<p>Hello everyone! I am a perspective student and I have a question about the social life at USC. My main concern with USC is the amount of partying that happens. Of course I want to party a little, but I'm not into getting drunk 24/7. My question is if you think I would fit in at USC. I would love to hear people's experiences that can help me decided if USC is the place for me. Thank you in advance.</p>
<p>USC is known as a big party school because of the large greek life community (20% of students give or take). A lot of people will explore that scene their first semester to see what it is about and decide if they want to be involved or not and there is no harm in doing so. For many people it isn’t for them, no big deal, USC still has a crazy amount of events and activities on campus to meet people at. There is roughly around 600 to 800 student organizations on campus and I ended up meeting most of my friends through a couple of those. USC is a big and diverse enough school that everyone fits in here.</p>
<p>Our D is very happy at USC, has a busy social life, and does not drink at all or “party” much. She loves her suitemates,has made a lot of friends on her floor, had a great time at the ArtScapades visit to The Book Of Mormon at the Pantages Theatre, enjoys the football games. There really is something for everyone!</p>
<p>Thank you for your replies! I found them very helpful!</p>
<p>jfrenchy,</p>
<p>Parties happen at all universities. Perhaps the only exceptions might be very strict religious schools with fundamentalist mission statements.</p>
<p>About 17% of undergraduate students are in what you would call the “social” NPC and IFC sororoties and fraternities. Many universities have far higher percentages. Fraternal groups which are international, ethnically based or religious based have Greek letters. These are included in the Greek numbers. The vast majority of students and none of the graduate students are in the “social” Greek groups. </p>
<p>There are students at SC who never attend a major football game or a party held on the row. The student body is so diverse it should not be difficult to find students who are interested in music, club sports, religious events, community service, political groups, theatre participation and the cultural attractions Los Angeles offers.</p>
<p>SC now has eight residential colleges with a faculty “master”. This might be of interest if you hope to attend. The faculty live in the dorms and arrange social and cultural events for their residents. Look at the calendar of events on the websites of various schools at SC such as Thornton, Fine Arts, Dornsife, Dramatic Arts and Cinematic Arts. It is impossible to attend all the programs offered.</p>
<p>Neither of my kids are much into parties. Both have loved their years at USC. S graduated with a degree in EE. D is getting hers in cinema. Both have not had any problems finding things they enjoy without much alcohol. Both have attended a football game or more (S his freshman year & D when we attend parent’s weekend). </p>
<p>One of the advantages of a large school is that pretty much any student can find his/her niche if s/he looks. Our kids both have tried out interests they never did before–H with rockclimbing and geology to go with his EE, D with fencing and now polo go to with her cinema. Both have made lots of interesting friends and appreciate the advantages a large diverse campus offers, even though they’re not “partiers.”</p>
<p>You don’t need to get drunk to have a good time. But if you want to, the option is there. Probably a hundred extracurricular events or meetings occur every week at USC, and the club fair is such an easy way to get involved in anything you want.</p>
<p>Except for quiz bowl. We have no quiz bowl team. *** :[</p>
<p>Sophomore, Viterbi, USC</p>
<p>Another fun fact - you don’t have to drink to enjoy being out on the row!! I’ve gone to both small and big parties in frats and have had a lot of fun without drinking. While I do drink, I don’t with frequency nor in large quantities. This past weekend I went out both Thursday and Saturday, danced a ton and didn’t drink and had a lot of fun with friends in frats who were drinking. When I turned down drinks I might have gotten a complaint or two from friends, but the second time I affirmed my decision they conceded and said that ‘I didn’t have to do anything I didn’t want to do’. There were no hard feelings nor any animosity afterwards, and their initial reactions came out of mostly surprise since usually I will accept at least one drink. Doing the row sober is also very, very entertaining - imagine seeing your friends and classmates inebriated and acting silly while you will remember every single they did the next morning! Don’t worry about it, like my friends said, you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to, and can still enjoy yourself nonetheless (:</p>