Magialmemories,

Did you live on Del Playa in the good old days?

Not lucky enough to have lived in such a cool neighborhood...but I woke up there a few times!

Seems like a million years ago...and now here I am again as a mom. Wow! Where does the time go?

I'm a college counselor and I plan trips like these for my clients all the time. In fact I just got back from a trip to LA where I saw USC and Loyola Marymount (Jean read my mind as I read the posts).

I highly recommend taking the official tours on each campus. You do not learn half as much just walking around on your own. Also, colleges do take highly into consideration whether your student has made the effort to visit, and the admissions offices will not know you have been there if you are walking on your own. It is great to meet students, hear about special programs, and showing interest is VERY important. I always do the admissions tour and try to stay for the information session as well.

I just saw 8 colleges in 3 days in the Baltimore/DC area and while wonderful, it's overwhelming to see 3 schools in one day. I would recommend maybe going to Disneyland/UCI, then head back up through LA to see UCLA, USC, and LMU. Also, as someone said LMU is close to LAX so you could see that when you get there, then drive south which would save time. Then see UCI later that day and/or in the morning before hitting Disneyland.

Or you could do LMU/USC one day, then UCLA and drive up to Pepperdine for later in the afternoon.

I don't know anything about your daughter or what she is looking for, but a real gem is University of Redlands. It's out on 10 East past the Claremont Colleges which are also TERRIFIC (as I'm sure you know). I adored Redlands. In addition, Occidental College is also awesome. These are all smaller, liberal arts colleges so if your daughter wants a medium to larger size school they might not be the right fit.

Where are you going in Northern California? I've done that whole tour-UC Berkeley and Stanford are both gorgeous, and I also was impressed with the University of San Francisco.

I hope this helps-can't really help with hotels and most campuses have big food courts these days so you can grab a quick bite if you want to see multiple colleges in one day.

Please take the tour(s)! And yes, this will be overwhelming but have a great time, buy her a t-shirt or two and she'll enjoy the ride.

I'm an almost-alum of Loyola Marymount, and it is a really lovely campus with strong academics. Its smaller size makes it hard to get lost in the crowd, and her teachers will really take an interest in your daughter and her goals. Mr. Pickle and I met and married there.

Hacienda del Rey - yum!

I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to LMU, and their main academic building (I forget the name, it's on the hill as you drive in) is WOW!!!!! OMG...and beautiful campus, happy students, and there is a Jamba Juice on campus in case you need a snack. USC was also as impressive - there is a vibrant energy on campus that is highly palpable and lots of wonderful things going on there.

Sorry but I imagined if they were traveling to visit schools they'd have appointments and tours of campus. I wouldnt want to just drive around the UCLA area for an hour and call that a "campus visit". So they're talking UCLA maybe noon appointment at the earliest? What time does that leave them for an appointment to visit UCI, 7pm? Even with traffic I would figure, MINIMUM....noon to 3pm UCLA, 3pm to 6pm USC, and 6pm to 9pm UCI? They're not gonna get any "feel" for the campus by driving in and out, especially USC which is surrounded by a dismal area.

Clark-this is why I feel that taking a campus tour and attending an information session is crucial. Sometimes I walk around a college campus and I don't get half as much out of it as opposed to when I take a tour conducted by a current student.

All colleges have their admissions tours times posted on their website. You can arrange your day based on what times are available. You can do one school in the AM and one in the PM. I have never seen a tour later than 3:30 which will take you to 4:30-5 PM.

I can't help at all with the CA colleges, but I just wanted to say that I agree about doing no more than two schools per day. DD and I have been doing the college circuit and even two schools per day can be pushing it to really mentally take in all the information. I would not even considering wandering around a campus without a tour. The tours, meeting with admissions, and meeting with professors all give you much more of a feel than doing it on your own. DD likes to wander the campus after all the official meetings as well, but it does not take the place of those by any means.

mms I agree 100%.

