Inside the first-of-its-kind, ‘luxury' college campus tour — and why it costs a mind-bending $300K for four days

New York Post

07-06-2025

These high schoolers are getting a lesson in luxury.
College hopefuls will soon be able to tour universities like rockstars — zipping between campuses on a private jet, crashing in five-star hotels, and wining and dining their way to a decision.
For a mind-boggling, all-inclusive $300,000, the college admissions consultancy group IvyWise will whisk away seven students — each with a parent in tow — on an opulent, first-of-its-kind tour of seven elite universities this fall.
The four-day jaunt costs about as much as four years of tuiton at an Ivy League college.
The maiden 'Elevation Experience' begins Oct. 13 in the Big Apple, where the families will visit New York and Columbia universities, before the parents enjoy dinner at either Casa Cipriani or Zero Bond. Students, meanwhile, will be treated to Samoa Sundaes at the celebrity hotspot Corner Store, according to IvyWise's CEO and founder, Dr. Kat Cohen.
5 Families will fly on a private Gulfstream G650 jet to each campus included in IvyWise's 'Elevation Experience' tour this fall.
ETA Jets
But that's just the beginning.
Attendees will be chauffeured to the Four Seasons in Tribeca, where they'll stay for a night before boarding a private Gulfstream G650 jet that will whisk them to Princeton University in New Jersey — followed by a skip and a jump to Yale in New Haven, CT.
Before the end of Day 2, the jet will arrive in Beantown, where the families will spend the next two nights at another Four Seasons hotel between tours of Boston's Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University, and dinner at ritzy Deuxave.
5 The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is one of seven university campuses the students will visit during the tour.
Marcio – stock.adobe.com
5 The families will be put up in the Four Seasons Hotel Boston for two nights.
Facebook/Four Seasons Hotel Boston
The trip culminates with a flight to Washington, DC, for a campus tour of Georgetown University – complete with a meal at the esteemed Le Diplomate – before jetting back to Manhattan.
Attendees can expect private tarmac pickups and chauffeured luxury cars every step of the way – as well as new bags to transport their belongings, courtesy of a not-yet-decided designer luggage brand that IvyWise will partner with, according to Cohen.
As far as academic advice, IvyWise counselor Christine Chu – who previously worked as the assistant director of admissions at Yale and Georgetown – will be on board to ensure students are asking quality questions during campus info sessions, and that they're getting the full experience during each visit.
5 The 15-person jet will transport seven students — each with a parent — and an IvyWise counselor to each stop, complete with private tarmac pickups.
ETA Jets
'So you're getting advice from an expert the entire time,' said Cohen – including before the trip, when IvyWise's staff will meet with students to create personalized reports.
Post-tour, the IvyWise staff will help the students with filing college applications, writing essays and preparing for interviews with university administrators, Cohen continued.
'It's a very robust and extremely comprehensive service,' she said, adding that an international tour is already being planned for spring 2026.
5 Attendees will enjoy a ritzy dinner at Deuxave in Boston.
Facebook/Deuxave
'A lot of families tell us that college visits are one of the most stressful parts of the admissions journey.' Cohen said. 'They want somebody to plan all of their travel, they don't want any hassle along the way, and they want to make sure they're going about the tours in the right way. This takes . . . all the stress out of it.'
Except for the SATs.