<p>Two questions for now:
—What is the USC policy for students living in the dorms storing suitcases during the school year? Does each dorm have a storage room or are students expected to store the suitcases in their rooms?
—What bank do most on-campus students use for their checking account? D is moving from the East Coast and we hope to establish a new account with a bank convenient on campus that also has a branch in her home-town?</p>
<p>You’re expected to store your bags and whatnot in your own room. There is no available storage space outside of that.</p>
<p>A lot of students sign up for a USC Credit Union account. They are part of the Co-op network, so any credit union ATM or branch will be able to handle transactions. There is also a Bank of America branch right next to campus.</p>
<p>Hey Troika -</p>
<ul>
<li><p>In their room. I had like six suitcases, stored behind the drawers under my bed. </p></li>
<li><p>Bank of America and USC Credit Union have ATMs oncampus. Bank of America has a branch on Jefferson. Wells Fargo/Wachovia (what I use) has an ATM in the University Village food court and a branch a little further off campus on Wilshire. Keep in mind that you will have to pay extra if you send money to/from accounts in different banks (e.g. Wachovia to Bank of America, vice versa, etc.).</p></li>
</ul>
<p>motherMD - </p>
<p>I’m pretty sure they don’t just let anyone move in early. Check with Housing on that… if you have half decent timing on movein day, it won’t be too busy. Just make sure he picks up his linens before distribution ends for the day, otherwise he’ll be sleeping on a bare bed the first night and possibly need to make a crosscampus trek on foot the second day carrying a huge box of linens.</p>
<p>I signed up with Wells Fargo/Wachovia, which ended up working out really well, since they have an ATM at the end of the Row (where I’ll be living for the next three years), at Fig & 28th. There’s also a Chase ATM in Gateway. Chase, BofA, and Wells Fargo are all pretty much everywhere, so it’s up to you to decide which you like better. I went for Wells Fargo, since it’s big in LA and NY, and decent in DC.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the information, everyone!</p>
<p>USC’14 from NYC here.</p>
<p>Don’t pack anything unnecessary; all that you really need are clothes, sheets, and your laptop. You can buy everything else once you arrive… if i recall correctly there were shuttles to target at the beginning of the year. I ended up using zipcar with my roommates (I was also in a birnkrant triple) and we drove up to burbank and bought furniture from ikea and a tv from best buy. Your son is going to love the triple; it’s a huge amount of space, and usually the kids on the floor that dont live in triples come over to chill and watch movies and stuff so your second room becomes a sort of lounge that people come to socialize in (only if you want to, though.)</p>
<p>This is slightly OT, but if any of your kids are Jewish, you might want to consider getting to USC a day early for USC Hillel’s freshfest. This is a one day retreat just before move-in day (Your child will be allowed to move his or her stuff into the dorm one day early to accommodate this.) that is more social than religious, a combination of getting to know you at an overnight in the mountains near campus and having access to upper classmen who answer questions and provide lots of helpful info. This allowed our S to start school already knowing a lot of other students, and he made a several friends there. (There is also a brunch with a q&a session and a panel for parents only, as the students take off to enjoy each others’ company.) This is the link: [USC</a> Hillel | FreshFest 2011](<a href=“http://uschillel.org/freshfest/]USC”>http://uschillel.org/freshfest/)</p>
<p>Regarding bank accounts – the USC credit union lets you sign a parent onto the account and gives two debit cards. My parents used this to give me money to my account while in school. The USC credit union card was a part of my mom’s credit union network, so she was able to go to her branch and use the USC debit card to deposit cash. I would check this out and if your bank or credit union is a part of the same network, this is best way to go.</p>
<p>I second bringing only the clothes and things you cannot purchase in LA. There are several Targets 15-25 minutes away (with traffic) and a CVS across from campus.</p>
<p>I don’t think you’re allowed to have an amp in your dorm. When you live in non USC housing, it is fine, but the USC housing contract specifically restricts amplified instruments. I know you can bring a practice amp, but I wouldn’t bring anything over 25W. Too much of a potential problem with space/safety/etc.</p>
<p>I also don’t know the state of the new practice rooms since PIC was demolished, but I would assume the Popular Music kids have amps to use through Thornton. It would seem silly otherwise. </p>
<p>Dorms are small and are havens for theft. Musical equipment is ALWAYS targeted. The less you can bare to bring for this first year, the better. Once you move into a USC apartment or any non-USC owned house/apartment, then bring out all your gear but still be cautious about it. I could relay all the horror stories of stolen drum kits, guitars, mics, ProTools rigs, etc – but I am sure you get the point.</p>
<p>Make sure any instrument you bring is in a locked hardcase with an address/phone number tag on it, too. The more identifiable your gear is, the better. Label it, if you have stickers on your case, etc…</p>
<p>^ Great advice for the musicians! I’m bringing an electric guitar in a hard case and thinking of locking the case to my bed when i’m not bringing it out of the room. Am I over-thinking this?</p>
<p>I really doubt you need to lock up your guitar.</p>
