Mom & D Planning California College Trip--Help?

<p>CalTrain stops at the edge of the Santa Clara campus too.</p>

<p>Actually Santa Clara is also on the Cal Train - stops right across the street from the main entrance.</p>

<p>Having said that, I think I would go with a car given the tight schedule. Public transit is just so slow in the bay area and you have tight time constraints.</p>

<p>As for LA - I would look at the Ontario airport - a short drive on a not to congested freeway from both Cal Tech and Harvey Mudd whereas LAX is next to the worst freeway in the nation - to be avoided at all cost.</p>

<p>For the trip to LA from SF…remember to factor in the time driving to the airport and the time you have to be there prior to flight departure…and the time to pick up the rental car in L.A. (you will need a car there to get to all of the schools you have listed), and time to pick up luggage, etc. You may find that a drive from SF to LA is just as fast…or close to it.</p>

<p>We did a trip that a little different in 2006. We actually flew to San Diego. Then we drove to L.A. saw Claremont McKenna, Chapman and Pepperdine. Drove back to San Diego (where we stayed with relatives). FLEW from SD to San Jose for a ONE day trip. Took a VERY early flight to San Jose…and a late flight back. Rented a car. Saw Santa Clara in the morning and Stanford (just for the beauty of the campus…DD did not apply there and wasn’t interested in more). You could do the same…but in reverse and fly from the Bay area (whichever airport is closer to where you will be). </p>

<p>Honestly, I think you’ll be better off, and more flexible if you drive. In my opinion, you will need a car both in the L.A. area AND in the bay area.</p>

<p>Just wanted to clarify a point. All of the above posters are correct about the ineffectiveness of public transportation for your visit.</p>

<p>However, as far as availability of public transportation if you actually choose to attend one of these schools - I think you will find that they vary wildly. If you go to Berkeley the BART is excellent. I frequently fly from LAX to Oakland and wouldn’t even consider renting a car to go into SF (or Berkeley for that matter). The Bay areas has multiple public transportation lines/possiblities.</p>

<p>SoCal is not so hot. The public transportation arouind Caltech is better than it used to be (they now have a Gold Metro line) but since SoCal is so spread out there are lots of places that are not convenient to public transport.</p>

<p>It may be cheapest and/or most convenient, viewing the two airport dilemma, to fly into SFO and do the Northern California Schools, then Fly into Ontario rent a car visit Mudd then CT then return the car and fly home from Ontario. I second using Enterprise. </p>

<p>I could be wrong about this since I am a northerner but is there any pt in flying to LAX at all unless the OP wants to see that part of the city or something.</p>

<p>Also consider adding Occidental to your list. It is just about 35 minutes from Mudd and has highly respected science and math programs. Plus you may want to be able to compare the LAC environment to that of the other schools. Mudd and Oxy in a day is a very doable trip.</p>

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<p>You’re right - Use Burbank or Ontario, not LAX.</p>

<p>I just wrote LAX in my post because it is closer to my house, which is likely not on the OP’s agenda :)</p>

<p>why bovertine I had heard that you were on the “See the homes of famous CCposters” tour ;)</p>

<p>Depending on your interest in seeing San Francisco. . . by car you can follow the very well marked Scenic Drive. Just look for the blue signs with the seagull. This route ( I think it is about 50 miles) will take you through all of the various touristy and less touristy areas of the city. It allows for magnificent views and if done during the week is not to stressful. </p>

<p>[San</a> Francisco 49 Mile Scenic Drive - City of San Francisco Tourist & Visitor Scenic Route](<a href=“http://www.onlyinsanfrancisco.com/maps/49miledrive.asp]San”>http://www.onlyinsanfrancisco.com/maps/49miledrive.asp)</p>

<p>Hmm… Another question…</p>

<p>Exactly how would sitting in on classes work?</p>

<p>Check with each of the admissions office. They will be able to tell you if it’s possible and what classes are available to sit in on.</p>

<p>LA native and longtime Pasadenan here. As for hotels, I second the suggestion of Saga, a classic '50s motel. It’s where all the Caltechers stay. If you choose Caltech (and it chooses you), this is a great small city with increasingly good public transportation, between our Arts bus and the Gold Line.</p>

<p>Close to Caltech and Saga is a terrific restaurant that’s a Caltech hangout-- Daisy Mint. Thai-Korean-pan Asian. Reasonably priced, very good.</p>

<p>Yes, fly in to Burbank or Ontario if you can, and avoid LAX.</p>

<p>As for sitting in on classes, I’m headed east shortly with my D to look at schools. If you dig around on the websites, you’ll see which ones will let juniors sit in on classes and which won’t, at least not until after the incoming freshman for next year have finished their visiting/observing. Then you just email or call the department in question and ask for help setting up a class visit. My D is visiting 7 schools, and she has interviews at 5 of them and class visits at 2 of them. Interviews are easier to set up than class visits, and they seem to be helpful for both the prospective student (to talk to an actual professor) and for the school to get to know you.</p>

