Originally Posted by pinworm

Forget the layover, that trans-pac will have you in ruins when you get there. The last thing you will want to do is be at the school immediately after getting to your destination. You will be a zombie.

I am currently based in SAN, and am in SYD at least once a year and return via LAX..that is a flight without the added 4.5 hours getting to MSP and it nearly kills me every time. You are looking at 24-30 hours total travel time if you are lucky (I also assume ground transportation, customs, baggae and delays). I don't care how young you are, that is a long long long journey. Each time I do the SYD-LAX run I shave beforehand and arrive with a 2 day beard. When I get home, I make sure I have a clear calendar for at least a day. I don't even have the energy to open the fridge.

Do what others have suggested and get in a day before you are supposed to show up. Get a hotel and crash there. You will sleep like a log for 20 hours. You could also stop at LAX and get room there, there are plenty around LAX and many are affordable.

That connection time is unrealistic anyhow.

Originally Posted by spryam

Fly in a day or two early. We took the flight from SYD to LAX, continuing to MSP 2 years ago. Flight got in late because they had to pull 2 people off the plane after we had already backed away from the gate (document issues, don't know why they were allowed to board in the first place). Got into LAX late. Then, customs in LAX was a disaster. Slower than molasses and they let everybody with earlier connecting flights to clear first (not a big deal). LAX is not a great place to enter the U.S., at least not on Delta flights. Dirty, dingy, and slow, slow, slow. Anyway, I was glad that we chose the 4 hour layover to MSP.