<p>I’m filling out my freshman housing app now, and I’m wondering which five housing preferences I should put down. At first, I thought I’d want Marks Hall (Dean’s Hall program, assuming that I get a Trustee or Presidential Scholarship), but Birnkrant triples are starting to sound pretty appealing…</p>
<p>Could someone give me some suggestions on which option to put as my first choice? A little about me: I don’t think I’d feel comfortable in New/North (it sounds a little too wild for me. Haha), and I want to meet nice, smart people and have intelligent discussions, but I’m not totally socially stunted or antisocial. Haha. Would Birnkrant be a good compromise for me, or would anyone recommend Marks Hall (Dean’s Hall)? I’ve heard a lot of raves about New/North, Fluor, and Birnkrant, but not much about Marks. Also, does anyone have any opinions on the Radisson? It sounds fairly quiet, which I like, but is it too antisocial (I don’t want that)?</p>
<p>And finally, any opinions on which other houses I should round out my five choices with (Fluor, New/North, etc.)?</p>
<p>Thanks in advance for any help you give me! :)</p>
<p>From what I heard, honors dorms are in pretty bad shape. I heard marks and trojan were falling apart, don’t know if this is still the case.</p>
<p>I signed up for Birnkrant triples as my first choice (I’m pretty social, but i need my quiet time sometimes… and I like the idea of a room for sleeping and a room for everything else. Its close proximity with new/north means that social life won’t be damaged too much.), with new/north as the next three choices and Parkside as my last choice (Close to the architecture buildings, I’m an arch major)</p>
<p>This is assuming USC gives me a FA/Scholarship package that enables me to go, of course.</p>
<p>Let’s put it this way. Birnkrant triples are basically the best option in freshman housing. Second place is either Birnkrant double or Fluor tower. After that, you’ve got Parkside (IRC and A&H). New/North is OK, kind of old and crowded, but you get a sink in your room. After that they’re pretty much all the same: not great.</p>
<p>in the past 2 years USC has been doing a ton of renovations in the freshman dorms. for example in new/north they spent over a million dollars to fix the plumbing. in deans halls they completely remodeled the bathrooms. marks tower, marks hall, and pardee tower all got renovated common spaces/lobbies. marks hall now has a small gym with brand new equipment in the basement.</p>
<p>i’m sure that the same thing will happen this summer, as well. because housing is doing so much construction, even things you hear from current USC students may be outdated by the time you guys move in next fall.</p>
<p>I heard that Pardee is a good compromise between social/studying - it isn’t boring, but you can still study in your dorm (as opposed to having to go to the library). Can anyone confirm or qualify this? Is Pardee even a freshman dorm?</p>
<p>Hey guys! I’m trying to fill out my residence hall application now, but I feel like a total ditz–I have my USC ID but it says I need a password? They’ve never given me a password (as far as I know), and I’ve tried the ID # itself as the password but it didn’t work. So how are you all logging in to fill out the housing request? Thanks!</p>
<p>And I’m torn between Birnkrant and New/North… I do like to have a good time and am motivated enough to study in the library by myself, but I am wary that New/North would be too crazy. Also, I don’t know if I’d want to rush or not, and apparently most freshmen there rush.</p>
<p>Has this been said recently? It really doesn’t matter what you choose but put your deposit (and selections) in NOW. It marks you place in the queue and you can change preferences up until the housing deposit deadline. If you choose a roommate with a different deposit date, they average the two – or maybe go with the latest date … not sure. You don’t need to commit to USC, but I think you’ll forfeit your deposit if you go elsewhere.</p>
<p>My S was very happy as a freshman at Pardee in 2006. It has a built-in safe for each student and a washer & dryer on each floor. S was in the “Great Outdoors” floor for men, which did activities with the GO floor for women. Agree that puttting in your deposit & choices as soon as you know what you want is helpful (tho S put his in sometime in April/May & still got his 1st choice, Pardee. A friend who graduated from USC had loved Pardee & strongly recommended it. S would also recommend it.</p>
<p>My S has submitted his dorm requests. It appears, though, that he could be penalized in dorm selection if he wishes to use the online roommate matching system as he may lose his place in line. Is this true? It appears that you can either maintain you spot on the list and have a better chance of getting the dorm you wish or select a roommate. We are a little confused as to how the process works and would appreciate any thoughts or guidance.</p>
<p>Good luck to all ~ it is a stressful time for everyone.</p>
<p>Apply for your housing now. As previous posters have stated, it’s $45 non-refundable (last year the cost was $30). Then you will have higher priority in your dorm selection.</p>
<p>justamom…when potential roommates, who apply at different dates, request to share…the priority date is averaged out. My D for example was accepted very early, and her friend much later in that year so USC Housing calculated the new priority date which was later for my D and earlier for her friend.
At least that was the case 2 years ago.</p>
<p>Thanks, Sequoia. This is helpful. I am glad that things work out for your D. Sounds like the process of a roommate selection is a compromise. One more thing… do you know where you stand in the rooming priority lists? If you decide not to select a roommate, does the school use the profile information to try to pair you will someone who may be compatible or is it just a random process? Again, many thanks.</p>
<p>Re dorm choices: My son will be a freshman, on scholarship, majoring in computers…he’s social, but prefers quiet to rowdiness and doesn’t care if the dorm is new or old. He’s the kind of person who makes 3 or 4 good friends rather than hanging out with a group of 20 kids who like to party. What would be some good choices for him?</p>
<p>For what it’s worth, most of the kids I know did NOT select a room mate so they could meet new friends. Most of them were paired with compatible people. USC tries very hard to pay attention to what the students indicate in the survey they complete. If the students are honest, it can work very well. S was pleased to have such a compatible room mate (their major difference is that roomie loved waking early on weekends to watch hockey while S loved to sleep in). They were compatible in all important respects and had a great year together. D entered as a spring transfer, so she was just lucky to get a space another student vacated. She got along OK with her suitemates & room mate.</p>
<p>Another thing about housing, many kids get their 1st or at least 2nd choice. This was even true when there was less housing than there is now. My S in fall of 2006 registered for housing in mid to late April & still got his 1st choice, Pardee. He was very happy in his dorm!</p>
<p>Someone asked earlier about being in a dorm without AC - not gonna lie, the first two weeks are pretty brutal, especially when it can get over 100 degrees here in LA, but it’s not unbearable as long as you have a fan. AC really won’t matter to you any other time, so I honestly wouldn’t consider it a deal breaker. </p>
<p>And to be honest, I don’t think that USC pays much attention to the actual roommate profile questions. My roommate and I had completely opposite answers for everything (but we’re best friends because of it haha) and I know lots of people who have had trouble with their roommates. Then again, there are also people who have trouble with their roommates even if they picked each other, so take it as you will. Part of the freshman experience is just having to live with people you don’t neccesarily want to live with, and I think you grow a lot regardless if you hate your roommate or love your roommate. In the end, your room is a place to sleep so you shouldn’t stress! Hopefully it’ll work out, but I’d recommend trying to find a roommate first. Especially with facebook now, it’s super easy to get in contact with people in your class.</p>
It’s on top of the login box</p>