<p>If DS does end up getting a Dean's scholarship (rumor?), I've read that he would be excluded anyway from Birnkrant. Are there any other good choices for housing for a serious student who is also social and wants to be close to the center of the action? He was accepted into Viterbi for Astronautical Engineering, not offered any interview for scholarships but I'm sure he will have a heavy work load. The way students descibe Birnkrant as a perfect place to study and also have enough social time on the weekends doesn't seem to be found in any of the other dorm reviews and descriptions. </p>
<p>I was looking to sign up for housing just in case he ends up at USC and after all the rave reviews for Birnkrant, there doesn't seem to be any close second choice in terms of quality with a nice mix of social and study options. Is there a good dorm that most engineering students pick that allows for quiet time studying and also a good social mix not out in the boondocks? Is Birnkrant also the least expensive option? Seems odd that the cheapest dorm would only be for scholarships? If he gets enough finaid, we would still be financially pressed so he can't afford the more expensive dorms. </p>
<p>Any advice for picking a dorm? I think we have to list 4 and rank them in order of preference and have NO clue now. If you are not in Birnkrant and not into the Greek thing, can you really be happy at USC? If you are pinching pennies to go there, will you be at a big disadvantage socially?</p>
<p>Thanks in advance for any advice!</p>
<p>The vast majority of students at SC are NOT in the IFC and NPC Greek chapters. Those are the ones people think of as the “social” sororities/fraternities. There are many Greek letter groups including ethnic Greek groups, service and religious Greek groups. The figure I was given by the university for “social” Greeks was 17%.</p>
<p>Within Vitierbi are are sorts of organizations. For the university as a whole there are club sports, religious, civic, political, service, cultural and musical groups. One comment I often read is, “There is just not enough time to do everything offered here.”. </p>
<p>Look at the USC housing website. Use the search process to find more about housing options. A dorm I hear recommended is Arts & Humanities. It is new and has AC. The dorms are places to meet other students, but I found it was in organizations where it was easier to make new friends. Freshmen come from over a 1000 high schools. Everyone is looking to meet people. The week before classes begin is “Welcome Week”. The university has all sorts of great things planned for the new freshmen.</p>
<p>Thank you Georgia Girl for your reply and information. He has to pick and rank 5 housing choices so we are kind of lost there. We sat down with the book that USC mailed him and looked at all the descriptions and there isn’t any other honors housing so that was a bummer. I did see that Arts and Humanities one so we’ll look at that again. He is pretty social and makes new friends easily but he will have to have a place to study that’s quiet too. He likes to make groups to study with so I’m sure he will connect with someone in his classes. </p>
<p>Thanks, too, for the info about the Greek situation. I did read it was 30% but that seemed like such a low number when you consider how many student there are until I read the post about the student saying it was so pervasive and how he felt pressure to now pledge.</p>
<p>fidoprincess, if you use the search function here on cc, you can find a lot of information and student reviews on the various USC housing options from last year and the year before. The general consensus seemed to be that New/North was the “most” social dorm–and a lot of students said they were happy to go to the library to get quiet studying done–just next door. Some felt the suite-style of Arts & Humanities and IRC were a little more posh–4 bedrooms, 2 baths plus A/C and its cafeteria is considered a bit cooler/more inviting. And it’s right next the the Engineering classrooms, so has a lot of those majors, I hear. </p>
<p>But my best advice to all students who are admitted early is to go to USC housing website and register. It used to cost about $35 (non-refundable) but that gives you PRIORITY in selecting your dorm. And here’s the best part–you can go back and change the selections, re-order them, whatever you want, up until a deadline that is out in May sometime. In other words, get yourself into the system and you can take some time to research options, talk to students, etc. And even if you should decide not to matriculate, you are only out the $35 (or whatever it may be this year). When you go to Explore, you will get this advice. Since you are clever enough to be here on CC, you get it even earlier. :)</p>
<p>Thank you again madbean. Yes, DS went and set up his account so he can register when it opens. That is such a good tip and apparently the only perk of early notification without a scholarship-lol! The price is reasonable so if he can’t attend, it’s no great loss but he can still get in line now to be near the front. Someone told him today that if he puts Birnkrant at the top of his list and it doesn’t fill up with T/P scholars, they begin to fill it with Deans, TO and whatever the other honors science program is so he is still hoping he might get in there.</p>
<p>Thanks too for the info about what dorms were close to the Eng classes. I like that style of housing but I’ll read more to get a better idea. He did sign up for Explore so he’ll get another chance to look around before the final housing date and hopefully, I can go along this time and get a good look myself. When he went last time, it was all a big rush. He had an interview and a general tour but never got to see any dorms or the Engineering.</p>
<p>Dumb question, but how DO you register and apply for housing? Do you just go to the housing website?</p>