<p>How often do you kids (current students) drive around in Los Angeles? Do you have to, y'know, get on the highway? In your own car? I'm sure Pomona and the other Claremont Colleges provide some means of transporting kids into LA... yes? Is it even necessary to leave the town of Claremont that often? Because I honestly just don't believe I'm even capable of driving in LA, much less on the freeway. Sorry for the ridiculous question, but I'm honestly curious.</p>
<p>I don't think it's a ridiculous question at all. I'm a junior abroad right now, so I'm one of the current students you're looking for. Students don't go into LA as often as you might think. Trips are usually taken on the weekends, but there is plenty to do on campus or the other colleges that you really don't need to go out into LA. Most of the social life is on campus, but of course if you do have a car, you can go anywhere as often as you like. However, you'll have to take the highway to get downtown, as well as Pasadena, or basically any other tourist place you want to see.</p>
<p>There is a train station a block south of campus that can take you straight to Union Station in downtown LA, so that's one way to avoid the highway. It's about a 45-50 minute ride down, and from there, you can take buses or different underground lines to get to other places. From Union Station, Little Tokyo, Olvera Street, and Chinatown are all within walking distance, so those places you can go to pretty easily. I've done that a couple of times, and have taken the train and then bus down to USC before. Public transportation past Union Station isn't the greatest though (it's nothing like DC or Boston). I'm going to bring my car to school after I come back from being abroad, and as a senior, I definitely plan to go off campus more often.</p>
<p>Does that answer your question?</p>
<p>There are trips too to ski areas, plays, lectures etc. The school provides transportation for Outdoor Trips to Yosemite and other sites. A car is not necessary. That said my S went to Pomona with no highway experience and now drives all over LA, has been to every beach around, so don't rule out that it can become familiar and comfortable to drive the highways.</p>
<p>Oh I forgot to mention that the school recently got a shuttle called the Sagecoach, which is a 25-passenger shuttle. I think about every week or every other week, the school plans trips off campus to places around the SoCal area, and the transportation is free. If the place requires an admissions fee, the cost is either subsidized or free as well. Last semester, I took it to go to Pasadena and the Disney Concert Hall (they subsidized the concert tickets substantially). There are also trips to museums, amusement parks, the LA market, etc. We also have the Sagehen Shuttle which is a six-passenger van that you can request to take you anywhere around the area. You have to pay by the mile, but it's a cheap rate. You also have to request it a week in advance though, making it less convenient, so most people usually just end up asking their friends for rides.</p>
<p>Thanks for the info, it's interesting to know!</p>
<p>gnatcire-by the way, where are you studying abroad right now?</p>
<p>I'm studying in London at UCL for Pomona's special neuroscience study abroad program. So far, it's been an amazing experience - definitely consider London if you're thinking about studying abroad in college.</p>
<p>hi, i'm a freshman, and i just brought my car out second semester. it's not that it was necessary, but it def. is nice. i have an off-campus job, so it def. makes it easier in that regard. it's also nice to have the option of going out, even though i spend most of my time on campus. but it's totally ok if you don't have a car. what gnatcire is talking about is that pomona recently developed a list of "47 things every sagehen should do before leaving pomona" which includes things like visit the la brea tar pits, old town pasadena, joshua tree national park, etc. it seems like first semester there was usually one major off campus event that pomona students could get transportation too (and cheaper costs overall) every weekend and they use the sagecoach to take ppl there. you can also make target/trader joe runs once a week in the sagehen shuttle for $2 if you need any miscellaneous things. good luck!</p>
<p>gnatcire </p>
<p>So the neuroscience program in London is neat, eh? I want to major in neuroscience and was a little upset that the study abroad was in London. How's access to the rest of Europe? I know my sister did study aborad in Italy and traveled all over.</p>
<p>You can study abroad basically anywhere as a neuroscience major, and many people have done so, so don't worry about that. I have a friend who is in Florence right now and she is a neuroscience major. The UCL program itself only accepts neuroscience majors (unless there is extra space). For my program, we have a month off for spring break, so most people do travel around Europe during that time. Many people who study abroad in Europe often travel all over the continent since everything is so close and plane tickets are so cheap. One person from the Pomona/UCL program is actually in Paris this weekend.</p>
<p>hi, while considering study abroad programs you should look the length of their spring breaks and the opportunities for continental travel, since that's a huge part of the study abroad experience (in my opinion at least). for example, the florence program only has a 2 week spring break, but at least in previous years there were no classes on friday and pomona sponsored free trips to other italian cities on the weekends. yay!</p>