From Feb. 13 to 16, 99 juniors visited seven colleges and saw first hand what campus life is like. The itinerary included the following colleges: Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, UC Santa Barbara, UC Irvine, Cal State University Fullerton, UC Riverside, Cal Poly Pomona and UCLA, in which students went to two per day and one on the last day. Students started the trip by arriving at UPA campus at 5:00 A.M. to go on a three hour drive to their first college destination, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Other than the first day, due to traveling, students started each day with a hotel breakfast and bus transportation to the colleges allocated for each day. Once they arrived at the colleges, they were able to explore them, both with tour guides and by themselves. Throughout the tour, students were encouraged to ask questions to the tour guides and UPA teachers who were present and attended the colleges. 

Timothy Austin (11)  talked about how being able to visit the campuses gave him more insight into how college life would be like. 

“A lot of colleges on paper are reallyhe same, even on the tours,” Austin said. “But actually being there, they had different vibes.”

Later, UPA alumni spoke and students raised concerns and questions to them. Other than the first and last day, when students were provided lunch or brought lunch from home, students experienced the dining halls of UC Irvine and UC Riverside. They would then travel to the next college, get dinner and travel back to the hotel.

After each day ended, students had free time in the hotel rooms until they all gathered to discuss the colleges they visited that day. During this free time, students were able to roam the hotel and have fun with their peers. However, on the first night, students’ free time was cut short due to some violations of the behavioral agreement they signed. In these reflection groups, students  discussed the  colleges’ majors, classes offered, campus life and atmosphere.

This structure continued until the last day, Feb. 16, when students checked out of the hotel at 7:30 A.M. and after a stop at UCLA and going to get lunch, went on a six hour drive back to UPA campus and arrived at 6:00 P.M.