Please schedule trains or buses that depart from Springfield on July 26 between 7am and 12pm. We recommend the earliest departure available.
Amtrak and Greyhound both run an Unaccompanied Minors (UM) program. Unlike with airlines, both are free, but also restrictive. For Amtrak details, click here. For Greyhound details, click here.
Generally, train/bus prices are much lower than airfare (if bought in advance).
We will meet stuents at the station and shuttle them to campus. For more information about or procedures to make sure that travel is safe and easy for students traveling alone, see below.
We recommend that you do not buy tickets right away, but watch the prices for several weeks. Given the uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus pandemic, we expect to provide an update and recommendation regarding booking travel in late April or early May.
If you are absolutely unable to find arrivals/departures in our windows, please see the Exceptions section below.
Travel by Plane
We will be prepared to meet arriving students at Hartford Bradley International Airport (BDL) in Windsor Locks, CT, about 45 minutes drive from campus. Do not schedule flights to any other airport.
Arrival: Only schedule flights that arrive at Bradley on June 28 between 9am and 6pm.
Those who arrive by 4pm will arrive to MathPath in time for dinner. We allow arrivals as late at 6pm because few connecting fights from the west coast arrive before 4pm.
If you can arrive before 4pm, please choose that option.
Departure: Please schedule departing flights from Bradley between 6am and 11am, and preferably the earliest available flight in the window.
We will meet students at the airport and shuttle them to campus. For more information about our procedures to make sure that air travel is safe and easy for students traveling alone, see below.
Note: Students who fly in with a parent and then rent a car or take public transportation to campus are arriving by car and are not met at the airport. Similarly, students transported to the airport by a parent for departure are departing by car and will be on their own for airline check-in.
It is best to book nonstop flights if possible. Many airlines impose restrictions on minors travling alone to prohibit or limit plane changes. See the discussion and links below for more information about Unacommpanied Minors.
We recommend that you do not buy flights right away, but watch the prices for several weeks. Given the uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus pandemic, we expect to provide an update and recommendation regarding booking air travel in late April or early May.
If you are absolutely unable to find flights in our windows, please see the Exceptions section below.
Reporting the Itinerary to Us
Logistically, the two travel days are the most complicated days of our program. For the safety of your child, we must have clear, correct and current information about their itinerary, even if you are traveling by car. In mid-late May, we will email all registered students' families a link to an online form that must be filled out no later than June 15.
Safe and Easy Travel
It is not necessary for parents to spend money to accompany their children.
Students (and their families) can feel confident and safe about traveling alone due to our proven effective and efficient greeting procedure. A detailed explanation of our process to ensure the safe collection of all unaccompanied students on arrival day (and drop-offs on departure day), even in the case of delays/cancellations/missed flights/etc, can be found in the 2020 Pre-Program Briefing.
Most airlines, Amtrak, and Greyhound provide (or require) special supervision to minors traveling along with Unaccompanied Minor Status. For details about this, see our UM Information Page. UM status adds security so you can feel confident about your student traveling alone, but adds cost and sometimes restricts which flights are available.
Parents/guardians are welcome to travel along, if they want to make a holiday out of a visit to western Massachusetts, or if they wish to visit MathPath for a day or two – short visits at the start or end of our program are welcome.
(More information about visiting MathPath is in the
2020 Pre-Program Briefing. Please read this before planning a visit.)
Shuttle to Campus
Any additional family member wishing to accompany their student from Bradley to campus on the MathPath shuttle may do so, room permitting, with prior notification, at a cost of $30. Likewise, parents who want to accompany MathPathers on our shuttle from Springfield Union Station may do so, room permitting, with prior notification, for $15.
Accompanying family should have a back-up plan, in the event that there is not room in the shuttle due to unexpected changes in travel (such as flight delays, etc). See Mount Holyoke College's travel page for information about rental cars, public transportation, or ride share.
If possible, MathPath may offer return shuttles to the airport or to Union Station, at the same price ($30 to the airport; $15 to Union Station). These shuttles will be offered on MathPath's schedule, which is flexible and may have to change. Again, family should have a back-up plan.
Exceptions
Arrivals and departures on the specified day but slightly outside the window are sometimes permitted, but only by special permission. This permission is never automatic, even for international students. Permission is never considered except for problems caused by difficulties in arranging travel.
If you absolutely cannot schedule your arrival and/or your departure in the window, then do not schedule anything.
Do not make any travel plans. Instead, consult the Program Director, April Verser, at april.verser@mathpath.org and explain your problem. Wait to book until April has approved a plan, which may be very different than what you originally propose.
Note: Expect some emailing back and forth before reacing a decision. Only April can authorize travel plans outside of our publicized windows. Therefore, if you think there may be a problem fitting in our windows, email April as soon as possible.
Why the earliest departure?
First of all, breakfast is the last meal offered at MathPath. We will provide boxed breakfasts to everyone who is flying. There are no events or scheduled activities on Sunday July 28, so an earlier departure is better - then families get to see their students sooner!
Additionally, students have a thing about the last night of our program. They want to stay up all night, savoring the last few hours with their friends, from whom they will shortly have to leave. The MathPath staff does not encourage this behavior, but we allow it as a harmless bonding experience (that the students value significantly), and counselors supervise it. We strive to make the night shorter by leaving for the airport early to make early flights - the first bus to the airport will probably leave by 4am. We will take full shuttles to the airport, so it is better to be flying out early than having to wait around at the airport for a later flight.
Finally, families will get to see their MathPathers sooner too. Depending on how much sleep they get on their flight, they may still zonk out when they get home, but by dinnertime they will probably be coherent again – and happy.
So, unless you are certain that your child really needs sleep, knows it, and wouldn't think of staying up all night, book them on the very first flight out of Bradley to your home airport.
