<p>I recently received some great news that I am a Trustee Scholar and I have decided to pursue USC! With this said, I have started doing some research about a few things, one of those being housing.</p>
<p>Currently I have Birnkrant put as my #1 choice and New and North as my #2 and #3. I'm looking for anyone with knowledge of housing to give as objective of a review as possible for Birnkrant so I know if it's the right fit or not. From what I've heard, Birnkrant is a great dorm which features a good balance of social life and academics. This sounds good to me, but I'm trying to decide just how social I want my dorms to be. I've also heard that if I get the chance to get New/North that I should live there. I am pretty social myself, but I enjoy being around very social people the most. I plan on joining a fraternity, and I've heard New/North is probably the most Greek oriented dorm on campus. </p>
<p>I guess my biggest question is whether or not living in New/North will be a significant academic hindrance. I also wondered just how social Birnkrant was, as I was under the impression it was primarily scholarship students, who for the most part were a bit socially awkward when I attended Explore USC. </p>
<p>I would love any advice, and no matter what I'll be at USC so I'm happy! Thanks for any help!</p>
<p>I’m a trustee scholar as well and my housing options are the exact same as u…but two of my good friends live in birnkrant and they love it… the girl is in a sorority and the guy is rushing right now… when i visited the people i met were def not socially awkward and were extremely nice and welcoming… New/North goes hard…my explore host lived there and there was no furniture left in their common room area bc it had all been broken haha</p>
<p>Birnkrant is plenty social, New/North is just on a whole other level. I mean, part of the appeal of Birnkrant is that it has coed floors. You get the mouthbreathing engineers/pre-meds because they put Trustee/Presidentials there (no offense) but you also get the film, architecture, theater, liberal arts kids. It’s a good balance.</p>
<p>Any of the dorms in the bloc on the east side of campus have a pretty good social atmosphere. Except Honors hall, if that’s still a thing.</p>
<p>I’m finishing out my year in Birnkrant and I would definitely recommend living there. It’s entirely a scholars dorm, so you’ll be around people that are not only smart and accomplished, but very diverse and interesting as well. Don’t get caught up in thinking that there are only nerdy pre-meds and engineers here because there are people of all majors and all academic fields. </p>
<p>The dorm itself is pretty nice. Birnkrant seems more modern and up-to-date compared to other dorms on campus, but the differences aren’t really that big. Each floor is split up so that guys live on one side and girls live on the other. It’s a pretty neat arrangement because it allows for a lot of co-ed socializing and friendship, and often times girls will hang out on our side of the hall, or we’ll go there. Each floor has its own laundry room, a small study room, and bathrooms. Even though you’ll be sharing a bathroom with 19 other people, it’s really not a big deal, and since August, I’ve probably only had to wait for a shower around 7-9 times, and none longer than maybe 10 minutes. The only downside of the dorm is the lack of air conditioning, but it’s not a problem as long as you have a fan next to your bed.</p>
<p>Also, as I mentioned earlier, the diversity is pretty big here and the dorm itself is very social. I’d say that on Thursdays/Fridays/Saturdays, about 10-15 of the people on my floor will go out, and it even increases when certain guys’ frats have parties (in January, about 35 of us went to a party of a frat that a guy on our floor is in). You’ll not be an outsider if you join a fraternity and live in Birnkrant - it’s more grounded than New/North, obviously, but many Birnkranters take part in Greek life too. Good luck with your decision!</p>
<p>Can people who aren’t Presidential/Trustee scholars live in Birnkrant? I didn’t submit my application early enough to be considered, but my potential roommate is a Presidential scholar. Thanks!</p>
<p>What are the advantages of being part of the “University Residential College at Birnkrant”? Is it open to all Trustee and Presidential scholars or only those residing at Birnkrant? Do I need to sign up soon or as a Presidential Scholar, do I automatically get Birnkrant if it is my top choice?</p>
<p>When we asked last year about Birnkrant, we were told it was for T/P scholars and some TO and “other” scholars. We asked because D wanted a friend for her roommate (but friend was not a T/P scholar). They said “no” — that her friend would not get Birnkrant even though D was qualified. BOTH needed to be qualified. </p>
<p>I’d recommend signing up now for Birnkrant and URC if that is what you want. You won’t automatically get it (although D did not sign up for housing until late April last year and got Birnkrant). As far as I remember, all Birnkrant was URC this year.</p>
<p>Advantages: biggest one (IMHO) is that you get to move in 2 days earlier than the rest of campus! Move-in day is insane and not having to do this with everyone else is awesome. We were done in 2 hours (and most of that was spent arranging stuff and waiting in line). The early arrival is for a URC retreat and group activities. </p>
<p>URC has other advantages-- faculty in residence, programming, etc…</p>
<p>The question about having to be a scholar to live in Birnkrant is a good one. I signed up my son for Birnkrant as his first choice, but he is not a “scholar.” It was very confusing and Birnkrant was still in the drop down menu for us, so we chose it. I’m sure lots of non-scholars choose it since the system doesn’t bar you from selecting it. If it is just for scholars, then I’m guessing that they just go to your next dorm choice once they look at your file. But it would be nice to know the answer to that question.</p>
<p>Do you think if we already have roommates lined up, and we all applied for a Birnkrant triple that we would be able to get in even though none of us are P/T scholars? We all submitted our housing apps as soon as we got our acceptances.</p>
<p>^no, unless they change it this year, you need to be a P/T scholar to get into Birnkrant. My son is in one of those few triples and he put his housing deposit in the first day they took them, Feb 1st. The P/T scholars to a huge jump on those who just got their acceptances last week! Sorry!</p>
<p>If i’m a NMF presidential scholarship winner am i eligible for birnkrant? Or is birnkrant only for the regular presidential and trustee scholars?</p>
<p>^^Again, as stated numerous times, NMF Presidential scholars have the SAME benefits as regular Presidential scholars. You are just considered a Presidential scholar. Thus, yes, you can live in Birnkrant.</p>
<p>Can anyone from previous years give me an idea of how early it was necessary to sign up for housing to get a triple in Birnkrant? I put my application in on the first sign up day but one of my potential roommate submitted hers in mid February.
Anyone who can share roommate experiences (random vs chosen) as well?
Thanks!!</p>