@TeriYaki1 I just looked through my uber rides and it looks like about $30. I’m assuming her lyfts were about the same. Split between friends it’s not too bad. And she only lyfted back at night. If she went to the beach during the day, I think she took the metro both ways.
@Marcie123 thank you. It gives me a rough estimate as to transportation.
@TeriYaki1 My daughters used a mix of transportation methods… from renting a ZipCar (available on and near campus - which is great as it is just an hourly fee and includes the gas used), to free Ubers then Lyfts within the DPS Zone near USC to Ubers/Lyfts all over L.A. to the Metro. Overall, getting around is fairly easy and not as expensive as you might expect. Ultimately, making friends with someone who has a car is also a great thing in the long run 
My girls went to Downtown L.A., Santa Monica, The Grove, Hollywood, Pasadena, Universal Studios and even Anaheim (Disney) often.
My D also goes to Disney often. This past semester she went with a class, with a club, with USC friends and twice met up with her sister who goes to school in Claremont and has a car!
@WWWard thanks! Lol. Those are all the places that she is very familiar with and that’s also the reason why I’m wondering about the costs of uber/lyfts. She is a transferring sophomore and last year we allowed her to uber/lyft (as long as she had a companion). But the proximity of places to USC and the cost of uber/lyft concerns my PayPal account ??
@TeriYaki1 I pay for some of her lyfts. If she’s going to the airport or to visit her sister. But if she’s going someplace with friends or to visit her BFF at LMU, then she pays for those herself. Or she’s supposed to anyways!
Wow… I truly dislike the new look and functionality of college confidential. Ugh!
Agreed. Where’s the search button? (forum or thread). I can only see the main search button.
@CADREAMIN Do you happen to remember what foam mattress topper you had purchased? Thank you!
For those parents who had students in McCarthy, does anybody know what the one-day retreat is like the day before the rest of the school moves in?
@excitedtobehere the McCarthy retreat was a full-day event. Last year, I think there was a scavenger hunt around campus and they went to a baseball game at night. It was a great way to meet a lot of people in the dorm!
@sonav Here ya go:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002NEG15E/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
We bought 3 or 4 of the ones above for our students. We found the ones at Costco not great and returned one from there. Just our opinion…
Oh and don’t open it until you get to school! They have it packed tight/compressed. We didn’t have any smell issue with this one at all and they didn’t overheat on it either. Seemed like great value - a bunch of kids on the floor ordered it after mine showed up with theirs. 
They are not required for Thornton students, @MMRose. My son did take the math placement so that he could take math courses. I would do it if your student thinks they may want to take courses in those departments later on. I agree it is better to take them now, while things are fresh.
@excitedtobehere My son did not want to participate in the retreat, but it was required. They did a scavenger hunt, went to a dodger game. My son was not happy! He just wanted to practice his guitar for his upcoming placement test at Thornton, LOL. He did get out of the Dodger game. He is not big on group activities, but some kids love that!
@CADREAMIN Thank you for all your help! We have just started shopping. ? Hopefully mist of it can just be done online. Do you know if there is somewhere online that gives you room dimensions with furniture size as well? Trying to figure out how high those beds are if we want to buy storage for underneath as well as a rug for between the 2 beds. Thank you again!
Thanks!
@MMRose In my son’s McCarthy room there were drawers under the beds. I don’t have dimensions, some of the rooms in his 4 bedroom suite were slightly bigger. If you go to https://housing.usc.edu/index.php/buildings/mccarthy-honors-residential-college/ there are pictures in the slide-show of the rooms with the drawers under the beds.
Well, I guess this is it. We’ll see you all at move-in and convocation, even though we won’t recognize each other. Best of luck to all as the students continue on their journey. Fight on!
@MadisonWi Hope yours enjoys New North - it’s a magical year for them and parent’s too!
Good luck to all of you - may these be the most fab four years for you!