<p>Thanks for the info, researching4emb, we’ll definitely check it out for the younger son. Occidental sounds like a treasure.</p>
<p>You’ve got a lot of information here, but thought I’d add my 2 cents worth anyway. </p>
<p>Both Stanford and Berkeley will be on break March 22-26, back on March 29.</p>
<p>Parking at both places is hell and both are fierce about ticketing. If you use a car, there is a parking garage near the Cantor Museum at Stanford and parking (sometimes) outside the museum, also parking at Tressider.</p>
<p>The BART/Cal Train suggestion is not bad, especially if you are traveling at rush hour. You could stay in San Francisco and travel by Cal Train to Stanford one day, BART to Berkeley the next. Cal Train has a website with schedules. If you have an iPhone, there is an app called iBART that will help you figure out how to get around. BART goes to SFO, so you could fly out of there in the evening after seeing Berkeley or take a cab to the Oakland airport. I agree - it’s nice to be in the area the evening before the tour so that you’re not in a rush. Occasionally I have to have a car in LA so I drive, but ordinarily I’d rather have my leg amputated than have to make the drive down I5.</p>
<p>You should see Stanford, not because you’ll get brownie points for it but because it’s an unusual campus. On the East Coast the only campus I’ve seen that is at all comparable is Cornell, although Duke is as spread out. Cal and CalTech are more urban (Cal in particular). Harvey Mudd is suburban and very small, but it has the advantage of the being in a consortium with other colleges. Taken all in all they’re a nice representative sample of what’s out here.</p>
<p>My feeling about Santa Clara is that while it has a good reputation regionally, it isn’t well known nationally. Unless you are sure you are going to settle permanently in California I don’t think it’s worth private school tuition plus all the extra travel expense. Of course if you can get good merit aid that equation might change! Your time out here is very limited and adding Santa Clara to your itinerary might just end up stressing you out. It’s nice to have the luxury of wandering around and getting to know the campus.</p>
<p>If you have extra time in SoCal and are thinking of majoring in engineering, USC is not far off the path between Harvey Mudd and LAX. Since you are flying out so early you should find a hotel close to LAX for your final night.</p>
<p>If you have extra time, you should look at the consortium colleges (Pomona, etc.) with Harvey Mudd. Mudd sometimes turns people off, but the other campuses have a different vibe. You can cross-register for classes among the group, so it’s a way to expand your options.</p>
<p>On the UC Berkeley campus, you might enjoy the view from the top of the Campanile.
On the Stanford campus, try going up to the top of Hoover Tower.
Both take about 20 minutes to do and give you an amazing view of their respective campuses.</p>
<p>As someone who works at Caltech, it may just be possible to do the SoCal part of the trip using public and airport (i.e., SuperShuttle, taxi, etc.) transportation. Here’s how to do it:
- Fly from Oakland (or SFO) to Burbank airport. Catch a SuperShuttle van service to Pasadena (stay at the Saga). 2) From Caltech, take a taxi to the Gold Line light rail station in Pasadena. The Gold Line will take you to Union Station in downtown Los Angeles. Take the San Bernadino Line of the Metrolink train to the Claremont Station. From here, you can get a taxi to your hotel. The station is a few blocks from Pomona College. The website is here: [Metrolink</a> :: Claremont](<a href=“http://www.metrolinktrains.com/stations/detail.php?id=90]Metrolink”>http://www.metrolinktrains.com/stations/detail.php?id=90) . 3) Book SuperShuttle service from Harvey Mudd to the airport of your choice for departure back east. </p>
<p>You will have to check the various van service and public transport prices to compare with car rental. I suspect that the car might end up being cheaper and certainly more flexible, but this way will keep you from “experiencing” the SoCal freeways if that is an issue.</p>
<p>I forgot the part that made our trip work - get a car with GPS or take a device with good GPS.
Our trip was years ago and Hertz “neverlost” did steer us wrong a few times - like into a strawberry distribution truck entry instead of a Wendy’s, but it helped. Now that online mapping is so great, your student can be a real participant in the drive.</p>
<p>I second that on the GPS. I did my S’s trip without the GPS and recently my D’s with it. My stress level was so much lower, and made everything so much easier. The best part is if you mess up the GPS steers you back on course. And lets you know where the nearest gas station is, how far to the next restaurant. Its great!</p>
<p>If you have a portable GPS that you own…bring it with you on the trip. That way you can enter the addresses BEFORE you leave home…and you will know how to operate the thing. The ones from the rental companies are not all that terrific.</p>
<p>On the subject of visiting Harvey Mudd - I really support the suggestion above of visiting other parts of the claremont consortium while you are there. My DD went down for a visit to Claremont McKenna - and added on Pomona and Scripps simply because she was going to be there. </p>
<p>Well she applied to Pomona and ED to Scripps and will be attending Scripps in the fall. CM? It wasn’t the right fit - and she knew it (as did I) before the information session was over.</p>
<p>Without going to visit more than one campus, it is hard to understand:</p>
<p>1) How close the claremont schools are to each other - they fit together like pieces of a jigsaw and walking from one campus to another is simply a walk across a parking lot or a small street.</p>
<p>2) How different the colleges are from each other both architecturally and in terms of academic atmosphere. Pomona is a classic “east coast” quad style campus lots of classic old buildings build around a huge grassy area. Scripps is a Spanish style, west coast campus - smaller courtyards, lined with orange trees and roses, with fountains and lots of little gathering places. The other schools are just as distinctive in their own way.</p>
<p>3) How intertwined the courses are. Students routinely enroll in courses at the other campuses - making getting to know kids from the other campuses easy. </p>
<p>I hope you have time to do more than one visit. 2 in a day is easy - and three is certainly possible if the tour times line up.</p>
<p>Hey KnowledgeinChaos! How’s the planning and scheduling going? Any other questions?</p>