<p>We live in the Southeastern US, and my daughter is interested in several colleges in CA, including schools in the San Diego, LA and San Francisco areas. We are struggling to figure out how best to cover these sites time-wise and in terms of funds. Would appreciate any suggestions.</p>
<p>Well, the distance from San Diego to San Francisco is like going thru several states in other parts of the country, so it would take some time. It would take at least 3 days to visit schools in these 3 areas. </p>
<p>Is your D interested in USan Diego, LMU, and USF? Or is she interested in the UCs?</p>
<p>Assuming you’re flying, you could either fly into SF, rent a car to do the colleges there, then drive to LA and see those, then drive to San Diego to see those, then turn in the car and fly out of San Diego, or you could do the reverse.</p>
<p>If you do the above just make sure there’s no car drop-off issue between where you’re picking up and dropping off. You might want to check with several companies if your preferred rental company doesn’t allow it.</p>
<p>It’s roughly 2 hours from San Diego to LA and roughly 6 hours from LA to the SF bay area. Add at least an hour to each of these during heavy traffic times.</p>
<p>A suggestion is to make sure you don’t make it a college visit marathon trip - stop and see a few touristy/fun things while visiting. Also don’t forget to check out the areas adjacent to the campuses to get a picture of living there for 4 or so years.</p>
<p>If you had different or more detailed plans maybe we can make suggestions for those.</p>
<p>Not sure which schools your daughter is interested in, but there are a wide variety of schools in CA. There are all of the UC’s and Cal State’s, plus Stanford, Cal Tech, Pepperdine, Occidental, the Consortium schools, and many more. Although this takes a little bit more time, I’d highly suggest driving from San Francisco to L.A. on Highway 1.</p>
<p>My dad and I did a trip out west last summer where we went from Portland (Reed) to San Fran (UC-Berkeley) to Palo Alto (Stanford) and then down to L.A. It was a nice trip although a bit rushed. There are some cool things to see on Highway 1, as well as in San Diego (the zoo comes to mind), and obviously L.A. has a lot to offer. In San Francisco, the Exploratorium is pretty cool (if I remember right you get in free the first Wednesday of the month), its nice down by the piers, Golden Gate Bridge is nice, Alcatraz is cool if you have time, and John Muir Park (go north on Golden Gate Bridge) is beautiful. Have a good trip!</p>
<p>Thanks so much. She is interested in Stanford, several of the UCs (Berkeley, San Diego, Santa Barbara), the Claremonts, maybe USC. She has never been to California, so definitely needs to get a feel for the area and culture.</p>
<p>Before coming to look at the UCs I would definitely suggest you look at the financial aid. Basically it doesn’t exist for out of state students. I would also look carefully at the four year graduation rates. The UCs are impacted and it isn’t going to gt better anytime soon.</p>
<p>I’d fly into Oakland, get an Enterprise weekend special car rental (unlimited miles) and go straight to Cal, a 15 minute drive. Stay at the Durant Hotel, have a Top Dog (right next door) and walk around campus, it’s beautiful, although the surrounding area is a bit dirty. And drive up to Grizzly Peak, passing through Lawrence Labs so your daughter can see the bay area at sunset, stunning!</p>
<p>Go have fun in San Francisco the next day (take her shopping at the blue jean bar) and then head down to Stanford in the afternoon, take highway 280 out of the city, and Page Mill road (think Adobe software) exit to Stanford, a beautiful drive. Rent a bike by the book store and ride around campus with your daughter. It’s too big to walk. Then go up in Hoover tower and look over the most impressive campus in the United States. On exiting the tour go check out the track and field and the Olympic wall. Then go have dinner at Nola’s in Palo Alto, sit in the inner court yard. Now you most likely could stop your tour here and fly home because she’ll be sold on Stanford but if you continue, take highway 101 to Santa Barbara (6 hours). </p>
<p>Santa Barbara is really pretty fantastic, what’s not to love. Get a smoothie at Blenders in the Grass (UCSB grads own it) and go up in the Santa Barbara tower, it’s a tad smaller than the Hoover. Academically USCB is not in the same league as Stanford and many Cal departments but what’s not to love about the area!</p>
<p>2 hours further south you’re at USC, fight on! Witness a university and student body in transition, four years ago they passed Cal with higher SAT scores, Steven Sample who retired last year was voted the number 1 university president in the country by his peers, a chemist form Iowa and in the past 17 years he has turned USC into a world class university. Their new engineering building will rival the best in the world. And if you think the neighborhood is dicey go across the street and have lunch at the Lab or walk 4 blocks to frat row and see some of the best looking frats and sororities in the country or go the other direction and go to the LA space museum or LA coliseum site of the Olympics. And at night drive a few blocks up to Staple Center and experience one of the best redeveloped downtowns in the US. The energy and academics at USC is impressive.</p>