<p>Yeah, I’m planning on bringing my guitar, how concerned should I be about leaving it in my dorm room? Also, does anyone know what the music practice rooms are like (is it just a room with a piano…)? And are they available to non-music majors? I feel like I’ll drive my suitemates crazy if I play/sing as much there as I do at home. Definitely gonna need those practice rooms.</p>
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<p>Maybe not lock it to the bed – but if it’s a sentimental and expensive guitar, why would it hurt? If I had a flaky roommate who forgot to lock the door or who had “questionable” friends come in and out at all times (it happens!) I’d rather be safe than sorry.</p>
<p>If you trust your roommate and their friends, then leaving it locked in yr hardcase under your bed or somewhere else secure shouldn’t be an issue.</p>
<p>Instruments at USC (and any other school, really) fall into that “be smart” category. This should also apply to your friends, though, too. Because my boyfriend’s housemates didn’t lock the door when they were the last to leave the house (on two different occasions), my boyfriend had his entire drumset stolen and one of his housemates had two guitars stolen (one of which was pretty irreplaceable).</p>
<p>I don’t tell these stories to scare anyone. If you leave property unlocked and unattended in a dorm or apartment at any college, any where, it’s bound to be stolen. </p>
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<p>I don’t know what the new practice rooms are like, but in PIC (old practice room building that was recently demolished) the rooms were of varying sizes and had mostly grand (but sometimes upright) pianos. All soundproofed. There were also rooms for students majoring/studying specific instruments, like harp rooms, double bass storage, etc.</p>
<p>This was the policy through the end of my UG time at USC (May 2010) and I assume it hasn’t changed since then – but you can ONLY use the practice rooms if you are a music major/minor (or just a student) enrolled in a course that would dictate you need access to a practice room. The PIC building was unlocked during the daytime, but the rooms were also reserved, so even if you wanted to, it was hard to get a space. After 7pm, it was key card access only. Can someone weigh in and say whether or not this is the same policy/practice with the new rooms at Gateway?</p>
<p>If you’re not a music major/minor, you can take private lessons that would give you access to use the practice rooms all semester.</p>
<p>Be aware that the practice rooms are in high demand and that it’s unlikely you’ll find an empty room whenever you want. When PIC was still around there were always a lot of people practicing just outside, on the grass or the benches behind Heritage Hall.</p>
<p>I’m planning on doing a songwriting minor, but it’s not declared yet or anything. I am taking Songwriting I my first semester, would that give me leeway to be able to use practice rooms? Like I said, I like to sing a LOT and could really use a practice room just to be able to make noise and not bother anyone. I think I’m gonna email the music department or something and ask them their policy about practice rooms.</p>
<p>I don’t know whether or not the songwriting class allows practice room usage. PIC access was primarily for students in performance classes and audio mixing classes (as that’s where the ProTools lab used to be.)</p>
<p>The policy I assume hasn’t changed, so there’s no reason to call. Practice rooms are for students who need to practice an instrument FOR ACADEMIC REASONS ONLY. If you’re that worried, enroll in private lessons or a group instrument class.</p>
<p>Also, your dorm might have a piano in the common room. I always used the one in Marks/Pardee to practice even though I didn’t live there. Hehe.</p>
<p>Contacted a woman at the music department. She said that access is granted to Thornton majors or minors, so since I will be a songwriting minor I’m allowed to use the practice rooms at Gateway. I just need to go to the music operations office in August with proof that I’m enrolled in a music course for the fall (which I am) and they’ll give me an access card. Anyway, I totally hijacked this thread, haha, but now that’s all taken care of…</p>
<p>yeah, for the Gateway practice rooms, they verify that you’re in a class and then do something on the computer that lets your USCard swipe you into the practice room part of the building. You also get a pretty sticker that says Thornton 2010-2011 (or 2011-2012, etc) to put on your USCard.</p>
<p>Anyone can use the practice rooms in the dorms, but the Gateway ones are MUCH nicer.</p>
<p>Also, there are two parts to the Gateway practice rooms. The front part is for anyone taking a music class. The back part has just as many, if not more, practice rooms, and is only for majors and minors. I’ve only been back there once, but I didn’t have any trouble finding a room in the back when the front was all filled up. So music majors/minors can practice in the front or the back, but non-majors/minors can only practice in the front.</p>
<p>Hi, I understand there is no WiFi in Arts and Humanities dorm. Do you know if students are permitted to use a wireless router? Also, anyone ever “upgrade” cable TV? Just wondering … thanks</p>
<p>You can always just plug your computer into the wall. Faster, and more reliable.</p>
<p>My son just finished his first year at USC and loved it. NC mom: he lived in a triple in Birnkrant and it worked out great. Troika mom: he never had a problem getting a package they make it so simple for them to pick up. The address provided by poster is what I always used. Please post any questions you have…I got so much help last year from other moms that if there’s any way to pass it on I’d love to.
One quick tip…I went ahead and paid Soapy Joes to do his laundry…OMG best decision I ever made.</p>