<p>I'm planning to visit colleges in California this fall and need help planning the trip. I'm looking to go for 3-4 days and have no idea how I will get from each college to the next. I plan on going visiting:</p>
<p>USC
Pepperdine
Claremont McKenna
Occidental
University of San Diego</p>
<p>From LA to San Diego, is it possible to take a train with Amtrak or something? I'm also looking for more colleges to visit since I'll be in the area. </p>
<p>I'll probably fly into LAX since it's really cheap (only around $230/person) vs. Ontario. If I stay in downtown LA (the Hilton Glendale is pretty cheap for the dates I've selected) or the Westin LAX, will I be able to visit these colleges with a rental car fairly quickly, or would public transportation be easier? Will it be possible to visit 4 colleges in LA in 3 days then USD for a day?</p>
<p>At the maximum, given distances, you could visit two of the LA area colleges in one day. You’ll likely need a car to make this work. I have a suggested pattern below, but I would encourage you to put the campus you think you’ll want to attend most for the afternoon tour, since you’ll likely want to hang around after instead of jumping into rush hour traffic. Unless you’re an earlier riser and just want to stroll a campus by yourself to check it out before the official tour. </p>
<p>If you can stay close to USC (like your Westin LAX) and get the early morning tour, and then add a mid-afternoon tour to Pepperdine, that might work. The trick is to avoid the freeways at the rush hours as much as you can. Day two would then include Oxy (if you stay at Hilton Glendale) for the early morning tour, then quickly head out to Claremont.</p>
<p>This leaves you day three to take the train to San Diego (I’m not familiar for where USD is located to know if the train station is close.)</p>
<p>You need to have a car+adult who will drive you. You will waste too much time trying to use Amtrak. Look up the times for tours for each college. Most will have a morning session and afternoon session. Check if there are any black out days when tours will not be held. Mapquest/Google Map each college in relation to approximation each other. Partner the ones together that are logistically compatible. LA traffic can be brutal. What time of day are you flying into LAX? Can you fly into LAX but depart through San Diego? After the last college visit of the day, I would drive and stay near the college you plan to visit early next morning. Less wear and tear on your psyche and no fighting traffic in the morning.</p>
<p>Oh, gosh, trying to do this by public transportation in SoCal would take you like 2 weeks. Worst public transportation in the civilized world—if you can call it “civilized.”</p>
<p>Pepperdine’s not in LA, it’s in Malibu, maybe 40 miles west-northwest from downtown LA. Count on more than an hour drive time from LAX, more likely two, possibly more depending on time of day & trafficconditions. I’d say that’s Day 1. USC is just south of downtown LA, and Occidental is in the Eagle Rock neighborhood, a bit north from downtown but fairly close. I’d try to get back to downtown LA from Malibu to overnight after Day One, and combine USC and Oxy for Day 2. Claremont-McKenna is a good bit (maybe 40 miles?) east of LA in Claremont, CA, out in the San Gabriel Valley. If you head out that way in the evening of Day 2 after visiting USC and Oxy, you can get a good jump on the day, visit Claremont-McKenna (and at least walk around the other Claremont Colleges because as a CMC student you can take classes at any of them, so they’re relevant to the experience), and still have time to head south in the direction of San Diego, making USD doable in Day 4 and possibly still get back to LAX in time for a late flight out. </p>
<p>On second thougt, Glendale might not be bad. Rooms can be cheap there. If you flew into LAX and made your way to Glendale, that would give you Day 1 to do Oxy & USC from close range; Day 2 to get out to Malibu & back; and Day 3 to head east to Claremont before shooting south to San Diego (easier from Claremont than from downtown LA, I think). And that gives you 2 nights in Glendale, so less time wasted finding your hotel, unpacking & re-packing, etc.</p>
<p>Grueling in either case, but definitely doable with a car. Good luck!</p>
