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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Threads like these are so interesting to me bc I didn't put much stock in towns when applying to colleges beyond the safety around campus factor.  I can't imagine writing off a school like Purdue due to the town, especially if I wanted to pursue engineering.  Purdue is its own town!

But anyway, different strokes.[/quote]

The fact it's an hour from the airport is a turnoff for us.  That gets costly to arrange travel at every break.  Not to mention, I'd rather my DD not be in an Uber/Lyft alone for an hour (I'd want the same for a DS).  very different than a 10-15 min ride for many schools.

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Not anymore! West Lafayette's airport is going to start having regional airline flights starting in May. That airport's technically located on campus (hence it being called the Purdue University Airport), and is only a ~5 minute drive from the center of campus.[/quote]

Well that will be awesome for Purdue students.  Assuming they can get to ORD or DTW from there makes kids life so much simpler
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For sure! The flights from West Lafayette (LAF) are to ORD and done in partnership with American and United Airlines, so plenty of connections. I believe the airport plans to expand to further routes (hopefully DTW, which it used to have flights to years ago), but is in the process of building a bigger airport terminal to handle those flights.

As a previous post mentioned, having such flights avoids the risk of getting stuck somewhere without a shuttle, so it'll be great[/quote]

This is great, but be aware that those small flights out of O’Hare tend to get cancelled at the drop of a hat, especially in December and January, when it’s snowy. I say this as someone who’s wasted entirely too much time hanging out in that airport trying to get home for the holidays.[/quote]

That's very true- and as the other post mentioned, getting a hotel as an under 21 can be impossible. I'd say that Purdue, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and UW Madison are lucky in that they have airline service to their local airport connecting to big hubs, but also have regular, fairly reasonable shuttles to/from several airports. For example, if your flight from ORD to CMI or LAF was cancelled, you could just pay ~$50 to hop on a shuttle for a few hours, direct from the airport to the university. Definitely not as convenient or quick as the flight, but a crucial back-up option to have (in my opinion).

On the other hand, some cities like Ithaca or State College also have a small airport, but are located many hours away from any other large airport. If you're flying to ITH or SCE and the small flight gets cancelled, you're probably just stuck wherever you're connecting without a whole lot of options to get to town.[/quote]

I've learned which hotels at my kid's transfer city will allow under 21 to check in. Found one last spring break when DTW got slammed with a mini blizzard.  I planned ahead and did it 8 hours ahead---had to book under adult Hotel account and send a written approval to the manger, then they approved it.  Was so glad a did, when 4 hours after the storm hit, my kid was finally let off the plane (sat on runway for over 3 hours).  At that point there were not many rooms left, and certainly not at a hotel that would allow checkin.   So now I know the hotel to use and the amazing manager who will assist if at all possible.  But yes, it's a royal pain in the ass.  I think it has something to do with if there is a minibar in the room, which is ridiculous---take the damn mini bar out or let me sign a waiver for my kid.  But there's 8" of snow and airport is closed I'd prefer my 18 yo female not spend the night alone in the airport
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