Some destinations sell themselves. New York is one of them — but a summer in New York can be so much more than a week of sightseeing, and that is exactly what our Summer 2027 programme at Ramapo College is built around.
This year, students can pair the energy of Manhattan with a second iconic East Coast city, thanks to an optional 2-Day/1-Night MiniBreak to either Boston or Washington D.C. Two very different American stories, one unforgettable summer.
A real American campus, thirty minutes from Manhattan
Students are hosted at Ramapo College of New Jersey, and the setting matters more than it might first appear.
Ramapo is a quintessential American-style campus: 300 acres of green space, open lawns, proper college facilities and the kind of atmosphere most European students have only seen in films. It gives young people something a city hotel simply cannot — the experience of living like an American student, with campus routines, shared spaces and room to breathe.
And it is close enough to matter. Manhattan is just 30 minutes away by private coach, which means students get the best of both worlds: the calm and security of a residential campus at night, and the full force of New York City by day.
What the New York programme includes
The core programme is deliberately dense. The aim is for students to return home having genuinely experienced American life, not just photographed it.
- 🎭 Broadway musical or The Summit — entrance ticket included
- 🚌 Four full-day excursions in Manhattan by private bus
- 🗽 Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island
- 🌆 American Dream Entertainment Complex
- 🎓 40 English lessons — 30 hours of classroom instruction
- 🍽️ Full board accommodation at Ramapo College
- 💳 MLA Prepaid Meal Card during excursions and the MiniBreak
- 🎉 MLA Days & MLA Nights — American Experience, Summer Song, STEM, Drama, Art, Disco, Karaoke and more
- 🩺 24/7 MLA medical staff and a dedicated MLA Welfare Manager
Four full days in Manhattan is a meaningful amount of time. It allows the city to be explored properly — not in a single exhausting sweep, but in layers, with students beginning to recognise neighbourhoods and find their bearings in a place that initially overwhelms everyone.
🟡 Option one: New York + Boston
For groups drawn to history, academia and the Atlantic, Boston is the natural companion to New York.
Where New York is vertical, restless and relentlessly modern, Boston is walkable, historic and distinctly collegiate. The contrast teaches students something about America that no single city can on its own.
The 2-Day/1-Night Boston MiniBreak includes half board and visits to:
- The Boston Freedom Trail — Bunker Hill, USS Constitution, the Paul Revere House and Faneuil Hall Marketplace
- Harvard Yard — a visit to the famous university campus — and Boston Common
- Whale watching (entrance ticket included) — departing from Boston Central Wharf by boat to the Stellwagen Bank Marine Sanctuary
- Dinner at an American all-you-care-to-eat restaurant
The Harvard visit tends to leave a mark. For a 15-year-old, standing in Harvard Yard turns a distant idea into something concrete, and more than a few students go home thinking differently about what they might study.
🟡 Option two: New York + Washington D.C.
For groups interested in politics, civic history and the machinery of a nation, the capital route delivers three cities in two days.
The 2-Day/1-Night Washington D.C. MiniBreak includes half board and visits to:
- Philadelphia — Independence Mall and the Liberty Bell Center
- Baltimore — the Inner Harbor and Fells Point
- Washington D.C. — the White House, the Capitol Building, the Smithsonian Museum, the Washington Monument, the World War II Memorial and the Lincoln Memorial
- Dinner at an American all-you-care-to-eat restaurant
There is a narrative logic to this itinerary that works beautifully for school groups: students move from the room where independence was declared in Philadelphia, through a working port city, and arrive at the monuments that the whole story was building towards. Teachers of history and civics will find the links almost write themselves.
Learning that starts months before departure
The academic element is not an afterthought. 40 English lessons, 30 hours of classroom instruction, delivered in an environment where students are using the language outside the classroom all day — which is precisely the condition under which language learning accelerates.
Students also have access to our free Pre-Departure Programme: live online lessons available in Cambridge Exams Preparation, Task Based Learning or Work Skills. The MLA experience therefore begins long before the flight, giving students time to build confidence and arrive ready to use what they know rather than spending the first week finding their voice.
Safety and welfare, built in
For agents and group leaders, this is often the deciding factor. The programme includes 24/7 MLA medical staff on site and a dedicated MLA Welfare Manager whose sole responsibility is student wellbeing.
Full board accommodation and the MLA Prepaid Meal Card during excursions mean students are never left to sort out meals independently in an unfamiliar city — one less variable for group leaders to manage, and one less worry for parents.
Which American adventure will your students choose?
Boston or Washington D.C. — history and harbours, or politics and monuments. Both build on the same New York foundation, and both give students a second city to compare it against.
We look forward to welcoming your students to the USA in Summer 2027.