<p>Morning tours begin around 9am and end around 11am. Afternoon tours begin around 1pm. To get to the second destination may be tight depending on traffic and distance. Missing a guided tour because of traffic is disappointing as is having to do a self guided tour because of the traffic. A GPS is a must unless you are very familiar with the freeways and alternate routes.</p>
<p>You could take a train from LA Union station (downtown LA - not far from USC) to downtown San Diego which isn’t that far from USD and you could take the trolley to get pretty close to campus. But it’d be easier to rent a car and just drive to USD from LA then drive back to LAX when you’re done. If you’re under 21 and don’t have someone older than 25 with you to rent a car, it gets more difficult although someone 18 or older s/b able to rent a car from E-Z Rent-a-Car albeit at a premium.</p>
<p>Downtown LA and Union station are nowhere near LAX although I think they have some express buses that go between the two.</p>
<p>Near USD is SDSU - part of the Cla State U system. Further away (15-20 minutes) up in La Jolla (actually still in the city of San Diego) is UCSD - part of the U of Cal system. Another private not too far from USD is Pt. Loma Nazarene U.</p>
<p>Check out Google maps to get an idea of where all these colleges are with respect to each other and realize that the ‘LA area’ is a huge area and it could take longer than you think to get from one college to the other - especially if traffic isn’t cooperative.</p>
<p>If you are interested in Pepperdine, I’d also think about looking at LMU (Loyola Marymount). LMU is very close to LAX (no more than 15 minutes). If you fly into LAX in late afternoon/evening check into a LAX hotel. I think it’s doable. LMU morning, take the coast road to Malibu and Pepperdine (approx. 1 and a half hours). Around midday on a weekday it might work to get to Pepperdine’s afternoon tour though you’d have to leave LMU quickly (depends on times of tours at both schools). After Pepperdine back into LA area checking into hotel that night closer to USC and Oxy for the second day.
3rd day Claremont Colleges.
Then down to SD.
I second the necessity of having a car.
A fifth day if at all possible would give a bit more breathing room.</p>
<p>OP - The prior posters are right … don’t even THINK about trying this without a car. I’ve done this tour twice, once with each daughter. A three-day trip would require perfect luck, but I think four days would be doable. I’m with Sequoia though … I’d take five and spend my spare time checking out some of SoCal’s wonderful beaches!</p>
<p>A couple items: First, chose your flight into SoCal carefully. On one trip our airline dumped us in Phoenix at 10:30 PM (when we were supposed to land in SoCal at 7:30 PM). SW Airlines saved our buns, barely. Second, Pepperdine is a lot further west of LA than the map suggests “Look Ma, it’s just three inches on the map!” and Claremont is a lot further west. To get some idea of how long it would take between campus’ see what Mapquest says … then double that time. You may STILL be late, depending on LA traffic, but at least you start out with a conservative plan. And third, the Occidental campus in Eagle Rock is not easy to find (but it’s definitely worth it when you get there). Plan accordingly.</p>
<p>Like the others I don’t recommend the train. But in case you want to investigate the possibilities, the train that runs between LA and Sn Diego is called the Surfliner. This guy thinks it’s great for travel from Ventura County (north of LA) to points south:</p>
<p>Get a GPS unit with your rental car. When I took my D for a California visit, having the GPS was a lifesaver. The LA freeways are so many lanes wide, I would’ve missed all my terms had the GPS not warned me to keep right or left.</p>
<p>I live in the area and your plan is perfectly doable, assuming you can rent a car. There is at least one car rental at LAX that will rent to under-21s. A GPS is essential. The traffic will not be terrible as long as you stay off the freeways before 10 am and from 3 -7 pm. </p>
<p>Here is what would work best:</p>
<p>Day 1: Arrive LAX. Stay in Santa Monica - 20 minutes north of LAX (You can do a drive-by of LMU on the way) - You can PM me for a list of reasonable Santa Monica hotels </p>
