@tpcrd66 Just take Figeuroa out of Staples center straight down to USC, it really is only 10 minutes even in traffic. Right on Jefferson, left on Vermont, left on Exposition will take you around the perimeter if doing drive by, but you really should walk the inside of the campus to appreciate it. If you stay on Figueroa past Jefferson you can enter at McCarthy Way entrance (#3) and there is a parking structure - it is $10 to park in the garages there. Entrance 6 off of Vermont (at 37th) is almost always open as well and has another big garage there, some of those along Exposition aren’t always open. Make your way to the Campus Center (Ronald Tutor Center) from either of those and you will get a good feel for the campus. Enjoy!
It is a bustling area, if Thurs-Fri-Sat night the area will be full of students out and about. Other nights too, but those are the weekend nights for the students.
USC gives merit scholarships, have to apply by December 1st to qualify. Anyone that applies by then is evaluated for merit $. If NMF and accepted, it is guaranteed 1/2 tuition, plus a variety of others, check the USC scholarship page:
Also in LA - LMU if looking at private/Jesuit universities, they also give merit. Campus is smaller of course, and very pretty, gorgeous views. Very close to LAX.
If going to Chapman, gotta do Bruxies for lunch/snack, just to say you went. Yum. But there are lots of good restaurant choices in downtown Orange, hard to choose.
As for hotels near USD, you might want to look at one of the resorts over on Mission Bay. It’s also quite close to USD (possibly even closer than Mission Valley). It’s much less commercial than Mission Valley, and more of a vacation-y feel. There are sometimes some great deals on Priceline.
(Just working my way backward on the thread – if you want her to fall in love with San Diego (which is easy to do!), Mission Bay/Mission Beach/Pacific Beach and Old Town are the way to go. I’d stay out of Mission Valley – nothing but malls and office parks.)
@ACollegeFan I second Bruxies- they have the best sandwiches in waffles and it is a stop everytime I go up to the area. The Ayres is good and there is a restaurant attached to the hotel that many like. A lot of new restaurants have popped up in the Circle at Orange (where Chapman is located), Blaze Pizza, Pie Hole (love the Mexican Hot Chocolate Pie) and Pizza Press are some good ones. I alos recommend Citrus Grille and Felix’s (good Cuban food). Watson’s is a old fashion counter restaurant that has been in a few movies.
The closest hotel to USD is the brand new Hilton Garden Inn at Old Town. It opened up about 6 months ago. You could take your daughter to Old Town Mex or Harney Sushi in Old Town for some nearby restaurant places. The student center at USD has a nice restaurant “La Gran Terraza”. Down the hill from USD is a strip mall where the trolley stops and a good sandwich/salad place called “Urbane Cafe” which the students love. If you want her to fall in love with San Diego then take her to the Little Italy section of SD and eat at Juniper and Ivy (run by Top Chef winner Richard Blais) or go to Coasterra on Harbor Island-views to die for and very good food. La Jolla is nice but it is always hard to get into and out because of traffic. Airport is only 10 minutes from USD. You could stay at Liberty Station at either the Courtyard by Marrriot or the Hilton Homewood Suites- both are right by the airport and just 10 minutes to USD. Liberty Station has a ton of places to eat, Tender Greens (great salads) and the brand new Liberty Public Market (patterned after Reading Market in Philly) with Mess Hall or Breakfast Republic as good choices.
Good luck to your daughter- any colleges mentioned would be a great option, my nephew graduated two years ago fromm Chapman, my dad use to teach at the Claremont colleges and USC years ago and I am a USD alumni.
@tpcrd66 As others have mentioned Staples to USC is 10 mins on Sat. There will even be (if there isn’t an even at Colo) street parking on Fig or Vermont. (BTW, if you really only want to do a “drive-by” or quick look, just pull in the Vermont gate, wave, and they’ll let you drive on no prob. If they ask - which they rarely do - just say "picking up my kid at Parkhurst - or something and you can drive around. Campus is deceptively nice compared to nearby area.)
@ACollegeFan Don’t know the Jamaica Bay but that location is good. Wouldn’t go back down to Marina Del Rey for 2nd night if you are then headed out to Claremont in the AM. Stay downtown, it will save you a lot of drive time.
@ACollegeFan - @itsv has some excellent additional suggestions for the San Diego leg of the trip. The Hilton Garde Inn in Old Town has almost brand new rooms, but know that the location is on a busy corner by the freeway. I had been thinking that I should have also suggested Liberty Station and the hotels there - Marriott Courtyard and Homewood Suites, I think. You could walk around there for hours. In addition to @itsv’s restaurant suggestions in Liberty Station, you can also check out Con Pane (bakery), Moniker General (coffee), Soda & Swine, and Fireside by Patio. And definitely stop by Liberty Public Market!
