<p>I'm bringing my daughter to LA to see both schools. Right now, the plan is to stay at the Radisson by USC, because that's the school she's most interested in. I don't want to rent a car to get to UCLA, so I assume the other option is a cab. (I hear the public transportation in LA is pretty poor.) Can anyone tell me how long the ride is and what the cost is likely to be? I know nothing about LA!</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>You can get to UCLA from USC in two buses. From Jefferson and Vermont, you can take the 754 to wilshire, and from there take the 720 or 920 straight into westwood. After that, it’s around a 15 minute walk to campus. There are also busses that take you probably straight into the bus terminal (and hence avoid the 15m walk) if you don’t want to do that. If you go to mta.net, you can just type in “from: USC to: UCLA” and it’ll give you routes to take.</p>
<p>Cabs aren’t cheap and both schools are literally on opposite sides of the city. With traffic, it could take a really long time and you could spend quite a bit of money. (especially going there and back) it might be a cheaper alternative to just rent a car for a day (zipcar) and take the car to UCLA and park it there if you’re really intent on avoiding public transportation. The nightmare about westwood is generally parking, but since everyone’s on vacation, you can generally find parking on the streets. And on the weekends, parking usually isn’t enforced (on some streets it’s only for sunday though) If you decided to rent a car and park on the streets, i’d advise doing so on Veteran before you hit Gayley. But if you want more secure parking or want to park closer to campus (it’s roughly a half a mile walk to the beginning of campus) you can park at the parking structures, but you should note that it can be pricey (i paid close to $18 to park there once, but parking might also be free since school isn’t currently in session. I’ve seen it free in the past, but i believe it was on a hoiday like veteran’s day.)</p>
<p>Whatever you decide to do, best of luck. Feel free to ask if you want to know anything else.</p>
<p>Welcome to SC! We hope you have a great time exploring the city and meeting some students at the university.</p>
<p>I suggest calling ahead to make a reservation for a campus tour. There is information about this on the undergraduate admissions section of the SC website: [University</a> of Southern California](<a href=“http://www.usc.edu%5DUniversity”>http://www.usc.edu) .
The tour will be led by a student who will tell you about the campus and traditions. A time with an academic counselor can also be arranged.</p>
<p>The School of Cinematic Arts complex has become such an attraction tours are now available, if your schedule permits. Even if your senior is not interested in the major, one non-SC parent commented, “It was jaw dropping.” </p>
<p>'Hope you enjoy visiting the campus and seeing what makes SC a special place.</p>
<p>A rental car would actually be your best bet. Traveling by bus from one side of town to the other is not a good idea for anyone unfamiliar with the area. That bus ride will take at least an hour if not more on the streets. Not to mention safety near USC if you are traveling after dark.</p>
<p>Yes, renting a car is your best bet. When you schedule the tour, you will get parking info. Parking was not a problem at USC and school was in session. My friends took my son to his UCLA tour in the summer, but I assume the same thing with parking there.</p>
<p>fond-
Why don’t you invite a family member/friend who has no fear of driving in LA and will chauffeur you two around?
You can visit other area schools as well.</p>
<p>What is the reason you do not want to rent a car?</p>
<p>Believe me, I sympathize if you do not care to drive in LA, but there’s no way to avoid it if you are going to visit both USC and UCLA. Rent a car and either bring along a GPS or rent one.</p>
<p>Driving is not my favorite thing, either, but you can take surface streets between USC and UCLA and avoid the freeways, if that is your biggest concern. Travel time will depend on time of day traffic.</p>
<p>Another idea–do you have any friends who live in L.A.? Perhaps they wouldn’t mind driving you for one day. We all sympathize with out-of-towners who need help getting around.</p>
<p>If you D really intends on coming to school in LA and you plan to visit her while she is here, then get use to driving, no question about that. Let’s put it this way, a bus is out of the question and the cost of taking taxi’s around the city will probably more than renting a car and both will be a very frustrating experience! LA is a “car” city and to rely on public transportation would be a mistake (although the cost of parking can be outrageous).</p>
<p>As for staying near USC, I would say that Westwood would be a better alternative…much better neighborhood where you would be safer walking and many more food/store/entertainment options and closer to the airport.</p>
<p>I was born and raised here (and I am not quite sure if that is bad or good–haha)</p>
<p>We did this earlier in the year (visited both schools), and they are pretty far away from each other. Longer than I would want to pay for a cab ride. </p>
<p>The Radisson at USC will be fine, it is literally right there and it’s a decent hotel if you want to be close. </p>
<p>I’d stay at one end or the other – we pricelined Hyatt Century City nearish UCLA for about $100 and near a great outdoor mall – and zipcar or airport rental car between them. </p>
<p>LA is really spread out and a lot of it is not pedestrian friendly. Distances that look walkable on a map often aren’t.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone. I got the message: rental car is the way to go! I’m thinking we’ll take a cab from LAX to the Radisson at USC, get a zip car the next day to go to/from UCLA, and then a cab back to the airport the following day. Does that make sense??</p>
<p>fond,</p>
<p>I think your latest plan is fine though you might want to price out the actual costs. A shuttle from LAX to USC will probably run $15-$25/person ($50). Same for the trip back ($50). Throw in the cost of the ZipCar ($15?) and I’m not sure that you’re saving that much especially when you factor in the added flexibility of having your own car. Probably worth doing the math.</p>
<p>Agree with vinceh, renting a car at airport (convenient shuttles) will be less hassle and may cost less, too.</p>
<p>Agree with renting the car at the airport and staying at the Rad, across the street from USC. The must-have for this trip is a portable navigation device (or use your phone if equipped with feature). Bring your own portable unit, not the one the rental car co. rents. Beforehand, plug in all the points you will be visiting. For me, this helps alleviate some of the anxiety associated with driving in unfamiliar areas of the country. If you aren’t familiar with using GPS, practice BEFORE you travel to LA so you are comfortable with how everything works.</p>
<p>I’m still old school and have not used GPS yet. I always mapquest everything and have never had a problem.</p>
<p>Your best bet would be picking up/dropping car off at LAX. Check with hotel for parking fees so they’re aren’t any surprises in that regard. Your concierge will give you directions so you won’t have to worry about MapQuest. Enjoy your visits!</p>
<p>When DS and I made this same trip we stayed in Culver City which is midway between USC and UCLA. I downloaded a GPS ap on my cell phone and we worked as a team to navigate and drive to our destinations. Traffic was intense a few times, but we figured it all out. Just give yourself plenty of time as you plan your schedule to get from one place to another. I agree that staying at Raddison is the way to go. There is campus parking at UCLA. Rent the car at LAX. You really should have a lot of fun making this trip. Good luck!</p>
<p>I understand your daughter’s 1st choice is USC, but why would you want to stay at the Radisson? Not that there is anything wrong with the hotel, but it’s literally across USC and literally in the South Central area. In other words, there is nothing to do there in the evening and it’s actually very dangerous to walk around there at night time. I would suggest, as a poster mentioned, staying in a hotel like Hyatt Century City, which is in West Los Angeles, is a lot nicer, is super safe, and has an outdoor mall nearby, so at least something within walking distance you can do after visiting the schools.</p>
<p>The Hyatt is close to UCLA (only about 10 minute drive from campus). Trust me, when you want a good impression of a school and LA, you want to have at least a good experience spending the night in the area.</p>
<p>Would it surprise you that notazguy is from UCLA? </p>
<p>SC is only about three miles from the center of Los Angeles. On campus there are film showings, plays, lectures, concerts, sport events, art exhibitions, solo performances and religious events, among others.</p>