Man, that title means I'm going to cover a lot of ground in this post. So be it.
Last I wrote, I had just had my interview with Harvard, I think. So, fast forward a bit. Chicago offered me a large scholarship ($35,000/year), so my parents decided I should fly out and consider it at least. I flew out at the end of March for their admitted students' weekend and stayed with my friend Benjamin Brown, who is just finishing up his first year there.
The trip itself was very eventful. Here is a journal/blog entry I wrote about my flights:
"I'll sit here and go crazy if I don't get some of this out. I got to the Beijing airport with plenty of time - as I thought - to make my plane to Detroit. It wasn't leaving for 45 minutes when I walked up to the Delta counter and tried to check in. Unfortunately, their system apparently closes an hour before takeoff, and they are helpless in the face of their own technology. No was they could possibly check me in or let me on the plane that wasn't leaving for 45 minutes! Their only help was to tell me to call a hotline that doesn't open until 8 am.
Having been here for a while, not much about China can bother me anymore, but this makes me want to weep with rage. At any other airport, the person at the counter would whisk me to the desk and check me in, then make sure I got to the gate as fast as possible. Here I have to wait an hour and a half to call a customer service line to change my ticket. It's more China than Delta, although at the moment I'm very angry at Delta as well, and I plan to tell them in choice fashion.
Frustrated beyond all belief.
I just talked to a Delta rep, and she told me I would have to pay over $1000 extra(!) if I want to keep my return ticket. See if I fly Delta anytime soon! And the earliest flight she could find for me was tomorrow morning. More rage...
Wrong kind of adrenaline rush, for sure. Well, I ended up buying a ticket on United with Mom & Dad's credit card...I owe them a lot. I had to take the bus to the other terminal and as I was buying the ticket on my phone, the website conked out. I went to a United agent here, but th echeapest she could find was over $1500, way more expensive than the one I found. So I got a wifi password at a kiosk and bought it on my computer for $1284, then checked in. Now I'm waiting for some pad thai before I go through security. Probably a poor choice, because now I'm worried it'll take twenty minutes to come and I'll be rushed for time again and waste a second ticket. Not going to happen, but that would be truly awful.
Oh boy. So I made it to San Francisco, only to find out my flight to Chicago was delayed from 10:32 to noon. I went to customer service right away and got on the standby list, and I just made it on a flight leaving at 10:10. I'm either the very last person or the second to last to get on the plane. Phew. Except I had to pay a $75 standby fee...this trip is getting more and more expensive.
I'm waiting for my plane to Newark now...this trip has been great! I really like UChicago, and it's moved way up in my estimation. I don't know what I'll decide, but whatever happens, it was worth the trip. The flight story even has a mostly happy ending! Delta refunded my original ticket! As I told them, that goes a long way towards making me happy with their service. I ended up spending $500 more than I would have, but better than $1300 more."
I didn't write about how United lost my luggage once I actually got to Chicago and took over a day to get it to me at Ben's apartment. It was truly one of the most awful air travel experiences I've ever had. But I really did enjoy the trip. I'd never been to Chicago - I went downtown the morning after I arrived, and it was beautiful. Nice spring weather, gorgeous architecture, a fantastic art museum, and great open spaces. The school itself was also great. All the professors seemed really involved in their students' lives, the campus was all big Gothic and modern architecture, and living costs were fairly low. Except for the fairly lackluster YSA and frigid winters, it seemed like a wonderful place to go to law school...
Last I wrote, I had just had my interview with Harvard, I think. So, fast forward a bit. Chicago offered me a large scholarship ($35,000/year), so my parents decided I should fly out and consider it at least. I flew out at the end of March for their admitted students' weekend and stayed with my friend Benjamin Brown, who is just finishing up his first year there.
The trip itself was very eventful. Here is a journal/blog entry I wrote about my flights:
"I'll sit here and go crazy if I don't get some of this out. I got to the Beijing airport with plenty of time - as I thought - to make my plane to Detroit. It wasn't leaving for 45 minutes when I walked up to the Delta counter and tried to check in. Unfortunately, their system apparently closes an hour before takeoff, and they are helpless in the face of their own technology. No was they could possibly check me in or let me on the plane that wasn't leaving for 45 minutes! Their only help was to tell me to call a hotline that doesn't open until 8 am.
Having been here for a while, not much about China can bother me anymore, but this makes me want to weep with rage. At any other airport, the person at the counter would whisk me to the desk and check me in, then make sure I got to the gate as fast as possible. Here I have to wait an hour and a half to call a customer service line to change my ticket. It's more China than Delta, although at the moment I'm very angry at Delta as well, and I plan to tell them in choice fashion.
Frustrated beyond all belief.
I just talked to a Delta rep, and she told me I would have to pay over $1000 extra(!) if I want to keep my return ticket. See if I fly Delta anytime soon! And the earliest flight she could find for me was tomorrow morning. More rage...
Wrong kind of adrenaline rush, for sure. Well, I ended up buying a ticket on United with Mom & Dad's credit card...I owe them a lot. I had to take the bus to the other terminal and as I was buying the ticket on my phone, the website conked out. I went to a United agent here, but th echeapest she could find was over $1500, way more expensive than the one I found. So I got a wifi password at a kiosk and bought it on my computer for $1284, then checked in. Now I'm waiting for some pad thai before I go through security. Probably a poor choice, because now I'm worried it'll take twenty minutes to come and I'll be rushed for time again and waste a second ticket. Not going to happen, but that would be truly awful.
Oh boy. So I made it to San Francisco, only to find out my flight to Chicago was delayed from 10:32 to noon. I went to customer service right away and got on the standby list, and I just made it on a flight leaving at 10:10. I'm either the very last person or the second to last to get on the plane. Phew. Except I had to pay a $75 standby fee...this trip is getting more and more expensive.
I'm waiting for my plane to Newark now...this trip has been great! I really like UChicago, and it's moved way up in my estimation. I don't know what I'll decide, but whatever happens, it was worth the trip. The flight story even has a mostly happy ending! Delta refunded my original ticket! As I told them, that goes a long way towards making me happy with their service. I ended up spending $500 more than I would have, but better than $1300 more."
I didn't write about how United lost my luggage once I actually got to Chicago and took over a day to get it to me at Ben's apartment. It was truly one of the most awful air travel experiences I've ever had. But I really did enjoy the trip. I'd never been to Chicago - I went downtown the morning after I arrived, and it was beautiful. Nice spring weather, gorgeous architecture, a fantastic art museum, and great open spaces. The school itself was also great. All the professors seemed really involved in their students' lives, the campus was all big Gothic and modern architecture, and living costs were fairly low. Except for the fairly lackluster YSA and frigid winters, it seemed like a wonderful place to go to law school...
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