<p>Day 2:
AM - Tour Pepperdine (20-25 minutes north of SM - Beautiful ride - You will be going against traffic)
PM - Tour USC (approx. 45 minutes from Pepperdine) - Have dinner on campus to get sense of nightlife, then drive 15-20 minutes to the Best Western in Eagle Rock near Oxy.</p>
<p>Day 3:
AM - Tour Occidental; after tour drive to Claremont McKenna (1 hour max)
PM - Tour Claremont McKenna. After tour take a look at Pitzer, which is a great safety for Claremont McKenna. In the evening (at around 7:00) drive to San Diego (approx. 2 hours), stay near USD.</p>
<p>Day 4:
AM - Tour USD; drive back to LAX (2 hours ) for late evening flight</p>
<p>If you stay near the college you will be touring in the morning, you should have a fairly relaxed trip, and might even be able to work in some beach time if you add an extra day. Good luck!</p>
<p>If you can, while in San Diego check out the beaches fairly close to USD (Mission Beach, Pacific Beach) and Mission Bay (1/2 mile from USD) to get a sense of one of the attractants for San Diego in general.</p>
<p>Not to complicate things but since you are in the neighborhhood, (it’s just 10 mn from LAX) I would recommend looking at Loyola Marymount. The campus is lovely, mid sized and Jesuit. If you are feelilng like you have a shot at Oxy and CMC then LMU should be a safety for you. Concur with everyone else on the neccessity of the car.</p>
<p>First thing is go to the college websites and look at their tour schedules, if you need to make a reservation, if you want to do a lunch iwth a student or whatever. Those times will determine alot of what your schedule may be. Getting around LA, add at least an extra 20-30minutes to whatever mapquest says when it comes to time. Find ways to avoid I-5 through LA. </p>
<p>One thing to consider when looking at schools in LA, is that its very much a car centered. Either have a car, or know find someone who does. My D really loved some schools down there, but she didn’t want to have to have a car to get places. She likes her publice transportation.</p>
<p>ca87: Please look over post #15 by neuroticparent. It makes the most sense. I lived in LA for 20 years (in Nor Cal now). Between both of my daughters I have visited all these school, possibly more than once.
You must have a car. Do not depend on trains/busses, etc.
See if you can fly into LAX and fly OUT of SD airport. I do this type of thing on Southwest all the time and it is not a big deal for most airlines. Save yourself lots of driving. Rent car in LA to be dropped off at SD airport.
Due to location and traffic patterns, post #15 got it right. See Pepperdine and USC same day. In eveining drive out towards Oxy and CMC. They are both east of LA, CMC being at least an hour east. Drive to SD from there using Interstate 15 until you get further south then head over to SD.
LA traffic is the worst in the world. My youngest D now goes to UCLA. We moved from LA 20 years ago and I hoped to never have to drive there agin but now with D at UCLA we find ourselves there a few times a year…so:
Try to avoid all freeways between 7:00 - 10:00am
Avoid freeways between 3:00-7:00pm
What looks like a 1/2 hour drive on the map could take 90 minutes.
Try to go to new location/hotel after 6 or 7 in the evening so you are close to the
next college in the morning.</p>
<p>What you want to do is doable just be aware of the above and try driving to SD and flying out of there. Good luck!</p>
<p>Hotel suggestions in San Diego - daughter goes to USD. There is an area right there by the school called “Hotel Circle” with lots of various priced hotels (some a bit older, but cheap). Old Town is also close, and another USD parent recommend the Marriott Courtyard there. Also fairly close, and you can get a usd discount if you call and ask for it is The Dana, which is a pretty nice hotel (have stayed there several times). If you want something a little nicer, I have stayed at (and prefer) the DoubleTree Mission Valley on Hazard Center Road, which is an easy drive to campus.</p>
<p>Good luck, and after several college tours, and knowing the nightmare of LA traffic, I agree that it is definately easiest to drive to your next location the night before (after 7 pm), and stay as close to the school you are touring the next morning.</p>