Guide to Housing at USC

<p>Lots of questions coming out about housing, so I thought I'd start a thread with as many of the answers as I can come up with. That way I won't have to type them over and over!</p>

<p>I'll mainly be addressing this for incoming freshman, as I don't know as much about transfer housing.</p>

<p>Types of Housing Styles:
Dorms/Residential Halls (1, 2, or 3 person rooms)
Suites (number in rooms depends on building)
Apartments (number also determined by building)</p>

<p>Residential Halls are the typical place for freshmen to be in. They include New/North, Birnkrant, Pardee, Marks Tower, Radisson, Marks Hall, and Trojan Hall. These buildings are in North and South Area. The vast majority of rooms in these halls are doubles. There are a few exceptions, which usually go to sophomores. Of these buildings, only Radisson has air conditioning. However, there are only a few really hot weeks a year (LA rarely gets humid), and I've always been fine surviving with a fan or two (and some popsicles in the fridge!). There are communal bathrooms in all of the buildings other than Radisson. They are cleaned daily, and are rarely crowded. I have never had to wait for an open shower in my three years living in Residential Halls. </p>

<p>The social life in residential halls can vary greatly each year. Students generally self-select into the types of halls that they want to be in. Below, I will describe each hall in detail. All of these halls are located in the same general area of campus, and it will take about five minutes to get to most of your GE courses on campus. This is generally true for all housing, as all of the buildings are on the edges of campus, while the most popular class buildings (THH, WPH etc) are in the middle of campus. If you are on campus, location itself will be pretty unimportant.</p>

<p>New/North: Has a reputation as a party hall. This is partially due to the fact that about 75% of student in the hall will rush (I got this figure from someone who lived there for two years). If you have a good relationship with your roommate and are able to make good rules in the beginning of the year, you should be able to study and sleep when you need to. However, if you need lots of quiet while you sleep, you may have some difficulties here. </p>

<p>Birnkrant: A favorite option for many students. This dorm tends to have a nice mix of socially active students while still being relatively quiet as a building. The location of the building is nice if you plan on studying in the library a lot, and I think you can see the Hollywood sign (on a clear day) from the top floors. </p>

<p>Pardee/Marks Tower: These buildings are truthfully pretty similar. They are connected to each other, and each are large towers. They are relatively social, but not as social as New/North. Pardee has a washer/dryer unit on each floor, while Marks Tower has one in the basement. Both buildings got a plasma screen TV this year (true with many buildings, but I only know the details in South Area). The lounge in Marks Tower was just redone, and I think the Pardee lounge is getting redone soon.</p>

<p>Radisson: Yes, you can live in a hotel. This is the only south area building with co-ed floors. All of the North area buildings (New/North/Birnkrant) are Co-ed (I think...). Each room has a bathroom, air conditioner, and is very big. However, they are across the street, and somewhat disconnected from the social scene. This is one of the quieter halls- very little partying actually happens in the hall.</p>

<p>Marks Hall: (Disclaimer- I RA here!). Last summer the bathrooms and lounges (new TVs and furniture) were redone. This is one of the honors halls, although honors students aren't the only ones living here. This is the first building in South area to have its own exercise room. It has treadmills/ellipticals/bikes with individual TVs attached. Very cool! This is definitely a quieter floor at night, but that doesn't mean that it is asocial. The students here either aren't partiers, or tend to party elsewhere. It isn't boring- things to happen here, and people do go out, they just aren't as loud about it. </p>

<p>Trojan Hall: Another honors hall, but has a larger population of non-honors students than Marks Hall. Has access to the exercise facilities in Marks Hall. Has a lounge with a flat screen TV. Marks Hall and Trojan Hall are considered to be the same community.</p>

<p>I'll go more into the suites etc. later, as this is already really long!</p>

<p>Nikara, this is an extremely helpful post. Cannot wait for the rest. ^^</p>

<p>thank you!</p>

<p>Good idea. </p>

<p>Bump.</p>

<p>This was an awesome thread, thank you! Do you know how far away the Radisson is in relation to the rest of the dorms? I am in love with the idea of living in a hotel, but I'm hesitant because I don't really want to be separated from everyone else.</p>

