magialmemories

I need...no get... to take my daughter on a college tour and because of sports it has to be the week of Feb 16, 2009.
I plan to fly into Burbank and see UCLA and USC and then travel to UC Irvine and stay the night and go to Disneyland. Because DL closes at 8pm I thought we could travel North and stay on the coast (sugestions) and then make our way to Pepperdine and the on to UCSB where we will stay the night before heading to Northern Calif.
I know it's a lot to take in. We have very little choice. We obviously are driving everywhere once we land in Burbank. Suggestions on places to stay along the way? Eat? See? Any Alumni suggestions?

5alive

We stayed at the Howard Johnson next to Disneyland this summer and it was fine. Mimi's, the restaurant in the parking lot was great. I can't help with other hotel reservations. Here is my trip report.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35138240

magialmemories

Thanks. I hear more and more good things about Howard Johnson.
Anyone else have any areas that you think are important to see for a potential student let me know!
Thanks so much

tracys2cents

UCLA, USC and Irvine all on arrival day sounds pretty ambitious considering all the traffic. I think I'd skip UCLA and save it for Pepperdine day since they're practically around the corner from each other. Consider Hilgard House near UCLA, you'd really get a feel for the village surrounding the University and could even have breakfast on campus. Maybe visit the Getty Center nearby late morning, then make it over to Pepperdine and onward to Santa Barbara late in the day.

Iregeo

Your itinerary sounds ambitious, to say the least. Get yourself a good map of L.A. It seems you plan to cover a lot of ground in one day, if I understand you correctly.

Anyway, the area around USC isn't great, so I imagine you'll want to see what's on campus. (My son's applying there too!)

At UCLA, spend a bit of time walking around Westwood Village.

In Malibu, try to get lunch at the Malibu Inn, a typical Pepperdine student spot.

Regarding places to stay...staying on the coast will likely be expensive. If you want a less expensive alternative, you could drive from DL to Woodland Hills (Warner Center) or Calabasas. That should take no more than 1.5 hours. The next morning, you could be at Pepperdine within 20 minutes, and it's a nice drive through Malibu Canyon.

Good luck!

mlgb

Hahaha, only in LA would the 15-mile drive between UCLA and Pepperdine through Westside traffic be considered "right around the corner". Assuming you're not going on any kind of official escorted campus tours, you can do all three in one day.

Casa Malibu Inn gets pretty good reviews on Tripadvisor so if it's within your budget I'd stay there.

Guenmai

I'm UCLA Alumni. What specific question do you have and I'll try answering it. Happy Travels!

Kailani

I'm a UCI alumni, and I would always encourage any young person to choose a college by a beach!

It was great to live on Balboa Island or Laguna Beach during the school year for 1/4 the price of a summer rental.

My son is a USC alumni, and the area is not so great. UCLA is in a really fun walkable area.

Jean

I don't want to complicate your plans, but there is another school you might want to see: Loyola Marymount University, recently named one of the 10 most beautiful campuses by Princeton Review. About 6,000 undergrad, 1,900 grad and 1,300 law students. A less "intense" religious perspective than Pepperdine. The campus is near LAX, not far off the 405 freeway.

http://www.lmu.edu/

magialmemories

Guenmai-Thank You! I would be interested in the areas that you made your home....where you spent time off campus. Those places you ate, shopped and any special places on campus that we shouldnt miss.

Kailani-I hear that about USC and for me the area around the school is really important. Anything about the area around UCI that needs our attention?

Jean...I did forget Loyola and we are going there. My daughter discovered it in a "personality" match. Glad you mentioned it here for others to see!
Thank You all. I love this site!!!

MomDDTravel

I am a little confused on where you want to stay? I live about 10 minutes from UCI and go to Disneyland often... but could not tell by your post where you want to stay?

Do NOT stay by USC - UCLA is in a fabulous area - grea to walk around etc.

Not sure how you are going to see UCLA, USC AND UCI in one day. I live here and getting up firs thing in the am it would be next to impossible to do - and it is still getting dark pretty early in Feb.

Best of luck to your dd - UCLA and USC are pretty tough to get into!

MBnancy

magialmemories,
One of my sons went to LMU and one to USCB. The campuses are as different as day and night, but both near the ocean, which was a requirement. Be sure to make time to walk to the top of the cliff (by the chapel) and look out over LA and the Pacific Ocean, the view is fantastic.

Good luck in your decision making.

TTess

ttt

TTess

OK, this is a bit confusing. It sounds as if you want to do this trip in a couple of days and yet you said the week of 2/16. Exactly how many days will you be spending in Southern Cal? You can't do this trip, well, in two days, it's impossible.

onemoneygirl

Santa Barbara has a wonderful small airport... SBA. You may wish to fly to Northern CA and ease your schedule a bit.

