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i will be in california next week touring usc, oxy, usd, lmu, and possibly plnu. if anyone has any questions that they would like me to ask, or anything they want me to take special note of, let me know and i will let you know when i return.

By Innotof (Innotof) on Monday, February 09, 2004 - 09:15 pm: Edit

Let me know about the smog, housing, traffic, and safety conditions of Oxy, USD, and LMU. Thanks!

By Scma (Scma) on Tuesday, February 10, 2004 - 07:00 am: Edit

I am bringing my daughter out in April to see USD and LMU so I would love to hear your opinions of these schools - how friendly are the students, are people around and active on the weekends, any info on their core curriculum, as a student, how easy is it to get around LA and San Diego? We are still up in the air regarding other schools to visit while we are out there. She is looking for a true campus in an urban environment with approximately 5000 undergrads where she can major, or at least minor in marketing or management so if you have any other suggestions of places we should visit please let me know. Thanks!

By Carolyn (Carolyn) on Tuesday, February 10, 2004 - 10:57 am: Edit

Your daughter should like USD - it fits her needs perfectly. It's a terrific school and if it wasn't right across from my daughter's high school (USD High School), she'd be considering it. I know many kids who've gone there and all were happy with their choice. Probably one of the most beautiful campuses on the West Coast as well. One of the nice things about USD is that it is very easy to get around San Diego from campus - the trolley station into downtown and major shopping areas is right down the hill, public buses run right by campus as well. USD also offers a shuttle bus that goes down to the Trolley and nearby shopping areas on a regular schedule. My sophomore daughter and her friends at USDHS have no trouble getting into downtown or to the malls from their school right across the street and she had never taken a bus in her life before starting there.

I'd also suggest these other schools as possible stops while you are out here: University of Redlands (about an hour east of LA), Occidental,
and one or more of the Claremont colleges. Pepperdine might also be worth a stop.

By Mexor (Mexor) on Tuesday, February 10, 2004 - 02:47 pm: Edit

yea go to REDLANDS. i went to CA a little while ago and checked out USD because i thought i was going htere..but got rejected ..now its between redlands/chapman ..i suggest looking at those schools too, (and take pictures!)

By Scma (Scma) on Tuesday, February 10, 2004 - 06:16 pm: Edit

Thanks for the suggestions. We drove by Pepperdine a year ago and spent about a half hour driving around the campus - we thought it was absolutely beautiful but seemed kind of remote. We are up in the air as to whether we will make a formal visit this trip. The Claremont colleges didn't seem to offer any business related majors - am I missing something? I will check out the University of Redlands website - sorry to say I have never heard of it.
Carolyn, I know how your daughter feels about USD - my son is a graduate of Boston College High School and felt the same way about BC, though it did end up on his short list none the less.

By Carolyn (Carolyn) on Wednesday, February 11, 2004 - 01:24 pm: Edit

Claremont McKenna in the Claremont Colleges has an excellent economics program that graduates many successful businesspeople.

By Magd (Magd) on Wednesday, February 11, 2004 - 08:07 pm: Edit

Hey Peterline -- thanks for the offer. It'll be a while yet before I apply to college, but I'm curious about USC. If you have the time, would you check out their dorms, please? Is the place dominated by greek freaks? And how safe/unsafe is the surrounding area? I've heard that the academics are good -- do students say that the professors are easily accessible? Pomona is also a possibility but when I visited Claremont the other year the town seemed dead, and while the campus was beautiful the general feel of the place was a bit parochial. Still, that was in the summer -- so if you find the place does have a pulse after all, please let me know! And lastly, oxy -- I'd never heard of it 'till recently -- is it deserving of its up-and-coming rep. or has there just been too much hype about the place. I'm worried that it might be too uber liberal.
Anyhow, have a safe trip. I'm in the N.E. -- wish I could go too!

By Peterline (Peterline) on Wednesday, February 11, 2004 - 09:08 pm: Edit

im fortunate that i get to go back for the second time in 6 months.. not to mention all the trips to florida and stuff. got me out of this tundra of PA!

By Andrey1225 (Andrey1225) on Wednesday, February 11, 2004 - 09:26 pm: Edit

yeah, the city of Claremont is terribly boring. but theres a good social life on the Consortium so most students at the schools (Claremont, Scripps, Pomona, HM, Pitzer, and graduate) don't really complain about it....plus when i visited the campus every other dorm room window was decorated with bottles of alcohol, so you know they're really partying hard at CMC.

btw, i got nominated for their merit based scholarship (claremont achievement award) so if you guys have any questions about CMC or any of the Claremont Consortium schools i'll be up there for a weekend in 2 weeks to really scope things out.

By Peterline (Peterline) on Wednesday, February 11, 2004 - 11:04 pm: Edit

i decided against any of the claremont colleges because of the lack of things going on in the town and campus

By Peterline (Peterline) on Monday, February 16, 2004 - 07:07 pm: Edit

im going in a few days
any others?

By Peterline (Peterline) on Monday, February 16, 2004 - 07:07 pm: Edit

repost

By Teal (Teal) on Tuesday, February 17, 2004 - 12:31 am: Edit

Concerning usc, oxy, usd, lmu:

The friendliness, how welcome you feel at each of the schools;

How crowded is it compared to the size of the school?

Is it diverse?

Do the students interact in large groups or keep to themselves in small groups

Do the students seem to be happy where they are?

By Carolyn (Carolyn) on Tuesday, February 17, 2004 - 11:54 am: Edit

Teal - what great questions!

By Teal (Teal) on Sunday, March 07, 2004 - 01:16 am: Edit

How was it, Peterline?