<p>Hey!</p>
<p>I got assigned to the parkside arts and humanities for next year and i heard it was kinda anti social because it was further away from the dorms. is this true? should i try reassignment…i was really hoping for brikrant triple. also, i was looking at the floor plan for parkside and it didnt seem like there was a common room…is this true or did they just not show it on the floor plan?</p>
<p>thanks!</p>
<p>vanilla - my son lived there this year, as a freshman, and he really liked it. He had requested it, but even his friends who were assigned there without request seemed really happy. The RA’s were terrific, and there was plenty of social life both in and out of the dorm. Plus the food at Parkside is supposedly much better than at EVK. And the air-conditioning was much appreciated at times. There is a common room in the PAHRC suites, but it’s tiny. There’s a small table, a couple of chairs, and wall space for bulletin boards - not much else.</p>
<p>so i’ve been assigned to new/north (yay!). i visited a few weeks ago for admitted students day and i went on a tour through new/north. there was a common room of sorts in between halls, but all that there appeared to be was a piano, a few couches, a table, and that’s it. my question is, are the common rooms really that bland and basically empty? just wondering how the atmosphere is going to be in there next year. thanks!</p>
<p>so i just got in for the fall yesterday through the appeal process and im worried about housing because it’s first come first serve at 'sc. does anyone have any experience or know anyone who got in through an appeal and what their housing situation was like? thanks.</p>
<p>so I just got assigned to IRC for fall… and I’m not exactly thrilled =[ as it’s pretty isolated from the main parts of campus (i.e.quad/library/other dorms/etc.) so I was wondering did anyone have any experience living in IRC or any thoughts they have about it, good or bad, and if I go through reassignment will I have a chance at Pardee, Birnkrant, New/North, or even Marks? </p>
<p>thank you!</p>
<p>I got Trojan Hall. Any thing you can tell me about this?</p>
<p>Were any of you able to be reassigned in the past? Do you know how accomadating USC is to this?</p>
<p>hey, i’m about to be a sophomore. i’ll see what i can do here to help you guys out.
i know you all probably know the actual amenities of the dorms, so here’s the social spiel since we know that’s all you’re wanting to know.</p>
<p>cyron1
don’t worry about it. n|n is definitely crazier than the other dorms, but i really doubt you’ll ever have huge issues with noise or whatever. especially because leavey library is just few steps away and you’ll get way more done in leavey than you would in the quietest dorm room on earth. i’d say don’t bother trying to get reassigned unless you decide you really hate partying.</p>
<p>everybody
honestly, n|n is blown a little out of proportion. it’s not that crazy. people live there. it’s not like a 24/7 party or a club or something. everytime i have been there on weekday nights, it’s been pretty freaking dead. i mean, people chilling and stuff…but any dorm is going to have loud times and parties and stuff. it’s not exclusive to n|n.</p>
<p>this tends to be automatic, but it’s more the personality of the dorm than the noise level or whatever. n|n is all the girls and guys who are gonna rush, lots of business majors, etc. </p>
<p>irc is a lot of engineering, physical sciences, but also some others… irc is not antisocial. that’s a bad way of putting it. irc is in general “quieter” but there was still alcohol around if you were into it, and a couple (or more?) suites had parties regularly… people NEVER sit in their rooms with their doors shut or anything. the suite style thing has advantages too, you meet more people at once. there’s ups and downs to dorms and suites, but people tend to be skewed sometimes. and let’s not forget you can always walk to n|n and the row from irc (as many…MANY do…see? not antisocial, lol) and then come back to your nice building. :)</p>
<p>pahrc is naturally lots of music majors and fine arts, but also engineers, physical science, and everything else. it’s almost identical to irc in socialness and everything else. they’re twins pretty much 100%.</p>
<p>interesting to note — architecture majors somehow end up concentrated in irc&pahrc. unsure of why… but it works out because those are the closest residence halls to the studio.</p>
<p>yale hopeful
i lived in irc, and spot on, that is the worst thing about it. sometimes i wished we were on the quad like everybody else. also trogro and leavey are pretty far. get over it, haha.</p>
<p>the dorm is still social and pretty chillax. and you get maid service in your bathrooms which you only share with 4 people [4 times per week!]. your building is air-conditioned. and usually people are up for walking to the quad and stuff. </p>
<p>also, irc has an über nice study room downstairs that might make up for leavey being so far. i only went to leavey like twice, and while it was nice the couple times and i wished i was closer, at the same time i always thought leavey was tooooo quiet.</p>
<p>my roommate and i both liked it. my roommate’s girlfriend didn’t like it at all for the first couple weeks but then it grew on her. part of it is for the first few weeks or month you won’t know anyone but people in your residence hall or go anywhere but your residence hall, but soon enough you’ll make lots of other friends and your residence hall becomes just that… it’s not somewhere you have to stay all the time. but if you think you will really hate irc you can try for reassignment. </p>
<p>do NOT do NOT do mark’s hall or tower. especially mark’s hall… but neither of those dorms are anything like b/krant and n|n, and they’re just straight up not in good condition. irc wanted to use the basement of mark’s hall as a haunted house fall semester for a community outreach for local kids — because we didn’t want to buy that many decorations. does that say enough?</p>
<p>i honestly don’t know that much about pardee’s social life, but the rooms are fairly big and they have nice lounges on the floors. also the desks look out the window which i thought was nifty.</p>
<p>i don’t think you will have a chance at n|n or b/krant. you can try, but those two are pretty notorious, so they fill up fast. i would pick n|n over b/krant because n|n just always seemed more fun to me, and also as you rise in b/krant it gets hotter…and hotter…and hotter… (hope you don’t get the 8th floor, lol!) i haven’t been in b/krant’s rooms. n|n’s are not too bad, again people say it’s so nasty sometimes, but it’s not. it’s pretty nice by college standards.</p>
<p>behraam
i wish there were something good i could say about trojan hall.
