Highland Perch Check dates on Airbnb

College visits and graduation weekends

One house for the whole group instead of a block of hotel rooms. Every campus here is a drive from the lake, so this is a place to come back to after the tour or the ceremony.

  • Sleeps 10
  • 4 bedrooms
  • 3 full baths
  • Dining table for eight
  • Free parking
Check graduation dates on Airbnb See every room

Parties and events aren't allowed at the house, so plan the graduation party at a restaurant or a venue. Salem Cross Inn is 7 minutes away.

Twenty campuses within about an hour

Miles are road miles from the house. Drive times are routing estimates without traffic, rounded to five minutes, so check a live map on the day and set it to the admissions office or the ceremony venue, which is often off campus.

SchoolTownRoadDriveStart here
Worcester
Worcester Polytechnic InstituteWorcester23 mi40 to 45 minVisit, Commencement, Map
Clark UniversityWorcester20 mi40 to 45 minVisit, Map
College of the Holy CrossWorcester22 mi40 to 45 minVisit, Commencement, Map
Worcester State UniversityWorcester23 mi40 to 45 minVisit, Map
Assumption UniversityWorcester24 mi40 to 45 minVisit, Map
Quinsigamond Community CollegeWorcester26 miabout 50 minVisit, Map
Amherst and the Pioneer Valley
University of Massachusetts AmherstAmherst28 miabout 45 minVisit, Commencement, Map
Amherst CollegeAmherst27 mi45 to 50 minVisit, Map
Mount Holyoke CollegeSouth Hadley28 mi45 to 50 minVisit, Map
Smith CollegeNorthampton32 miabout 55 minVisit, Map
Holyoke Community CollegeHolyoke34 miabout 55 minVisit, Map
Springfield and nearby
Western New England UniversitySpringfield28 miabout 50 minVisit, Map
Springfield CollegeSpringfield31 miabout 50 minVisit, Map
American International CollegeSpringfield30 miabout 50 minVisit, Map
Springfield Technical Community CollegeSpringfield31 miabout 50 minVisit, Map
Elms CollegeChicopee30 miabout 50 minVisit, Map
Bay Path UniversityLongmeadow35 miabout 55 minVisit, Map
Westfield State UniversityWestfield42 miabout 65 minVisit, Map
South, and over the state line
Nichols CollegeDudley25 miabout 45 minVisit, Map
University of ConnecticutStorrs, Connecticut39 miabout 60 minVisit, Map

Also in Worcester: UMass Chan Medical School and the MCPHS Worcester campus.

Dates to plan around

Each date below was on the organizer's own page on November 11, 2026. Ceremonies for individual degrees can fall on other days, so check the school's page before you book.

May 11 to 16, 2027Brimfield Antique Flea Markets, spring show. About 23 minutes from the house.
May 13 and 14, 2027WPI commencement: the graduate ceremony on Thursday, May 13, and the undergraduate ceremony on Friday, May 14. WPI had not named the venue yet. In 2026 the undergraduate ceremony was at the DCU Center in Worcester.
Friday, May 21, 2027UMass Amherst undergraduate commencement, 5 PM at McGuirk Alumni Stadium.
Friday, May 28, 2027Holy Cross commencement, 10 AM at the DCU Center in Worcester. The Baccalaureate Mass is the afternoon before.
July 13 to 18, 2027Brimfield summer show.
September 7 to 12, 2027Brimfield fall show.
September 17 to October 3, 2027The Big E in West Springfield.

Sources: Brimfield Antique Week, WPI, UMass Amherst, Holy Cross and The Big E.

A graduation weekend, planned

One way to do commencement with the whole family under one roof. Ceremony times are the ones each school published, so check its page again closer to the day.

The day beforeCheck in after 3 PM. Give the grandparents the main-floor king, which has its own bath, so they skip the stairs. At Holy Cross, the Baccalaureate Mass is the afternoon before commencement.
Commencement morningLeave early. Worcester, where the DCU Center is, is 40 to 45 minutes away, and UMass Amherst about 45. Holy Cross begins at 10 AM on Friday, May 28, at the DCU Center; UMass Amherst at 5 PM on Friday, May 21, at McGuirk Alumni Stadium. WPI's ceremonies are on May 13 and 14.
AfterwardDinner at the table for eight, or at Salem Cross Inn, 7 minutes away, from Thursday to Saturday (book well ahead in May). Photos at the fire pit: in late May the sun sets over the lake after 8 PM.
The next morningCoffee on the porch and checkout by noon. If you'd like a paddle first, ask through Airbnb whether the dock and kayaks are in the water for your dates.

Every date on this page was on the school's own site in November 2026. The area guide has more places to eat.

Check graduation dates on Airbnb

The house is booked through Airbnb from this website, where you'll find the calendar, the price for your dates and guest reviews.

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Highland PerchSleeps 10 on Lake WickaboagCheck dates