<p>If we have been accepted to USC and are NMF, thereby ensuring a half-tuition "National Merit Finalist Presidential" scholarship, are we allowed to live in Birnkrant Residential College? In the packet I received, it says BSR is for Mork/Stamps/Trustee/Presidential scholars, so I was hoping someone could clarify, as I was not selected by the university in January for the USC-specific scholarships, but am a scholar. </p>
<p>Yes, a NMF Presidential is considered the same as a Presidential. You have all the same extra benefits.</p>
<p>Is the housing application locked in only after we’ve found a roommate on the USC Housing pairing system? Or is it directly after the 45 dollar payment itself?</p>
<p>After you pay to register with Housing (and this can be done before you commit to USC–you may want to spend the $45 now to save your spot) you will be placed in housing choices according to date of registration. In other words, get in as early as you can. Some students who are not sure if they will matriculate to USC go ahead and put down that small deposit, which they will forfeit if they don’t enroll at USC. It just assures you have a better chance of getting one of your top housing choices. This is not dependent upon finding a roommate, and many just get matched up with another new student. But the good part is–you can switch around your actual choices for housing and their order up until around May 15. So it’s better to get in early and you will have time to find a roommate and add him/her, or switch choices later. </p>
<p>Is it $45? I could have sworn last year it was $85.</p>
<p>@madbean I paid the $45 and selected my top choices but am still waiting on deciding a roommate, what does this mean in terms of getting my preference? Let’s say I room with somebody I know and they wait to put their application in later than I do, does this mean that my early application will be less effective since they submitted theirs later? Sorry if this is confusing!</p>
<p>I seem to remember that you get credit for the earliest slot between the two of you. </p>
<p>I remember that too, camomof3. They assign rooms in order of your housing app date, so you would come up and they would assign you a room (and your lucky roommate would get the boost of rooming with early you!) </p>
<p>Thanks to CC our D signed up even before she committed. Her chosen roommate had to withdraw because she didn’t get enough FA, so D allowed the school to choose for her. She got her first choice of rooms, and her roommate could not have been a more compatible match if she’d tried herself (I know - results may vary 
)</p>
<p>The key is just to make sure you have options. I suspect most parents don’t know this and wait until after they commit (and or attend Preview day) to do it. We figured we could lose the deposit in the rare event that she changed her mind. It was worth it!</p>