California College Tour 2024

Explore California's top universities with NSHSS!

On this tour, NSHSS students had the chance to visit several exciting California cities while learning strategies to get the most out of college visits! Participants learned what questions they should be asking of campus officials, how to compare schools to one another, and what factors are most important in their college selection process. On the tour, students visited: 

  • University of California, Berkeley (UCB/Cal)
  • Stanford University
  • University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
  • University of Southern California (USC)
  • California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
  • University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB)
  • University of California, Irvine (UCI)
  • University of California, San Diego (UCSD)
  • Loyola Marymount University (LMU)
  • Pepperdine University
July 7-13, 2024
San Diego, Orange County, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Malibu, & San Francisco, California
IMG 5255

Testimonials from 2024 tour attendees

Christopher M.
2024 Tour Attendee

The tour was a great experience! I got to see many different quality schools in person, explore interesting locations and meet really cool fellow students from around the country, all under the supervision of fantastic tour staff. Overall, I'd definitely recommend it!

Giselle B.
2024 Tour Attendee

I had a great time on the tour. I enjoyed all the food, tours, sightseeing, and hotel stays. The guides were awesome and everything was amazing. I made a lot of great memories. Thank you all for the awesome experiences.

Nyomi B.
2024 Tour Attendee

It was really fun and informative. I got to find out more about the actual college lifestyle rather than just the numbers and statistics which helped me figure out what I'm looking for in a school.

Vienne B.
2024 Tour Attendee

This was a very educational tour that was a lot of fun. It combined educational college tours with exploration of California, making for a fun experience that connects you with the other students. Overall a very good time!

Elodie A.
2024 Tour Attendee

This gave me a good idea of big and small schools. I had no idea that I’d enjoy California schools as much as I did and in the process I found my dream school (USC)

Elizabeth A.
2024 Tour Attendee

I felt like this tour was really influential for my college campus decisions! I honestly had a totally different mindset going into colleges in the beginning, but it was changed after touring! Very good experience!

Kyle P.
2024 Tour Attendee

This tour was an amazing experience, getting to meet people from all around the US was such an awesome experience. The tours of the colleges themselves were also super informative and definitely has made it easier for me to make decisions for college.

Zenida V. S.
2024 Tour Attendee

I made a lot of new friends. I got to see a lot of new places and some of my dream colleges and learn a lot about them. I also learned about colleges I didn't even consider at first and now thinking of applying to.

Tour Itinerary Recap

Met NSHSS and EU Tour staff at San Diego International Airport

Hotel check-in in San Diego

Dinner and sightseeing in La Jolla
We got to know each other (and the sea lions!) over dinner on the beach in La Jolla Cove.

Breakfast at hotel
We enjoyed a hot breakfast before venturing out to see Orange County and sunny San Diego.

Morning Tour: University of California, San Diego (UCSD)

We started our morning at San Diego's top public university, the University of California, San Diego (UCSD)

Lunch
We got a quick lunch as we headed up the coast to beautiful Orange County

Afternoon Tour: University of California, Irvine (UC Irvine)

We spent the afternoon exploring UC Irvine

Dinner & hotel check-in
We had a great dinner and lots of evening fun at Downtown Disney!

Breakfast at hotel

We put away our mouse ears and enjoyed breakfast at the hotel before heading out for a day of SoCal College Touring.

Morning Tour: University of Southern California (USC)

In the morning, we took a group tour of top private university, University of Southern California (USC)

Lunch
We had a tasty lunch before heading out for our afternoon tours

Afternoon Tour: Cal Tech

We hopped back on the bus and headed out to visit the world-renowned science and engineering institute Caltech

Dinner & hotel check-in
Dinner and some evening sightseeing in Old Town Pasadena before heading back to the hotel for a good night's rest.

 

Breakfast at hotel
We enjoyed a quick breakfast before heading out to visit some of LA's top universities.

Morning Tour: Loyola Marymount University

In the morning, we took a tour of the beautiful campus of Loyola Marymount University

Lunch
We gathered for lunch before heading to iconic Westwood. 

Afternoon Tour: University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)

Spent the afternoon on the beautiful campus of University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)

Dinner & hotel check-in
We got dinner and did some shopping on the 3rd Street promenade and Santa Monica Pier before driving up the coast towards Malibu!

 

Breakfast at hotel
We ate a hearty breakfast and prepared for our visits to these stunning seaside campuses.

Morning Tour: Pepperdine University

We began with a tour of Pepperdine University on the gorgeous Malibu Coastline.

Lunch
We enjoyed a scenic lunch in the beautiful seaside air before heading up the coast.

Afternoon Tour: University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB)

In the afternoon, we took a tour of University of California, Santa Barbara located halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Dinner & hotel check-in
We took in the beautiful seascape as we made our way to the heart of Silicon Valley for dinner and a good night's rest.

 

Breakfast at hotel
We had a delicious breakfast before venturing out to see California’s iconic Bay Area and two of the nation's top universities.

Morning Tour: Stanford University

We began our day with a tour of the prestigious Stanford University 

Lunch
Lunch and afternoon walking in Downtown Berkeley

Afternoon Tour: University of California, Berkeley (CAL)

After lunch, we headed out to our final tour at one of the nation’s top Universities, UC Berkeley, aka Cal

Dinner, hotel check-in, and sightseeing in San Francisco

We stopped and took photos at the iconic Golden Gate Bridge before traveling to San Francisco. We had a blast exploring Fisherman’s Wharf, Pier 39 and Ghirardelli square before retiring to our hotel for a well deserved rest.

 

Breakfast at hotel

We had hotel before heading out for the airport for your flights home.

Depart for home from San Francisco International Airport
We made sure to thank our motor coach driver before departing for our flights home out of San Francisco Airport (SFO)! Tours staff provided transportation to the airport.

The results are in

We asked our attendees what their favorite day of the tour was:

Day four (Loyola Marymount, UCLA, Venice Beach, Santa Monica Pier, and 3rd St Promenade) was the favorite!

We asked what their top choice of school was after touring all ten:

University of California, Los Angeles was the winner with University of California, Berkeley coming in close second.

Lastly, we asked them what their favorite meal was:

The majority of attendees said Mendocino Farms was their favorite place to grab a bite to eat on this tour!

Questions?