<p>Then go south to UCSD. I’m not a fan, but I know a lot of peoples kids on these boards go there, so…</p>
<p>As far as Claremont, I’d skip it. Too damn hot, the air is not good (you never see the San Gabriel mountains that they put in their ads), the schools are too small, and LA is too far away.</p>
<p>I second the meal at Nola’s in Palo Alto, but if your child is considering small liberal arts colleges, don’t skip the Claremont consortium. The pollution is worst during warmer months.</p>
<p>@pacheight - I was really enjoying your detailed California tour until you got to the part about the Claremont Colleges. How could you dismiss them so carelessly - when you have considered the rest of their voyage so carefully? </p>
<p>Not true about not seeing the mountains - maybe in summer/early September when it’s warmest and the smog is at its height - but for most of the school year the air is clear and the view is spectacular - particularly in winter when they’re covered with snow.</p>
<p>As for being too small - do you think an undergraduate community of 5,000+ is too small? To me it seems ideal.</p>
<p>And, as for distance from LA, it is an hour’s drive, and there is also a train to downtown. On the East Coast that would seem an ideal distance from a major city for a liberal arts college - not too far away to go in when desired, and not too close to distract from the life of the college.</p>
<p>OK, sorry about the Claremont slam. And I do know three excellent doctors who attended one of the schools there, they have a very high rate of UG’s to med school! But I’m not a big fan of the inland empire, although the Riverside Hotel is way cool.</p>
<p>Partly it’s my sports slant, which is one of the reasons I love USC and Stanford so much, along with their academics. And even though I come from a Cal family I am down on all the UC’s, too many problems, too crowded, too many lines to stand in…and Cal at 30k in state and 50k out of state has become a crowded (25 thousand undergrads) private school.</p>
<p>Agree with keeping the Consortium if LACs are in the mix. If not, skip. Claremont is an adorable small town, just lovely, and I agree that the worst air pollution will be when child is home for the summer. You might also (or instead) want to check out UCLA which has a breathtaking campus and great programs. And, it is still close enough to the beach, if that is an attraction. Closer than USC… Most of all, have fun! It is a great time of year to be here-- a nice break from East Coast humidity! However, everything is brown (especially Southern California-- well, we can call it “golden”). If this is a shock, remember that it all turns green in the winter time, when other parts of the country are leafless and cold. Just sayin this as a transplanted Easterner who visited green So. Cal in the Spring and was shocked to see everything brown in late August!!</p>
<p>When will you be travelling? A reminder to stay the heck away from Los Angeles the weekend of July 15-17, when a long stretch of a major north/south interstate will be entirely shut down. </p>
<p>I will second concerns about the UCs, especially if you are looking for any kind of financial aid. If that’s the case, it shortens your trip, since you can truncate the San Diego portion and spend more time in the other areas. If you eliminate San Diego, then look at flights into Burbank or Ontario rather than LAX. These smaller airports are much easier to get in and out of than the much larger LAX. Check carrentals.com, hotwire and priceline for rental car rates.</p>
<p>If UCs are financially in the picture for you, visit UCLA. You’re in the neighborhood, why not? Absolutely have your D visit USC since you’ll be visiting other nearby schools. If LACs appeal, she should see if Occidental is of interest since it’s also in the general neighborhood. And if you’re visiting the Claremonts during the summer or early fall, tour in the morning rather than the afternoon. You’ll avoid the heat and the worst of the smog.</p>
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<p>Parking a car is an expensive hassle in Berkeley and San Francisco. If you don’t mind a bit of a walk, the following means of public transportation may be more convenient:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>From OAK to UC Berkeley: Take [AirBART[/url</a>] ($3 exact change) or [url=<a href=“http://www.actransit.org%5DAC”>http://www.actransit.org]AC</a> Transit](<a href=“http://www.bart.gov/guide/airport/outbound_oak.aspx]AirBART[/url”>Airport Connections (SFO & OAK) | Bay Area Rapid Transit) 73 ($2 exact change) to Coliseum [BART[/url</a>] station. Take BART to Downtown Berkeley ($2.35 one way). Downtown Berkeley BART is one block west of campus.</p></li>