<p>Finally, Occidental is a great school, not as strong in math/science as the name schools you’re considering, but worth exploring, and if you’re Caltech/Stanford material, you could get great money there. I know tons of Oxy people-- current students, professors, alums-- and everyone loves it.</p>

<p>Happy travels!</p>

<p>If you are going to Berkeley, dont forget to sample the food available for the students in the surrounding area. There is Top Dog on Durant Ave, and Gypsy’s Trattoria Italiano also on Durant. My S swear by Gypsy’s as a place for some inexpensive Italian food. He love the chicken pesto there. I tried the gnocchi and it was good, and really reasonable.</p>

<p>I recommend flying from Oakland to Burbank if you’re seeing Cal on Day 2 and Cal Tech on Day 3. Southwest is great. If you were going to see Harvey Mudd before Cal Tech then fly into Ontario - it’s only 10 minutes away. You will definitely have to rent a car in Southern California. You can manage with public transport in Northern California, if you prefer, but it will add quite a bit to the travel time between colleges. No problem getting to the colleges or airports, though.</p>

<p>“Finally, Occidental is a great school, not as strong in math/science as the name schools you’re considering, but worth exploring, and if you’re Caltech/Stanford material, you could get great money there”</p>

<p>I’m curious about Occidental. I have read very little on cc about it, but several high achieving kids from my son’s high school started there recently, and I’m wondering what the draw is, and trying to figure out another school to compare it to. Anyone here know about it?</p>

<p>For driving between Caltech and HMC, the 210 has a HOV lane that wasn’t too crowded outside rush hour.</p>

<p>Caltech is 10-15 minutes from Occidental. Occidental is furthest west, then Caltech, then Mudd.</p>

<p>KnowledgeInChaos, ask your mom about the tradeoff in driving vs. flying. If it’s going to be a massive dropoff fee to take a car from SFO to LAX, then that settles the issue right there. Also, if your mom doesn’t like doing long boring drives, or doesn’t like doing long drives in a new area, that’s another consideration as well. The Berkeley to Mudd drive will take 6 to 7 hours with minimal stops. That’s the timing I get with two drivers and switching off. Your mom will be the only one driving, and she might prefer shorter drives and down time at the airport. Oakland, Burbank and Ontario are all small airports that are easy and quick to navigate. </p>

<p>To make the morning flight back home easier, consider turning in your car the night before and staying at a hotel at LAX. Once you get your schedule more firmed up, ask here again for help with timing to make sure you avoid the worst of rush hour.</p>

<p>I know a fair amount about Occidental, which is part of my community. It is a strong, small liberal arts college of the type that is plentiful in the east but not so plentiful in the west. Solid liberal arts education, excellent core curriculum, small classes, good professors. Many of my friends are Oxy alums (some of whom were there with Obama), and they are ALL smart, engaged, creative people who have had successful careers: a graphic designer, a lawyer/businessman, a writer, a head Imagineer, a CFO, the head of an NPR station, a music supervisor, a casting director, etc etc. I’m friends with a few professors, and all are great people who are really committed to the school. And I know several current/recent students, all of whom love it.</p>

<p>Eagle Rock is not New England, so while the campus is attractive, it is not the fantasy liberal-arts college campus. But otherwise I would say it’s comparable to many well-regarded eastern and midwestern LA colleges, such as Grinnell, Skidmore, Connecticut, Dickinson, Colby, etc. Schools in its class on the west coast… probably Pitzer, Willamette, Whitman… and a notch or so above Lewis & Clark and Linfield.</p>

<p>just wanted to make sure the op knows that Stanford doesn’t keep tract of student visits, or do interviews, unlike other colleges. We personally found the tour itself to be pretty worthless, as the information was pretty generic. So if either of those were factors, you might want to reconsider trying to jam so many miles into 1 trip and visit another time. Many students make their first trip to Stanford after they have been accepted. In LA you should definitely see Mudd and Pomona[ which DO keep tract of student interest and DO interview] as well as Cal Tech. You may also want to look at USC, which draws a lot of very smart NMF’s away from many top colleges with their 1/2 to full tuition scholarships.</p>

<p>Be sure to join the airlines Frequent Flier plan if you haven’t already. Look on their website for “partner deals” and you can often get a discount code for car rentals. This can save you 10% or more on your rental. Also, search for car rental discount codes on the internet; you’ll get a list of the most effective ones. </p>

<p>I would borrow a GPS for your trip, and practice using it before you go; you can put in all the addresses in advance. It will save you and your mom a lot of time and trouble.</p>

<p>From a native Californian. AVOID LAX.
Even if your flight may cost a little more. Fly into Ontario airport. Its convenient, shiny, new, easy to manage and not crowded.
AGAIN (as this cannot be mentioned enough) AVOID LAX–one of the worst airports in the world.</p>