…sorry. it’s alright you won’t hate it but it would be near the bottom of my picks. it’s nice physically like irc&pahrc and it’s faaaar from being perky like n|n.
but none of the dorms are antisocial and people who say they are probably didn’t live there.</p>
<p>everyone
yes. parkside’s food is far superior to evk. duh.</p>
<p>tabtab
i personally (this is just me) would fight tooth and nail to get out of there.
it’s just odd being across figueroa. i’ve never been in there to know about the social activity inside, but i have a friend that lives there who says she always feels very disconnected from campus, and wishes she were getting like, the dorm experience. which you aren’t getting at all there because you’re off campus and in a hotel. unfortunate, if you ask me…but i haven’t been there and i doubt anything will be as bad as people might say it is. upside, you get your own bathroom :)</p>
<p>everybody
let me know if you have any more questions. you can reply to this or you can email me.</p>
<p>Can we stop with the Marks Hall bashing? It is actually much nicer than many of the other building right now. If you haven’t been there in the past two months, it has changed significantly. There are brand new exercise facilities in the basement- in fact, the entire basement has been remodeled with a dance/stretching area, bathrooms, drinking fountains, new floors, and new ceilings. New bathrooms were put in last year on each floor. </p>
<p>Parkside can be nicer in some ways, but it gets repetitive far quicker. I had to eat there for two weeks straight, for every meal, and we got sick of it really quickly. This is true with any food place. </p>
<p>By the way, we usually used our basement for haunted houses. Now that won’t work- it looks way too nice! But the building has personality, which makes it fun! It was featured in Forest Gump! And the Office was filmed in Pardee last summer. </p>
<p>Marks Tower is an older building, although it’s lobby was just redone as well. Also, it has the benefit of smaller floors- there are only about 24 people per floor, so you make a really close community there. </p>
<p>All of these places can be social if you want them to be- leave your door open, walk around and say hi to people and invite them to go to dinner at the dining halls with you. The first week on campus is full of opportunities, and if you make the most of them, you can have a wonderful year, wherever you live.</p>
<p>it’s so fun to make fun of mark’s hall and mark’s tower though…haha.</p>
<p>If anyone needs more info on housing locations, I made a detailed post earlier this year with lots of information: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-southern-california/671723-guide-housing-usc.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-southern-california/671723-guide-housing-usc.html</a></p>
<p>Word gets out about what dorms are the “best” dorms vs. “nerd” dorms. This is stupid. Not everyone is going to get their top choice–especially if that happens to be N/N or B/Krant. You can try for reassignment or you can check out space availabilty after school starts. Those posts that imply that the majority of students who rush live in N/N is B.S. Do you think your preferences play a role in dorm assignment? No. The date you submit your request and the number of people who submit a request by a certain date are the most important factors. Think about it. Don’t get bogged down by thinking that your freshman year is doomed because you are not in a “popular” dorm. What is this? Junior High School?. Deal with the “disappointment,” accept what you cannot change, be sociable, and make your dorm into a social dorm. Your lives are just beginning. At least you will not be getting shot at by insurgents in a remote outpost in Afghanistan in subzero temperatures this Fall, like many others your age who our serving our country. Get some perspective.</p>
<p>While some of this post is very true, there are certain personalities to dorms. It is great if you can find a dorm that matches your personality. When I posted about rushing and New/North, I got the information from someone who lived in New/North for two years. This doesn’t mean that people who want to rush have to be in New/North, or that people who live in New/North will be lonely if they don’t rush. The second part of your post, MissB, is very true. There will be plenty of great opportunities, no matter where you live. Enjoy them! Don’t worry too much about switching dorms- there will be great people in every housing option.</p>
<p>I’m not reading this whole thing, so I don’t know if anyone said this already, but there definitely is something to be said for having air conditioning… :)</p>
<p>I lived in Fluor Tower freshman year and LOVED it. It is a little out of the way, but parking is good, and it’s nice being near Cafe 84 (until you get sick of it) and Lyon Center (waaaay more motivation to exercise when it’s right there). I lived in Webb last year, which was nice too for Sophomore year and beyond if you can get it.</p>
<p>missb, your post is so wrong it’s not even funny.</p>
<p>it’s not about popularity, it’s just what personality fits you.
