<p>My opinion (which is shared by many) on the dorms:</p>
<p>Trojan/Marks Tower/Marks Hall/Deans: All sucky. Avoid like the plague. Old rooms, small, not aesthetic, and nobody seems to like it. Marks has a nice lounge but that’s about it.</p>
<p>Parkside/IRC: Suite-style living. Really nice, new rooms with a private bathroom shared between the suitemates (HUGE plus- I miss my own shower!). Also really close to Parkside Restuarant, which is the nicest of the two dining halls. Unfortunately, Parkside is super far away from McCarthy Quad, which is where most of the freshmen are and all of the other dorms are. I have some friends in Parkside and we’ve just fallen out of touch because its so inconvenient to see them. </p>
<p>Pardee: I live here! Personally I love it. I have a great floor of girls that I’ve become very close with. Some people don’t like that it alternates gender by floor, but most of the people I’ve met love it because you don’t have to worry about running into a cute guy down the hall with no makeup on or for a middle-of-the-night pee. Also it allows you to really bond with your floormates- we have floor dinners and activities and I’m living with 3 of my floormates next year. Also, I love that we have one long desk rather than two short ones- we actually have more room, and more bookcase space. It’s not a party dorm in the sense that you don’t have people throwing up in the stairwell, but people do go out- the party just usually doesn’t COME to Pardee. One bad thing- the beds don’t rise. You have to buy bed risers (all other dorm beds have 3 settings). </p>
<p>New/North: The place where all Greeks live. Pretty much if you like to party, this is where you need to be. The rooms vary, I’ve seen some great big ones with sinks and some not so great smaller ones that are dimly lit and have views of the dumpster. But it is convenient because its right near the dining hall EVK. I personally wouldn’t want to live here though because literally every night is a party night and the music can get pretty loud. Also, there are always nasty things in the stairwells after people partied too hard. And my friend who lives in New is constantly having to pay fees for stupid stuff other partiers did (someone threw a table out a window once…?). Seriously like hundreds of dollars. But if you like to party/are interested in Greek life, this is where you should be.</p>
<p>Birnkrandt: Probably one of the most popular. I can’t say much about it since I don’t have any friends in there, but I’ve heard its super nice. I saw a room once and wasn’t very impressed though, seemed pretty average. Right next to Trogro though (the coffee shop)! Huge plus. </p>
<p>Fluor: Land of the athletes. Other than that, idk. Near the Lyon Center (good thing for work out motivation).</p>
<p>So I guess as far as co-ed flooring with dorm style arrangements go, New/North or Birnkrant is the way to go? Are those two dorms a part of the same community scene?</p>
<p>Yep, if you want co-ed floors I’d try to get Birnkrant or New/North. For me, I’d rather get Birnkrant, but hard-core partiers would prefer New/North. Birnkrant is very hard to get into FYI, you have to be among the first to apply for housing. And yes, they are all on the quad. Basically all of the dorms are in the same area (surrounding the quad) except for Fluor Tower, which is by the gym, and Parkside.</p>
<p>** If by community scene you mean housing “area”, then Birnkrant and New/North are in “North Area” and Pardee/Marks/Trojan/Deans are “South Area”. But in reality they are all very close; South and North are literally a few hundred feet away.</p>
<p>Okay, as soon as housing opens on Feb 1st, i’m going to apply for housing. I’m going to try Birnkrant first… But what for second? Can Freshmen apply for Parkside?</p>
<p>Birnkrant has a lot of T/P scholars - all the triples are basically T/P scholars since we were the first to get to register for housing. My floor is about 70-80% scholarship recipients, so it’s not impossible to get BK if you didnt get a scholarship, but you need to register ASAP.</p>
<p>Freshman can apply for Parkside A&H and IRC, but not parkside apartments.</p>
<p>IMO, Birnkrant is really nice if you want to get to know everyone on your floor, N/N is good for partying… but if you’re not greek you might not like it. Parkside A&H and IRC have really nice buildings, and the suites w/ non-communal bathrooms are nice… but they’re pretty anti-social.</p>
<p>Pardee’s not bad from what I heard, but the floors not being coed might be a dealbreaker. Don’t know too much about the others, but the Radisson has a hot tub (just sayin’)</p>
<p>If you’re going for Birnkrant, apply for the triple. I’m in one right now and it is HUGE. You get two rooms, one as a bedroom and another as a living room. My roommates and I went out and got a futon and a HDTV, and I brought my PS3… trust me, it’s only 50 bucks more than a double, but definitely worth it.</p>
<p>I wanted a triple so badly. But I haven’t received anything at all from USC the past few days, so idk. Is getting a triple by reassignment possible?</p>
<p>When we toured over Christmas break, we were told several floors of the Radisson are definitely to continue as freshman dorms and they will be an option on the application.</p>
<p>Are parkside ah, parkside irc, and fluor really antisocial? I like the layout of the suites and they seem to have their perks, but I’m relatively social and don’t want to be isolated. Thanks</p>
<p>FailSafe…they are certainly not anti social. My D lived in both AH and IRC, and loved it. Met lots of students besides the one’s in her suite. Both residences also host get togethers and functions.
She was happy to live there as compared to other residences/dorms. Besides the Cafeteria is better too. As for distance, it was nothing, especially with a bike. USC is compact.</p>
<p>FailSafe…The suites in AH are the same as those in IRC except that those in AH have an added little common space as you enter the suite and which fits a small table and 2 or 3 chairs. AH is a slightly newer building so that space was added to each suite. Each suite in both buildings has two full bathrooms and houses between 6 and 8 people. Most are 4 doubles, some are 3 doubles, and there are a few singles. (3 doubles and one single) Furniture in a both buildings’ suites is the same. There are lounges on each floor, with a TV, and common rooms on the ground floor.
AH has a grassy lawn in front, and IRC has a brick patio area with seating and potted plants.
I don’t know anything about Fluor.</p>
<p>I know it must be in this thread but please tell me what are the names of the dorms for freshman that want a single room. Thanks again everyone!!!</p>