<li><p>Grizzly Peak: This is the part of the Berkeley / San Francisco itinerary that a car can help, but AC Transit 67 goes there. For Lawrence Hall of Science, AC Transit 65 or the [url=<a href=“http://pt.berkeley.edu/around/transit/routes]H”>Getting to and Around Campus! | Parking and Transportation]H</a> line of the campus shuttle<a href=“$1%20for%20visitors”>/url</a> goes there.</p></li>
<li><p>Head to San Francisco on BART, getting out at a station near where you want to visit. [url=<a href=“http://www.sfmuni.com%5DSF”>http://www.sfmuni.com]SF</a> Muni](<a href=“http://www.bart.gov%5DBART%5B/url”>http://www.bart.gov) is the bus / streetcar / light rail system there.</p></li>
<li><p>Rent a car when leaving Berkeley / San Francisco to drive to the Stanford area and Santa Barbara / Los Angeles / San Diego. (But note that much of the Stanford campus parking is permit only, so check signs carefully.)</p></li>
</ul>
<p>OP: California touristy musts:</p>
<p>SF/bay area: Grizzly peak at sunset, go up behind the Claremont Hotel and then head left on Grizzly Peak. Shopping and lunch on Union Street in San Francisco, and walk across the golden gate bridge. Skip Pier 39 the sea ions are gone. Also, if you like sports, take in a Giants game at ATT park. Also walking through the Castro and the Height is fun.</p>
<p>Stanford cathedral has some of the best stain glass in the world, it rivals the vatican, guess where Mrs Stanford got it:) and the Rodin garden at Stanford [Cantor</a> Arts Center - Rodin Collection](<a href=“http://museum.stanford.edu/view/rodin.html]Cantor”>Rodin: The Shock of the Modern Body | Cantor Arts Center Exhibitions)</p>
<p>Carmel Beach (it’s one of the few off leash state beaches in California, and the dogs there are impressive pure breeds, must be the neighborhood!)</p>
<p>Santa Barbara beach and any restaurant further up State Street.</p>
<p>LA: Venice Beach. Santa Monica Pier, go on the ferris wheel. Walk up Rodeo Drive if you want to feel poor. Desert and a cigar at the Beverly Wilshire, had to throw that in. breakfast at Maria Calenders on Wilshire (miracle mile) for celebrity sightings, it’s next to the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) building and always good for a celebrity sighting. go listen to music at any of the small clubs in Silver Lake, and ya you’ll feel old but your daughter will like it. Staple center area at night. The Arc Light movie theater, a classic, reserved seating movie theater. And top of the downtown Standard for drinks pool side, maybe stay there if you’re visiting USC, it’s fun…and very LA.</p>
<p>Further south: Balboa Island in Newport Beach, take the ferry to get across to the pacific ocean side, it costs one dollar. Park near the Newport Harbor Yacht Club and walk to a beautiful beach facing the Pacific.</p>
<p>Laguna Beach. walk south on the beach, it’s beautiful.</p>
<p>oh, and ride a cable car, it’s worth it. But go to Ghirardelli Square to get on, better place to wait in line. And walk down Waverly Street in Chinatown, my favorite street in Chinatown</p>
<p>Even further south - San Diego is very nice and has lots of touristy things to see, sporting activities to do, and great beaches and is a breath of fresh air relative to the SF bay area and LA basin IMO (not quite as congested).</p>
<p>I can send you some details if you’re interested but I’ve posted some before that you might be able to find by searching. A poster named ‘coureur’ also posted a good list of things to see/do in San Diego.</p>
<p>*I will second concerns about the UCs, especially if you are looking for any kind of financial aid. *</p>
<p>Oh yes…expect to pay full-freight at the UCs.</p>
<p>Just planned a CA college visit trip. If you decide to fly remember that there are lots of airports in the LA area. For some reason I was able to find much better fares to Burbank than LAX. There are also sometimes better deals to San Jose than SFO. If you are renting a car anyway it may be worth it.</p>
<p>For LA region:
Visit the fantastic Huntington library and museum in San Marino near Pasadena…and see Cal Tech. Beautiful area.
I would not skip UCLA.
I would skip USC.</p>
<p>OP, if your daughter is a super nerd than sure drive out to San Marino and go to the library then go further out and visit Cal Tech. Bring water, it gets hot out there.</p>
<p>also, welcome to California where “pubic schools” are worshiped. Most Californian’s have the misconception that the UC’s are great educations at low cost. In truth Cal and UCLA are good educations at high costs. 30k+ in-state is not a fee most California’s can afford, unless you live in San Marino:). and if you want to use the useless Cal job placement system when you graduate it’s an extra $150. Now take a look at UCLA vs USC. UCLA 25,000 ug’s vs 16,000 at USC. Academically the kids at USC score significantly higher than UCLA kids, USC is more ethnically diverse and internationally diverse. USC’s campus is flat and everyone rides bikes. At UCLA you’ll spend 4 years hiking up and down the hill…</p>
<p>If your daughter has a choice I’d take Stanford over Cal, and USC over UCLA.</p>
<p>and Stanford and USC win way more often in all sports, from football to track & field.</p>
<p>I bet in the south east “private school” is not a dirty word like it is out here on the left coast.</p>