If you're taking the trouble to visit a campus, get the credit for it, by checking in at the Admissions Office and taking a bona fide tour given by the school.

Schools do consider your visit a show of interest on your student's part, and it's a good thing to have in her application file.

Also, I would not try to visit more than two schools in a day. We only visited one back when we were in the market. Too many schools makes for confusion in your memories as you try to re-construct which was which.

Our son goes to LMU now. Definitely take a look at it. Its School of Film and Television has been rated right up there with NYU and USC. Very hard to get into, though. Our son is majoring in Recording Arts, in that school.

Good luck with your visits. So many schools in California to consider. We looked at Pomona College, considered Occidental and Redlands. . .

Thank you to all that replied and a special thanks to those who pointed out that you do get "credit" for seeing many of the schools. All of the websites have links to walking tours and I there are definitely some that I want to be on record with.

A little off subject but I have a daughter who is a junior with a 4.3 who is in the top tenth of her class and has all the leadership, extra curricular and athletics to add to her application as well as great SAT scores and recommendations and still there are no sure bets when it comes to getting in to some of these amazing schools. Every little bit helps and I am on 5-6 websites a month researching schools,scholarships and ways to increase ones chances of getting into the school you want.
Things have changed a lot in the last 20+ years. Good Luck to anyone in this situation and please forward along any tips or bits of wisdom that you have!

I feel for you! Our two college app processes are over and done with. Thank heavens. It's such a tough process. And also, it can be completely unexplainable, because you will see other classmates get into top schools that surprise you.

The good news is that there are so many good schools out there. The bad news is that there are many, many good students out there, too.

Your daughter's job will be to decide on her preferences, narrow the list, and create a stellar application.

My advice is don't spend too much time trying to check every single resource. Use one or two written/on-line resources that you like and trust for capsule information.

Like FastWeb.com has really easy links to a one-page school summary, to private scholarship info., and to the college websites.

And the Fiske Guide is very good, in book form at your public library. (Use only the most recent one, for sure.)

Of course, confer with your high school college counselor as much as possible (if available).

Secondly, PERSONALIZE her application. Make sure it reveals HER. Not a by-the-book application, or text-driven essay. Make it one that can't be ignored. At least so it will be set into the pile for Consideration.

Make sure the application highlights her as a "whole" student, including community service work, musical/artistic talents, etc.

But, find out what the college will accept. Some schools will not accept CDs, or additional samples of writing, etc.

Your daughter needs to submit an app that sets her apart from the 10,000s of others. An app that tells them who she is, why she wants to go to their school, what she will contribute, how she will be a good fit for their school.

Because schools don't want you to come for one year, then quit. They want to admit the great students who truly want to be there.

It's a grueling and competitive world out there for the college applicants. Good luck with it.

I wasn't sure what your budget is for dining. My favorite places in SoCal to dine are Mastro's Steak House in Irvine, very close to South Coast plaza...but it can get very expensive. I just eat in the bar which is very cool and make a meal out of appetizers which are sublime. Still expensive but not as much as the full meal.

Another favorite is Ramos House in San Juan Capistrano but I don't know if that is too out of the way. Caliber of food in both these places is 4 star plus.

wasn't sure what your budget is for dining. My favorite places in SoCal to dine are Mastro's Steak House in Irvine, very close to South Coast plaza...
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This is excellent!

I visited UCLA with my son last Spring as a "side" stop on a trip to UCSB. He had visited other Calif. schools with my wife last fall.

His first choice at the time was UCSD, second was UCSB, but he ended up at UCLA after we took the admitted students tour there in the spring. Interesting that I had to convince him to visit UCLA on our way to Santa Barbara.

The campus is beautiful,and Westwood Village is a great area to walk around. When we went back for orientation and Parents' Weekend we stayed at the Hotel Palomar(a Kimpton Hotel) on Wilshire Blvd. It's near the school and Westwood village, and they have given us a "UCLA rate" which is reasonable.

