<p>is it easy to move in to USC from across the country?</p>
<p>yeah just book a plane ticket and make sure to bring your luggage</p>
<p>^^that .</p>
<p>Isn’t moving into college harder than that? Don’t you need things for your dorm room?</p>
<p>^Yes you do. Most importantly bedding, towels, and toiletries. All of which you could bring in suitcases on the plane. We are doing just that! I am sure USC has published lists that detail what items you should bring. Can someone add the link for the OP?</p>
<p>Bring only the things you couldn’t get in LA – your clothing, personal mementos, electronics, etc. Buy the toiletries, decorations, etc in LA to save your luggage space. There is a CVS across from USC, a Rite Aid nearby and a Target within driving distance.</p>
<p>[Housing</a> Options](<a href=“http://housing.usc.edu/]Housing”>http://housing.usc.edu/)</p>
<p><a href=“http://housing.usc.edu/forms/fall-checkin-11.pdf[/url]”>http://housing.usc.edu/forms/fall-checkin-11.pdf</a></p>
<p>I’m ordering dorm stuff from Bed Bath & Beyond and picking it up on move-in day at the location closest to campus. Just go on their website - there’s an entire section for college students.</p>
<p>^^ I believe Bed, Bath, and Beyond sets up in the bookstore during welcome week for your convenience. Not sure if they’ll take delivery orders though, but it is stocked with most stuff you will need.</p>
<p>Sorry to hijack this thread, but is a car necessary? I know that it’s LA, so it would be nice, but is it an essential?</p>
<p>You do not need a car your freshman year, especially if you are an out of state student. The students who usually have cars as freshmen are either commuters or California residents who live within a few hours drive from Los Angeles.</p>
<p>I didn’t bring a car until sophomore year, when I had internships and needed to drive around LA. Some of my friends didn’t have a car until junior or senior year, though – but many of them never had a car at USC at all.</p>
<p>As a freshman, there would be little reason for you to have a car as an out of state student, especially since internships are usually reserved for sophomores, juniors and seniors anyway. There is plenty of transportation provided by USC to get you around the neighborhood and to Downtown/Union Station for free. You also can take the bus or Metro around LA. If you ever need to go somewhere far, you are bound to know someone in your dorm with a car.</p>
<p>There are also many Zipcars placed around the USC neighborhood that you can “rent” to drive around if you ever are in dire need. I suggest just taking the bus, though. I did that my first year and I was fine.</p>
<p>I got my car about a month into my second semester of freshman year, and I have to say it just made life so much easier, especially moving out of the dorms and running errands. Gas is almost prohibitively expensive, especially in LA, so I didn’t drive except when I had to, but it was so nice to have that option. The LA-area is so car-dependent that it’s really nice to have access to a car to go off campus and try new things. </p>
<p>Although, while I don’t mean to sound vain, I think my roommate (who is avowedly anti-car) and I got off campus a lot more than most freshmen, particularly out-of-state freshmen do, it was nice to have that option, like to go see a show at the Pantages or go out to dinner if we’d gotten sick of the on-campus options and had some extra money. Plus it was great when friends/family came in from out of town! Finding a place to put it over the summer was distinctly less fun. And paying through the nose for my parking permit.</p>
<p>I didn’t find the cross-country transition too difficult, but I may have had an advantage in that I lived in LA for the first five years of my life, not that I remember most of it! The cultures are definitely way different, but in a good way, I think. It’s always good to have perspective on how other people live, and the west coast in general has a very friendly culture, at least as I’ve experienced it.</p>
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<p>You can do this all on a bus, though. I went to Disneyland, Hollywood, numerous concerts and even the beach on LA public transportation my first year in LA. It’s not difficult and it teaches you how to get around WITHOUT A GPS. A car is a luxury in LA, especially in college and not everyone can afford the gas/parking permit fees/tickets, etc. I personally recommend waiting until your second year at the earliest if your family isn’t extremely rich.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone! No, my parents are not wealthy. They don’t want me to go away to college. They want me to stay in my hometown. 
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<p>I’m very relieved about the car situation. I don’t have my license and I really don’t want to get it. My parents pressure me a lot. I would like to get a job, but I just don’t want to drive. I’m scared to death.</p>
<p>You could probably just get a job on campus ;)</p>
<p>Arctic82: That’s my plan. My mom, especially, doesn’t think that I understand the concept of money (because I want to apply to private universities versus public), but I definitely do. If I’m going to be a college student soon, I have to learn how to manage my money. It’s not like I can’t take care of myself. All I can’t do is drive myself places. Right now, I don’t have anywhere to go.</p>
<p>Having a driver’s license and learning how to drive is a skill I think you should try to learn before you leave home, though. You never know if you might need to know how to drive in an emergency, etc.</p>
<p>You can always borrow a friend’s car if you needed to drive at USC, or if you wanted a Zipcar to get away for a day – and a license is the only way you can do that!</p>
<p>I am going to disagree with Zelda. If you aren’t ready to drive, then don’t. My son left home for a boarding school right about the time he was eligible for his license. We made the decision not to get his license because he couldn’t bring a car, had no interest in driving, and we had to pay to insure him whether he was home or not. When he decided to go to USC, we knew he would not bring a car there either so he again decided not to get the license. If he decides he wants to drive later, we will investigate getting it in CA since he isn’t likely to move back to NC after college. </p>
<p>Everyone’s situation is different so please evaluate yours carefully. If you Re afraid to drive now, go with your gut and don’t get it.</p>
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<p>First off, my family isn’t extremely rich. Which is why I hardly ever use my car. And I’ve gone to Hollywood, Disneyland, the beach, etc without my car. I take the Dash F route pretty regularly when I want to go to downtown. But, for example, I’m a theatre critic for Neon Tommy, and it’s incredibly inconvenient to try and figure out which bus(es) to take back from North Hollywood at 10pm or whenever on a Friday night and then wait for them not to be on time and spend an hour and a half or however long going each way to somewhere 20 minutes away. So yes, I do appreciate my car, even though I rarely use it.</p>
<p>NC Mom: My parents have put so much pressure on me. I’m so scared of being in an accident. During the last few weeks of school, one of the seniors was killed and another was put in the ICU.</p>
<p>I need to get a job… Hopefully my friend and I can get a job at the same place, so we could drive back and forth. </p>
<p>My brother even taunts me because I can’t drive. He’s 9 and he makes me seem like I can’t function by myself. My mom also says that I’m immature. I don’t want to drive. She’s making me want to drive even less.</p>