@calidad2020 I was going to drive back to the Jamaica Bay Inn for the 2nd night after USC, so I am so glad that you mentioned that was not a good idea. I’m still debating driving to Claremont after the USC tour and staying there the 2nd night. I’m not keen on driving a strange highway at night with lots of traffic. I looked around at hotels near USC and it didn’t seem like a nice area. Should I just tough it out and do the night drive? Thanks for your help.
The Radisson on Figueroa is owned by USC and very nice. Alternately you could drive straight down Fig to DTLA (Downtown Los Angeles) but the hotels and parking are pricier. There are numerous fine restaurants in that area.
Steer clear of LA Live it is like Times Square. (Unless you like that sort of thing.)
Personally, I preferred to get to the locale and sleep nearby the morning’s tour. Makes the am much less stressful.
Freeways are well marked. Just follow google maps or Waze. The former is usually more direct, and won’t send you on any cross-county sojourns thru not-nice areas.
I totally agree with @bluebayou. I think a long freeway drive in morning rush hour trying to make it to a scheduled tour or information session would be the most stressful and least desirable option.
Agree with above - tough it out and drive in the pm. Accidents, freeway construction, etc. happen at all hours and you don’t want to miss your morning tour.
What are her top choices? If she is really interested in USC, staying in the area and checking it out might be worth it. If she isn’t, make your way to Claremont.
For both USC to Claremont and Claremont to San Diego I wouldn’t even consider driving in the morning. I’d have a nice relaxing dinner and drive after traffic dies down.
I already “voted” for the evening drive back on post #8 but I’ll state it again. It’s less stress a nicer area and OP has already stated that the Claremont Colleges are the current front runners.
Another vote for getting to your destination in the evening. The mornings are stressful enough just getting everything together and getting to the tour on time.
We did something similar, but our first night was closer to UCLA. Saw UCLA and USC in one day and then did the long drive out to Claremont. We used Waze (the app) and it helped us tremendously (in terms of both directions and avoiding some of the worst parts of the evening traffic). It wasn’t “easy” but we were able to get to Claremont in time to have dinner and then collapse.
If you need coffee in Claremont, try Augies instead of Starbucks. If you need a burger during the LA to Claremont drive, don’t forget In n Out;). Good luck
I agree with the others who say do your driving in the evening, rather than waking up at the crack of dawn and chewing your nails while you sit in morning rush hour traffic wondering if you’ll miss your campus tour.
How funny to see so many other fans of the Doubletree in Claremont! It’s a nice hotel and definitely the best mid-range option in the town of Claremont. There are a few budget motels in Claremont as well. We once stayed at the Claremont Lodge which is on the order of a Motel 6 – no frills, but it has wi-fi, it’s clean and it’s conveniently located. If the Doubletree is booked up, that could be an option.
We LOVE Casa 425 but there’s no question it’s pricey. I’d save it for if your D ends up attending Scripps or Pomona and you go there for Parents Weekend (warning: it books up far ahead of time!). My husband and I stayed there while taking our younger D to tour the Claremont schools – with older D at Scripps, younger D was able to stay in her dorm room with her so we only had to get the hotel room for the 2 of us. It was wonderful being able to just stroll out the door and walk to any of the restaurants in the Village. It turned the trip into a special weekend away for the two of us (even though that special weekend was interrupted by campus tours!).
Anyway, if Pomona and Scripps are your D’s top choices, I would definitely get to Claremont the night before so you and she will be fresh for the tours and info sessions there. You probably don’t need to spend the second night in Claremont – a quick drive through the Village will give your D plenty of insight into what that area is like.
But the main thing for your D is to get a sense of the campuses themselves – as @bluebayou says, there are some kids who dislike all the Claremont schools on sight and won’t even get out of the car for the tour! If a peaceful, quiet, tree-filled campus with very few students visible walking around is not to your D’s taste, don’t be surprised if the Claremont schools shoot from the top to the bottom of her list.
Another vote from a frequent driver on the 15, 91, 57, and 210; drive to the Claremont colleges the evening before your visit.
^^^^Agree, I am not disparaging the Claremont Colleges, but my kids also wouldn’t get out of the car. They were disappointed in the surrounding neighbor area and ended up wanting “bigger” colleges with college town activities.
@dustypig is right that the 5C campuses can seem too quiet for people who like a constant bustle of students streaming across campus. My D says almost all classes run in the same blocks of time, with 50-minute classes running 3 days/week and 75-minute classes 2 days/week.
This system pushes most of the campus activity to more concentrated blocks, so instead of having a constant stream of students milling around to go to class, there are times when the campus is quiet (although for students, it often seems “tranquil” instead of “dead”) and times when there are people everywhere. This has the added benefit to students of making class scheduling difficulties much less common, and pushing students together in scheduling so it’s very easy to find times that work for everyone when you want to study with friends or classmates. Also, my daughter is a big fan of this system because it forces everyone to eat lunch at approximately the same window; there are no classes from 12:15-1:15, so most people eat lunch then and it’s easy to bump into people and make new friends in the dining halls.