the buildings all have COMPLETELY AND TOTALLY different personalities. trust me, mmkay?
not saying any of them are better, but they are very very very VERY different.</p>
<p>you will find that the percentage of people rushing in for example irc is FAR. lower than n|n… explain that for me then. they’re DIFFERENT.</p>
<p>also you are just being absurd. i’m going to follow you around all day and every time you get upset about something i’m going to inform you that at least you aren’t in afghanistan in subzero temperatures.</p>
<p>OK. I have calmed down and I promise not to bring up the insurgent threat again. Just try to have a great freshman year and don’t sweat the small stuff if you are not assigned to the dorm of your dreams.</p>
<p>Hey I’m a USC Freshman for Fall 2009. I have some questions about IRC dorms (double, 5P). Please provide me some useful information. Thanks! </p>
<ol>
<li><p>In the video tour, I don’t see a mirror in the room. To those who have lived in IRC, is there a mirror in your room? </p></li>
<li><p>How big is the space for storage? Useful tips on storage are needed!!! </p></li>
<li><p>Electrical appliances rules–> I saw some pictures online that students can actually bring water boilers into their dorms. Is that true? I phoned USC but the reps in USC housing say “generally no” unless the sizes for the water boilers are small…like less than 500ml. </p></li>
<li><p>How’s the bathrooms’ conditions in IRC? How often do the janitors clean the bathrooms?</p></li>
</ol>
<ol>
<li>There should be a mirror in the bathroom.</li>
</ol>
<p>2.You can raise and lower your bed, there is a lot of storage space underneath.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>They say no to this and no to that but its really not a big deal. The RAs tend to be more laid back in IRC than other places. I lived in another dorm and people had toasters, toaster ovens and coffee pots. If you happen to get an RA who actually cares, which is unlikely imo, you can just hide it. They aren’t gonna search your room for a water boiler.</p></li>
<li><p>IRC is the second newest dorm so I would think the bathrooms would be in pretty good shape. In Arts and Humanities, they clean the whole bathroom twice a week. They come and empty out the trash twice more per week.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I lived in IRC for the '08-'09 year.</p>
<p>1) No, there’s no mirror in the room itself. There is a mirror in each bathroom, though. Bring a mirror if you want one in your room.</p>
<p>2) The closets are pretty good size for a dorm. I’d say they’re about 3 feet by 4 feet. Tip? Loft your bed and put your dresser under it. The dresser is actually pretty big, I didn’t have any problems fitting everything into it. Then use the space under your bed for stuff you won’t have to get to that often.
Another tip, you can pull your desk forward and lift up a wooden flap on the back that makes it much bigger… it encouraged me to study a lot more because I could fit a textbook, notebook, my computer, and snacks all on my desk comfortably. 
I figured it out like halfway through the year and wished I had done it the whole time. My roommate also did it and was a big fan. At first your room will seem smaller, but it’s worth it.</p>
<p>3) I’m sure you could do it and no one would care, the RAs don’t really search your room or anything. Don’t forget you have a microwave. :)</p>
<p>4) The bathrooms are awesome! In a college dorm, they don’t get better than IRC (and PAHRC). There’s enough space in the showers that everyone can really just leave their stuff in the shower if they want, the 8 guys in my suite all did and it was no big. (Especially in the large bathroom… it’s gargantuan.) The smaller of the two has the sink on the outside that way if someone’s in the shower you can still use the sink. </p>
<p>Your bathrooms are cleaned 4 times per week. 2 of the times are “light” cleaning. The other two are “complete.” There’s not a massive difference between the two… basically, your bathroom stays pretty freakin’ nice. :D</p>
<p>okay so everyone seems really focused on air-conditioning but what about heating? I get REALLY cold in winter (yes even LA winter, I was walking around wrapped in a blanket for a week this february) and I already know to buy an extra blanket but do the dorms (I’m in B/krant) have heating at all? or should you just buy/bring a floor heater with you?</p>