<p>CONGRATULATIONS to those who were admitted early and are the scholarship candidates!</p>
<p>We are planning a trip to LA (yay!!!) and USC for the Explore USC day. Given this is very first time my 17 year old midwest son (lol) going to visit LA and the Golden State, we plan to stay for one extra night after the Explore USC day. Here are the questions:</p>
<p>1) Is there any good hotel near USC that you can recommend us to stay?
2) Given the busy schedule with USC, do you think if it is wise to rent a car or we should take the public transportation for our extra day?
3) For one extra day (literally from Friday afternoon to Saturday afternoon), what else can we visit or see besides the wonderful USC (:-))? </p>
<p>There is a Raddison near USC that people stay at but it does not have great reviews on trip advisor. When we had to go to USC for a competition, we stayed at the Boneventure hotel downtown and found it very easy to get to USC (around 2 or 3 freeway exits for just go down Figuroa the entire way. We got the room for around $100 on Priceline and $120 on the hotel website. </p>
<p>If coming from the Midwest, you have to go to the beach.</p>
<p>The nicest hotel relatively [1.5 mi] near USC is the Omni in downtown LA-right accross form the Disney performing arts center. They have a USC parents rate,which is about 70% off rack rate, but you have to speak to someone at the front desk to request it. You should get a car to make it easier to drop off your son and then go sight seeing. If the past is any indication, your son will be staying at USC the night before his interview, so don’t expect to see him much for much of the time he is in LA.</p>
<p>The Radisson really is the most convenient - it is literally right across the street. Several floors are USC dorms - it kind of adds to the excitement for the prospective Trojans to ride on the elevator with actual USC students. As it is USC’s hotel, it offers a very good discount for the Explore dates (book through STA and mention that you want the discounted Explore rates). It is a bit shabby, but comfortable. You will have a USC parking pass for Explore, and it is convenient to leave your car in the on-campus structure right across from the Radisson. Parents have LOTS of activities planned for them, so being close to the action is a benefit.</p>
<p>If you want to explore Los Angeles, a car is a must. </p>
<p>1) Radisson is across the street from USC–in fact, some of the floors in the Radisson are actually used as USC student housing. The location is ideal, but the accommodations get so-so reviews here. Depends on what your family is used to.</p>
<p>2) Almost no one gets around LA on public transportation. Maybe someday, but it’s a vast city and just getting to the beach from USC can take a couple of hours by bus. On your tight schedule, a car will allow you more sightseeing time. You also need to get from LAX to your hotel, maybe your hotel (if you stay downtown) to campus and back, around town on your free day, and then back to LAX. It takes a certain amount of city driving savvy, a good map or GPS, and a son/daughter who acts as co-pilot navigator, but a car is pretty necessary.</p>
<p>3) What does your family like to do? What is of interest to your S? There are a million places to go and see from beachy to sporty to cultural to funky to shopping. Give us some guidance and we’ll give you more suggestions.</p>
<p>There are several other “What to do you in LA?” threads started by parents that I have seen if you search for them. I also second renting a car for the day and deciding what sort of things you want to see/do so people can suggest ideas.</p>
<p>As a midwest dad who has made a few trips to USC our favorite activities have been to (1) go to the beach especially Venice/Santa Monica for people watching. There are some nice beach towns down toward San Diego that are really charming with great beaches. (2) Go to Hollywood Blvd and walk around. (3) Drive around Beverly Hills and the areas just to the north and west of Beverly Hills. All these items are touristy, but that’s what we were. Soon we expect to be a little more sophisticated, but that was fun for the early visits. </p>
<p>I also recommend driving a little around LA and the USC neighborhood so that you can get comfortable with where your son will be. We are from a smaller town and my wife was worried about our relatively sheltered son living in the middle of a poor working class neighborhood in a big city. Every visit has made her more comfortable. Mainly S has to avoid taking late night risks and he should be ok. P.S>, son is very happy at USC.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>I would try and stay at the Radisson, otherwise somewhere downtown.</p></li>
<li><p>Rent a car.</p></li>
<li><p>I would check out the Farmer’s Market/The Grove on 3rd/Fairfax, Santa Monica pier, Hollywood and Beverly Hills.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I’ve stayed at the Radisson, Omni and Bonaventure. Radisson is super convenient and the only problem I had was street noise because of a major construction project. Bonaventure is very cheap on Priceline, but the rooms are very small, so that would be a factor if you’re bringing the family. The Omni is really nice all around, and is in a nice section of downtown. Be prepared to pay a lot for parking if you stay downtown, though.</p>
<p>Santa Monica is a fun intro to Socal. The Getty Museum is fantastic. We visited when we were short of time, so we didn’t even see the inside exhibits. But the building and views are well-worth the trip. </p>
<p>Congrats to midwest dad and all the scholarship candidates! It’s so fun to hear the excitement in all these posts!</p>
<p>If the weather is nice (when is it isn’t?) and you like science, the Griffith Observatory is really interesting. It is a beautiful, historic structure in a stunning location, which just reopened after being closed a long time for a very expensive, brilliant restoration. Inside is a compact astronomy/astrophysics type museum, totally up to date. Plus there are some short, easy hikes from there up into the hills to some eye-candy views. </p>
<p>We also like the Getty Museum, both the big one and the Villa. The quality and quantity of the art are a little thin, only because regardless of how much money Getty had it just was’t possible to buy rooms full of masterpieces. The buildings and gardens show what can be done, however, with an unlimited budget to exhibit the art.</p>
<p>The way to do Santa Monica is park at the metered parking spots on Ocean Ave., just north of Bicknell. Put in enough quarters for 2 hours. From there walk down the hill toward the beach and up the beach to the pier, out on the pier to the end, then back along the surf or the sidewalk as far you like before turning back to your car. This is the part of the beach and adjoining area (south of the pier) that the locals enjoy. The tourists are on the north side of the pier where it is not as nice but access is more obvious.</p>
<p>Regarding Santa Monica, 3rd street promenade is a must…a pedestrian street with lots of shopping, people watching, and the street performers, and a farmers market on Saturdays.</p>
<p>Neighbourhood around USC…Explore offers bus tours, very informative for those who do not know the area and who feel uneasy. You may be pleasantly surprised. USC is also very respected by the neighbouring communities…lots of outreach programs etc.</p>
<p>Thanks vicky1. i guess u must have received the acceptance letter at the same time ? i hope my d letter is on it’s way. She rec her package on last thur</p>
<p>(This message is written from my Dad, who doesn’t have an account yet. We’re gonna’ change that soon…)</p>
<p>MidwestDad2-
We travel to LA frequently and I’ve got to tell you there are no really great or fun hotels close to USC. I’d suggest searching through downtown LA, which is not that far from USC and loaded with interesting hotels in which to stay (i.e.- Sofitel). For something decent in LA, though, most hotels will run $250-$400 a night. If you’re satisfied with a good quality 3-star, contact USC’s travel agency and they’ll set you up.
Definitely rent a car! If you want to see Hollywood, Bel Air, Beverly Hills, etc… you’re going to want to have the freedom a car gives you. The freeways can be brutal and are jammed 20 hours a day - just prepare yourself for that. Last time in SoCal, we stayed in Orange County, 30 miles South of LA, and it took us almost two hours to get up to USC (and that was in the carpool lane)! You won’t have that problem from downtown.
Oh my gosh, there are more than enough things to see. My daughter recommends the Grove, CityWalk (next to Universal), and the movie studios. Though, a day will only give you certain time frame - I say you should pick one or two things and focus on them instead of trying to see everything… because you won’t scratch the surface. The number of things to do are overwhelming. </p>