<p>first off congrats to all accepted!
i got in to marshall and am a prospective presidential scholar, i was down there this weekend (fingers crossed!)</p>
<p>i know they've started mailing non-scholarship acceptances, so now it's time for housing before the spots all get taken!</p>
<p>where do you want to live?
i've heard that new/north is the most lively (read: party party party, but nearly impossible to study in your room) and most traditional college dorm like</p>
<p>so i'm kind of interested in that one</p>
<p>and then i stayed in fluor, which was nice suite style, with a/c, and right next to the gym (gotta keep of the freshman 15!) but also like 5 min walk from commons and center of campus</p>
<p>also, there's the radisson hotel, with a bathroom in each double... but thats off campus (i know its just off, but still, i dont want to feel out of the loop)</p>
<p>i've also heard that the business floor is known to be quite a party, so that sounds interesting, but i dont want it to end up being like a nerd floor, you know?</p>
<p>Yeah, I got into Marshall as well. Yay!! Haha. I was thinking about New/North, but I don't know if it'll get kind of annoying if I have to leave the dorms every time I want to work on a project or finish up some last minute homework. But I definitely want air conditioning...LA summers can get super hot x) </p>
<p>I'm leaning towards Birnkrant at the moment, but I'm still waiting a little to see if I can get some more information about housing.</p>
<p>I put the Business Floor at New/North as my number one. It sounds so sweet. Except the part about there not being any A/C. When the Santa Ana's start blowing it'll be terrible. But then it will be gorgeous and I'll be able to brag to my friends who stayed up here that it's 75 and sunny in the middle of winter!</p>
<p>But basically, if I was in a dorm that was absolutely dead all the time I would kill myself. I'm pretty sure anyone who's a prospective presidential scholar has enough self-discipline to get their work done anyway, even if there is always a party going on.</p>
<p>I went down for Explore USC / Presidential interview this weekend and stayed in Birnkrant. Everyone I talked to in it loved it, and I though it was pretty nice, especially the triples. I still don't know though... the suites sound like a pretty good deal.</p>
<p>I've stayed in Pardee and Marx Tower for a summer program on campus. I LOVED Pardee (it's my first choice)- the view is amazing, it has a prime location, there are washers/dryers on each floor, and the floors aren't too big. Another thing that alot of people don't consider is the type of furniture in the room. What's interesting about Pardee is that there is one big, long desk that connects to the wall right under the window. Most of the rooms have small desks that probably can't fit that much. Also, you have these great bookshelves that come up from the desk that can store a lot of stuff.</p>
<p>I didn't like Marx Tower nearly as much. I thought it was a lot smaller and darker than Pardee, and it felt a lot older. Also, you get a lot of street noise at night.</p>
<p>I stayed in the Radisson overnight for my Trustee Interview and then I stayed in New/North overnight for my Bacc/MD interview. New/North was a little too loud for me, as in there were people running down the halls, screaming at like 1 am. But hey, if that's what you like, then go for it. Personally, I liked Birnkrant the best because it's not dead but not super loud, it's near the center of campus and it's right next to New/North so you can go to the party and you don't have to deal with the mess in the hallways or in the bathrooms (yuck) the next morning :).</p>
<p>ppenguin, I can answer that -- I stayed in one of the Birnkrant triples for Explore. They were very nice. It consisted of 2 rooms-- one with 3 desks and a lot of open space, and then another pretty large room with 3 beds and a decent amount of open space as well.</p>
<p>Wow, that actually sounds really, really nice. But does it outweigh the possible awkwardness or situations that could arise from having 3 people in a room instead of 2? (2 people becoming good friends and excluding the other, 2 people getting in a fight and putting the other in the middle, etc)</p>
<p>parkside, is the nicest and newest dorms on campus (i do live there so i am partially biased), its suite style with a/c, its right next to the parkside cafeteria which is the better one on campus but is a bit of a walk from else where on campus but isn't to bad, especially with a skate board or bike. i have heard of a few people getting a single in a suite in the irc building. </p>
<p>new and birnkrant are close to the mccarthy quad and are pretty loud and full of partying. and are right above evk. </p>
<p>marks tower and pardee are right next to ground zero and are also typical dorm style rooms, and are right next to ground zero. however these dorms are not the worst but also not the best. </p>
<p>trojan and marks hall located right next to marks tower and pardee are deans dorms but are known for being bad.</p>
<p>flour is really nice, especially if you're an athlete or enjoy working out as you are right next to the lyons center and a short walk to heritage hall. also you are right above cafe 84. this is also a suite style.</p>
<p>if you're cool, social, and outgoing live in new/north. If you are considering to go greek live in on the North side especially. either way new/north is the most popular dorm on campus with the most parties and the best people.</p>
<p>however at the same time it is not for everyone. if you are a more on the shy side and want to have privacy in your room new/north may not be the best fit for you.</p>
<p>I lived in Parkside International freshman year and had mixed feelings about it. On the positive side, it is near the Engineering Quad where I had all my classes, it was near what is considered to be the better cafeteria, and it was new with AC and maid service. However, it is a lot more expensive then other places and it definitely has less of a social life compared with the other dorms. I would imagine the new Parkside (Arts and Humanities) to be a similar experience.</p>
<p>Fluor is a pretty cool building because you have good views and don't have to share a public bathroom. It also is lacking in social life compared to other dorms though, mostly because it is suite style and you only have like four other rooms on each floor.</p>
<p>Trojan and Deans Hall are in pretty bad shape. I personally really liked Pardee because I think it had the best balance of a social and academic lifestyle. New/North/Birnkrant have a great location for freshman and are definitely more social than other dorms. Overall, if I had to make my decision over again, I would have chosen a dorm as opposed to a suite style. After all, you will only have one opportunity to live in a dorm and enjoy the constant activity and openness that dorm live provides.</p>
<p>I applied to housing as soon as I got accepted but before I made my official decision. You will not be getting the money back if you choose to go somewhere else (sucks, I know...). I suggest applying for housing as soon as you get accepted, especially because the number of attendees have gone up in recent years. From the people I talked to in Parkside last year, most people got stuck there because they failed to apply early.</p>
<p>As for the food, I think we pretty much all starved to death towards the end of the year because we got so sick of the food. If you want other options, I suggest looking into the trojan meal plan. It's more expensive, but you get more dining dollars as opposed to some dining dollars and a set number of weekly meals. You can also eat at Upstairs Cafe with your dining dollars, which is probably the best place on campus for food.</p>
<p>Can any current students tell me what dorms are and aren't air conditioned? I'm hearing different things from what the housing brochure is telling me and what I'm hearing doing around here.</p>