Howard Johnson's is clean and comfortable and Mimi's has a great quiche!

You will be seeing some of the most beautiful campuses in CA... enjoy your time with your daughter.

cferrb

Can you fly into John Wayne airport in Irvine? Then go straight to UCI, see that, and then drive up into Westchester to see LMU? You should be able to find a good place to stay in Westchester or near LAX, or even in Culver City (my home town). Then the next day go over to USC first, then up to UCLA in the afternoon. Then, drive out to Malibu for the night if that's your choice, so that you can see Pepperdine the next a.m. and then drive up to Santa Barbara for UCSB. Good luck!

magialmemories

I decided to fly into Burbank and back track to Disneyland and UC Irvine because I didnt want to go to Disneyland on a holiday. I guess I just have really under estimated the LA traffic. We are really trying to narrow down her options and get a "general" feel for the different areas. I went to UCSB so when we get to Santa Barbara I will take her to State Street, the beach and pier near the junior college and then of course through Isla Vista and drive her around the student area and do the walking tour on campus. I really want to give her an idea about what the areas have to offer.

After we get home we can narrow our choices and make appointments to see student housing and get into more specific detail.

So for the benefit of myself and others can someone explain how to gauge the LA freeway situaiton? If UCLA and USC are 15 miles apart and we concentrate our efforts on UCLA in the am, spend an hour or so at USC and the drive the 50 miles to UC Irvine for the afternoon can't this be done?

I know we cant see it all on this trip but I think she will be able to decide if a large university like UCLA is a better fit than a small private universtiy like Pepperdine.

If you know one of the areas and can recommend places that students or "locals" eat or where visiting parents would stay that would be helpful to get a feel for the area.

mlgb

Honestly, I don't know where some of the posters are getting their info from. Do they actually live here? Yes, of course you can see UCLA in the morning, go over to USC and then drive to Irvine for the afternoon. I can't imagine that it will take more than an hour to get between any of these places during the day (and probably less for UCLA to USC).

Virtually all freshmen stay in the UCLA dorms (as housing nearby Westwood is expensive), and there are tons of places to eat on campus. Westwood Village is worth a walk around (there is free parking in the Broxton Street Garage). Be sure to check out Stan's Donuts and Lamonica's NY pizza for student food. Often the sophomores will try to get into a sorority even if they aren't "that type".. so drive down sorority row (Hilgard on the north side of campus).

cferrb

What time does your flight arrive?

Yes, you can definitely do UCLA in the a.m., then go over to USC for a while and then drive down to Irvine. Just know that you will be in pretty heavy traffic on your way down to Irvine. In good traffic UCLA to USC should only take about 30 minutes, however it could take significantly longer. Sorry, but I don't have any recommendations. UCLA's Ackerman Hall has a food court on the bottom floor that has decent mall food and there is a food court close to USC that I believe is called University Village. It's on Jefferson Blvd. and is an easy walk from campus. It would great for you and your daughter to walk this as it will ease some of your concerns about the neighborhood. These will give your daughter a definite sense of student life at both schools. There are plenty of places to eat in Westwood, next to the UCLA campus. They are mostly places that "locals" eat, with some chain restaurants and lots of independents. Once you get into Westwood you might have trouble dragging your daughter out.

I would expect USC to UCI to take at least 1 1/2 hours if you are leaving USC in the afternoon (3 p.m. to 6 p.m.) It might be a little faster, it could be significantly slower if the weather is bad. We have no idea how to drive in rain here in LA.

When do you hope to see UCI? It sounds like you'll be doing a drive through in the evening after you drive down from USC.If you take the Jamboree Road exit off the 405 Freeway you will find a CPK and some other restaurants close to the freeway. There's probably a lot of places close to campus, I just don't know where they are.

Getting from Disneyland to Pepperdine is probably another 1 1/2 hour drive minimum, given that you won't be hitting the freeway until after 8 p.m. Part of that drive will be on the Pacific Coast Highway, which can be difficult in bad weather. I know, it never rains in LA (as if)......

Pepperdine up to UCSB should only take about 90 minutes (but you may already know that as you are a UCSB grad). Are you the Broncos?

If you do end up visiting LMU, there are several good restaurants that are frequented by students and locals on Lincon Blvd. just north of Manchester Blvd. Ask at your hotel about Alejo's, Hacienda del Rey or Chicago for Ribs.

It sounds like a great trip. Just be sure to see UC Berkeley before you head home!

magialmemories

mlgb and cferrb
Very Helpful!I knew I could do it!

We will be arriving first thing in the morning and we will do what we can and come back to see the rest.

It's the UCSB Gauchos! Berkeley is in our neck of the woods and with an acceptance rate that is even lower than UCLA's I am happy to say it is not in her radar at this time.