<p>For those coming from NorCal, I heard there is a bus from Bart/Fremont to Union/LA for a cost of $16. I heard this from a guy who commutes regularly from Fremont to LA and back.</p>
<p>Tsdad -- Very happy to hear of your son's great week, especially the script being made into a film, not to mention an actual job in the industry! Very exciting!</p>
<p>tsdad - Your son's success story gets better and better! Very exciting to hear of gainful employment post-USC film!</p>
<p>welcome to ActingMom!</p>
<p>Well... ummm, so I went into the College Confidential Witness Protection Program and have emerged with this laughably pretentious screen name (which means alias in French). But at least now I won't be reminding everyone of bad weather ;)</p>
<p>FauxNom, you crack me up -- hahahaha</p>
<p>Hi FauxNom.</p>
<p>Looks like sunny weather from here on out.</p>
<p>;) ;)</p>
<p>I love it. "FauxNom" fosho hehe</p>
<p>LOL! FauxNom</p>
<p>I once knew a cat called Faux Pas - which is very clever if you say it out loud.</p>
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A tip to share - I just learned Southwest has a student discount, which I will check into --- we are in Northern California, so it works for us --- I'm going to check to see if Virgin America has a similiar rate --- because you can't beat those touch screen monitors, the neon lighting and the black leather seats!
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<p>I found more infor from bus from SF to LAX for NorCal students. My coworker told me if you book it ahead you only pay $16. Cheaper than flying, less headache, less waiting in line.</p>
<p>megabus.com</a> - Schedules for San Francisco to Los Angeles</p>
<p>BTW, I love all the faux stuff, so French!</p>
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Please post, we are further up the West Coast, and it would be useful to us too. I Googled it and the only thing I could come up with is that at some point they offered double "miles" to their student Rapid Rewards members.</p>
<p>So if other parents are coming out I guess I will too. I have two at USC, one graduating with an engineering degree in a few weeks and the other a freshmen. The older one's time at USC was dominated by being part of the Marching Band, and he took full advantage of all the opportunities that offered. Two BCS national championships and two Rose Bowl games, plus many other activities year around, including some that generated significant income. The freshman is a science major, living in North, and set up for an apartment in Webb Tower next year with 3 really good friends she made this year.</p>
<p>I was telling my wife about the move-in day comments, and she reminded me of the specifics of the entering female student who apparently came with everything she owned.</p>
<p>We were standing outside of New/North when this huge Ford SUV pulled up. It was as big as a ship. It was entirely filled with stuff and things were attached to the outside of the car. We were talking to a couple who we had just met. They came from the next county over from us in Virginia. Like our son, their child, had moved in with what she took on the airplane. Seeing this car our mouths dropped. The father got out of the car looking very sheepish. The mother got out; looked at us knowing we were discussing them and said by way of an explanation: Shes a princess.</p>
<p>So keep in mind: dorm rooms, even at USC, weren't built for princesses or princes.</p>
<p>Hi guys ~ I'm a USC grad (engineering) now living in Chicago. Son is at Viterbi, just finishing second year in CS.</p>
<p>A couple of thoughts strike me: First, and most important, TSDAD strongly suggested that I get up and go to the first year parents day. This was essential; my son was not too happy with the first 6 weeks of school, and had not been complaining, but boy he was glad to see me (and vice versa). Go to the Parent's Weekend! Your child needs your company.</p>
<p>Thanks again, TSDAD!</p>
<p>Also, my son traveled on a plane to USC, and took everything he needed for a year in one backpack and one carry-on. He did the same this year. Girls are different, I know. But there is nothing more hilarious than seeing somebody's daughter guarding her five pieces of furniture and twenty boxes while Dad tries to move 500 cu. ft. of stuff into her 250 cu. ft. of dorm room...</p>
<p>Yep, seeing how my D's friends pack for a week's travel, I can only imagine what the trip to college would be like for the average princess! (We're a carry-on-only family, so my kids are pretty well trained minimalists.) </p>
<p>For my son, since he probably won't be able to fly with his 2 guitars, amp, and keyboard, a single suitcase will probably do the job. </p>
<p>So for you veteran parents of boys, can you advise about the need for dressier clothes? Is a freshman who is not in a performing group or a fraternity going to need a suit? Should he bring a tux if he has one?</p>
<p>this is a different subject altogether, but I am hoping USC parents can help me find the answer.
The bank we use here (1,900 miles from USC) does not have any branches in California. Our daughter wants to open an account in Bank of America to have easy access to the ATM at USC.
My questions: ...how can I transfer funds electronically between 2 banks? What kind of fees do banks charge for this service? how long before funds are available? (we are trying to avoid having to send checks by snail mail).</p>
<p>Be aware that practically all airlines have changed their luggage allowance policies in the US. One free suitcase, second one $25. Still cheaper than shipping a suitcase cross-country...</p>
<p>tuitionsaver, if you don't like BoA, maybe there is a credit union you can join that allows free ATM use at the USC credit union ATM</p>
<p>another option is a bank like USAA that allows deposits by scanner and refunds all ATM charges</p>
<p>worst case is a standard bank wire, costs $10 on each end</p>
<p>those are the possibilities i know about, there may be others</p>
<p>Wire transfers have fees associated with them that approach usury rates --- I would not plan on relying on them as a matter of principle.</p>
<p>However, there are a number of flexible options that are free. You can open a joint online account with your student at a place such as ING</a> DIRECT - Save Your Money!. You can then link that account to two accounts at other banks: one owned locally by the parents (source of funds), the other owned at USC by the student (destination for funds). ING will allow you to do free transfers between linked accounts, which provides a cost-free means of moving money from a parent's account to a student's account. Of course, there has to be trust on both ends, that one party will not abuse the access to the other party's account. The transfers take a few days to clear, so this cannot be used for emergency funding. The benefit is that any money that sits in the ING account earns a healthy interest rate. For the past 5 years ING's rates have been at the top, or very near the top, in the nation. Disclosure: yes, I am a happy customer.</p>
<p>Another option is just to open a joint checking account with your child in your home state. The parent keeps the account funded with the appropriate amount of money. The student writes themselves a check on a pre-agreed schedule and deposits it in their local account.</p>
<p>Of course, the best option would be for both the parent and student to have an account at the same institution. This will allow free and nearly instant transfers. We have a BoA locally, so this is probably what we will end up doing.</p>
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how can I transfer funds electronically between 2 banks? What kind of fees do banks charge for this service? how long before funds are available? (we are trying to avoid having to send checks by snail mail).
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<p>I have an online account with BankofAmerica. I think you can transfer to another bank online. I've tried with Wamu before. I don't believe there is any charge. My online account is free with BankofAmerica because I set up to have my paycheck deposit there automatically.</p>
<p>Just posted our process for transferring to his USC Credit Union account on another thread. Works well with no wire transfer fees.</p>