We also stayed at a great little place near UCSB, Pacific Suites. It's a 5 minute ride down the highway that brings you to campus.

Good luck to you and your daughter. It's a great experience for the two of you.

I'm an LMU alum, so I have to give a shout out to the beautiful campus. Go Lions! Westchester, the del Reys (Playa del Rey and Marina del Rey) and Venice are all really great areas and a lot of fun for college students.
Don't know what your religious affiliations are, but LMU is a Jesuit university. They do not, however, have any religious requirements other than taking a few philosophy and theology classes. I am not religious and felt completely comfortable there. But there are a lot of organizations to become involved in, should your son/daughter choose. Mass is held a few times a week in Sacred Heart Chapel. If you're on campus, you have to stop in and take in this incredibly beautiful place.

There's the "UCLA HOUSE" at UCLA which is a motel/guest house of sorts, right on campus, and you can stay there as long as you have business with UCLA. A campus tour or interview would qualify.

My husband is an L.A. native. Our oldest just graduated from UCLA after attending school there for four years. She's now at Pepperdine attending law school.

It appears that you are going to visit the schools in a short period of time, just to get a cursory feel.

Your information regarding Berkeley v UCLA and admissions is off. It is harder to get into UCLA than Berkeley. UCLA has more applicants than any other university in the nation. Your daughter's chances are high due to her outstanding accomplishments but you never know. Out of the UC's our daughter rejected Berkeley and UCSD's invitations for admission in favor of UCLA and was thrilled with her choice.

Take the time to stroll through downtown Westwood and compare it to the surrounding slums of USC. A friend's cousin, in the midst of receiving his second degree at USC, was just killed by an inner city thug this past year. Our daughter was accepted into USC's law school but rejected it due to the area. One of her sorority sisters is attending their dental school and won't go on campus from dusk on....she lives in Santa Monica. She has other friends attending various grad schools at SC. They live in Pasadena and make the drive in everyday rather than living nearby.

We've never stayed at the UCLA Guest House but know others who have stayed there and they really liked it. If you want to stay in Malibu for a great price, do what we just did last month...stay at Pepperdine. We got a wonderful price with a full ocean view room, a large patio, very comfortable bed and nice amenities. Our daughter has her own apartment in Malibu but we chose to leave our other child and dogs with her so we could have privacy. The rooms are very, very quiet and it's a lovely atmosphere. http://www.villagraziadio.com/.

We went to Disneyland last month, while we did the aforementioned visit to Malibu. The drive took about two hours and it was a Saturday.

Best of luck to you - it's an exciting time for your family, I'm sure! I'm sure your daughter will be successful in whatever she chooses to do, I'm sure you're very proud of her.

Thank you to all that responded. I am interested in looing into what the new figures are regarding acceptance rates because we attended a college seminar last year where I got my information about Berkeley being harder to get into then UCLA. Obviously these are all difficult school and like one poster stated in can be hard to know why some schools take one person over another...thats why we want to give her the options and open her mind up to all the possibilities.

As a result of all the great information you all have provided I am making some changes to our schedule. We will limit our tours to 2 a day and will do the offical tours for all of the schools we see.

Day one-arrive 8am in Burbank and see UCLA and USC. Drive to Anaheim.

Day two-UCIrvine and Disneyland and drive to Playa Del Rey area

Day three-Loyola Marymount University and Pepperdine

Day Four UCSB and home

I think the reason that getting into a great college is so labor intensive and difficult is to distract you from the reality that your baby is leaving the nest!

Have you decided where you're going to stay?

It's not your fault the seminar gave you misinformation regarding the facts. UCLA is definitely more difficult to get into than CAL. Hey, they're both wonderful schools, though. Is your daughter not interested in UCSD? My husband went to medical school there, after we both graduated from UCLA. We loved San Diego. If she's scientifcally-minded, she ought to check it out, too. Irvine is too urban for me.