<p>Note that the full USC visit is three hours long, one for admissions, one for the campus tour, and one with a selected department. We’re going this morning. (My S is a little bit familiar with the campus, having visited before for various functions as my H is on the faculty.)</p>
<p>If you like art, the Getty Museum is awesome. The first time I went, I wasn’t sure what i wanted to spend my time looking at, the art inside, the building itself, the gardens, or the views of the LA area from the hill.</p>
<p>Santa Monica is a good location for shopping and the beach scene, although in February you may not spend a lot of time on the beach. Even if the air temp is nice, the water will be cold.</p>
<p>If you’re visiting LMU, stop by Marina Del Rey on the drive north to Santa Monica. Lots of fun places to stop and nosh, watch the boats sail by.</p>
<p>Not sure what the one poster meant about LMU campus being so sprawling. It’s certainly smaller than USC, and they both pale in comparison by acerage to UCLA. My S took some summer classes at LMU. It’s in a nice location, but quite different than USC in vibe.</p>
<p>Plot your movements carefully so you can try to avoid the morning/evening rush hour periods as much as possible. If you stay in a central location, say Culver City, the drives to Santa Monica, USC, Venice, the Grove, etc. can all be handled by surface street if necessary, if the freeways are all balled up. If you don’t have a portable GPS to bring with you, rent a car that has one.</p>