<p>wanderlusting, the Radisson is right across the street from the main campus. It's not far away at all/</p>

<p>thanks a lot. I think Birnkrant is the right pick for me.</p>

<p>Great stuff.. Now for the suites! I'm going for those :)</p>

<p>I'll post more soon, but I'm currently on spring break in NYC, so my life is pretty crazy. Maybe I'll be able to do part two on the plane Sunday. Others can add their opinions, though!</p>

<p>I'm actually filling out my housing application right now, and will probably submit it after fin aid awards come in. This thread has given me some more much-needed perspective.</p>

<p>Thanks so much! :)</p>

<p>Hahah yes this is sooo helpful. I'm waiting for the suite one, though because I'm trying to see whether I should put Fluor Tower or Birnkrant as my first choice! D:</p>

<p>Alright, here come my descriptions of suites and apartments. I'm going to limit this to Freshman housing, so there won't be many apartments in this.</p>

<p>Apartments are probably the least social option for freshman. I would advise against them unless the specific theme floor really appeal to you. Parkside Apartments is the only option for freshman, which houses the theme floors for Schalom and the Muslim community. It can be hard to meet other people in apartments, and there are a lot of upper classmen in this building, so people have already made their friends. Also, programming won't really be themed towards freshman. </p>

<p>Suites are an intermediate option. Usually, there will be a general living area, sometimes with a small kitchenette which is connected to four rooms of doubles or singles. The group of people living within the suite will generally become very close, but they may not get to know other suites as well. You need to be quite outgoing to get to know other suites well, but you will have an immediate community within the suites. Because of this arrangement, none of the suites are usually all that loud. All suites require meal plans, and most are closest to Parkside, instead of EVK, the other main dining hall. All suites have air conditioning and their own bathroom.</p>

<p>A quick note on the dining halls- people will debate back and forth which ones are best, but usually you will end up getting sick of whichever one is closest to you, and envy people near the other ones. Both have lots of options for vegetarians/vegans, have salad bars/frozen yogurt/pizza etc. Parkside has more international food, while EVK always has a pasta and mexican station. </p>

<p>Fluor- I don't know much about this area, other than that athletes will sometimes live here their freshman year. It is located in a really nice spot of campus- right next to the gym and Cafe 84, which is my favorite place to eat! However, it is a bit far from most of the classroom buildings, as it next to the athletic fields and dental school. However, it is still quite nice. Fluor houses Sommerville, which is the African American special interest community, as well as the Latino floors. You do not have to be of either group to live on these floors, but if you want to live there, you must apply for them.</p>

<p>Parkside International- This building houses many of the international students of the university, but doesn't just have them. It is a newer building, and located right next to Parkside Dining Hall. This housing is designed for both freshman and international students. There are both 6 person and 8 person suites.</p>

<p>finally...</p>

<p>Arts and Humanities at Parkside: This is the newest building for housing on campus. It is very big and pretty. You do not have to be majoring in the humanities to live here, but if you are an architecture etc major, you will find others who understand you here! I haven't been in these halls much, but I've heard good things about them. The personality of this community is still being formed, as it is in its early years.</p>

<p>Do you know whats the most popular housing area for Engineering majors? Also, which one is the closest to those classes?</p>

<p>Is it possible to get housing for all 4 years?</p>

<p>same question as him^</p>

<p>him as in squadus</p>

<p>Haha, <em>high five</em> fellow engie! (I call it engie because of team fortress 2 xD)</p>

<p>Yes, you can get housing for four years, but you may not like where you end up. They always make it through the wait list, but after sophomore year, you will probably be off campus.</p>

<p>The main point I wanted to make with freshman housing is that it doesn't matter what your major is. Many of your classes will be GEs anyway, so choose housing based on what community sounds good to you. There will always be people in your major around.</p>

<p>This **** is good thank!</p>

<p>Great information - thanks!</p>

<p>What about those special interest communities? Good or bad choice?</p>