<p>Momotoki: when you say “stay,” do you mean weekends? Because that has very little to do with specific dorms. And it’s easy to meet people in any dorm, really! If you’re looking for a dorm where there’s always a lot of action in the dorms, I’d definitely recommend New/North.</p>
<p>BUMP…this somehow fell to page 2</p>
<p>Did you get any financial aid from USC? If you didn’t, (like me) how do you manage your student loan debt? How do you go about earning money to stay in college?</p>
<p>I’m a spring admit to Annenberg! Any idea how often a broadcast journalism student would be bumped up to Fall? Also, with rushing for a sorority would I just have to wait until Fall of my sophomore year?</p>
<p>Bleachedsnow: sadly, I’m probably a terrible person to ask about this. I know very little about loans. I’d recommend going to the FA boards here on CC, where everyone is pretty knowledgable about this stuff. Sorry!</p>
<p>Cosurf: congrats! Bumping varies based mostly on yield, not major. But yes, you would either have to wait until fall to rush or rush during informal. For more information on how recruitment works and the greek system (as well as several stories about USC recruitment!), I recommend reading the forums on greekchat.com.</p>
<p>Bumping again!</p>
<p>Which dorm do you recommend for someone who likes to game(League of Legends), but at the same time loves to socialize and meet new people? (I’m not a big fan of frat parties/drinking, etc… though).</p>
<p>What are some professors/classes you really enjoyed and would suggest to incoming freshmen?
What are some good restaurants/places to go off campus? Are there significant issues with safety?
And, most importantly, how is the food? :P</p>
<p>Im a theater major, do you know which dorms do most of the school of dramatic arts kids live, or are they spread out?</p>
<p>omgitsme PMed me and I responded. </p>
<p>DorianOrange: Professors/classes I enjoyed…I’ve got three suggestions for freshman. First, Maura Brewer’s FACS 150 (Visual Culture and Literacy I). She is so supportive and incredibly knowledgable. She manages to balance fun and learning very nicely. Chris Freeman’s English 262 (Brit Lit Since 1800) was the kind of class where I was too busy listening to take notes–he’s amazing! And Stacy Smith’s COMM 203 (Communication and Mass Media) was an amazing class from my first semester. I learned a lot and LOVED having Stacy as a professor! If you can take any of those as a freshman, I’d recommend it.
Restaurants. There are zillions of restaurants in LA. Closer to campus, you have things like Freebirds, Which Wich, Panda Express…chains. Moving further into LA, there are a lot of expensive, boutiquey restaurants, as well as some fun places in LA Live (like a Wolfgang Puck). West LA has The Grove, which has a Wood Ranch and a Cheesecake Factory on the lower end of the price scale, and a bunch of other restaurants that get more expensive. However, on the REALLY cheap, there’s the Farmer’s Market (in front of The Grove), which has cuisine from all over the world. And there are so many restaurants in between all those places. It just depends on what you want to eat and how much you want to spend!
Safety: As I’ve said before, you’re as far south and east as you want to go in LA. The only safe way to go further south or east is to do so on the freeway after checking the route. Otherwise, just use common sense and travel in groups. 
Food: I’ve never had an issue with the food on-campus, but I don’t eat meat. I feel like there are so many options. You can eat in a dining hall, in the Campus Center, or at one of the food trucks (although they are independently run and you can’t use dining dollars, I don’t think). </p>
<p>theaterkid55: Two of my theater major friends lived in Parkside as freshman, but one lived in New/North and another in Trojan. I think there was one in Birnkrant, too? I don’t remember now (we weren’t that close!). I think a majority do live in Parkside, but I really do feel like the dorms are pretty well mixed amongst different majors.</p>
<p>Thank you! That was a ton of helpful info!! :)</p>
<p>I’ve heard that because so many students are from SoCal that the campus can sometimes resemble a ghost town on the weekends, with many students going home. Is this true? What percentage of students would you say stay on campus through the weekends?</p>
<p>There are many international students, as well as those from other states. My kids both attended USC and neither complained that the campus was empty on weekends. It is true that SOME students may sometimes choose to go home for weekends, the campus remains pretty busy anyway and kids from nearby Us come to visit USC chums too.</p>
<p>Whenever I talk to someone about USC they call it a party school and say that everyone and anyone is in frats/sororities. While I know this isn’t the truth, how big is the ‘party’ atmosphere and is it easy to find things to do if you’re not planning on getting involved in that social scene? I’m deciding between USC and a small liberal arts college with a totally different atmosphere so I wanted to clarify this before making a final decision.</p>
<p>I have never seen the campus resemble a ghost town and have been there quite often. It is very international, with 60% of the population being non-caucasian and a lot of different languages going on at the food court. I have to look to find what you would call a socal kid. I think they are all over at UCLA.</p>
<p>
Only approximately 20% of undergraduates are in fraternities/sororities which means that the vast majority, or 80%, are NOT. When graduate students are included, the % in fraternities/sororities becomes approximately 10%.</p>
<p>Neither of my kids were in frat or sorority and have enjoyed their years at USC. They have never had a shortage of things to do and sometimes even stay on campus for Spring Break and summer. Many of their friends come from other campuses to visit, since USC has more activities and is near a lot of attractions compared to many other Us.</p>
<p>Here’s my thought on Greek vs. Non-Greek culture at USC: it makes no difference. Ok, if you’re a guy and you want to go to parties on the Row, yeah, it’s tough to impossible to do so if you aren’t Greek. But there are so many things going on that it probably doesn’t matter. </p>
<p>Socially speaking, I don’t party. Not in the conventional sense. I don’t drink. But that’s never stopped me from having fun! My friends and I go to the movies (or watch movies on our laptops), see shows (LA theater is awesome!), go to museums, shop in LA, go to Disneyland…we do all kinds of fun things and alcohol is never a factor. </p>
<p>And campus isn’t a ghost town on the weekends. What I WILL say is that the culture is different on the weekends. During the week, there are always people everywhere because everyone’s running from class to class and rarely going back to their dorms/apartments (because it’s just easier, unless you have a substantial break). On the weekends, there seems to be less of a “rush,” and places are quieter (you aren’t going to see the throngs of people in front of the Campus Center, for example). But it’s by no means “empty.” People are just able to relax a little more and take things at a nicer pace. Do people go home? Totally. But they also go out of town (not necessarily even home!). And there’s nothing stopping anyone from taking a random road trip with friends! There are plenty of places within convenient driving distance of LA (Palm Springs, San Diego, Santa Barbara, even Vegas and San Francisco, if you can leave early enough!), and you could easily make it a weekend every now and then.</p>
<p>Wondering if there is anything you can do to increase your odds of getting moved from being a spring admit to fall? Or is it just luck of the draw?
Thanks</p>
<p>IS there any truth to the image that USC is a conservative leaning school? Or is that just an old stereotype?</p>