<p>Sorry if this has been brought up a billion times but I really need some quick info (also reading on USC website). </p>
<p>For those of you in Capstone: Do all Capstone scholars get to live in Capstone if they want to? Or is it limited? Is it a nice dorm? </p>
<p>What do you have to do as a Capstone Scholar? Does it entail a lot of time and effort?</p>
<p>Son will be a Biomedical Engineering major - would it benefit him to be in the Capstone living and learning community more than the Engineering & Computing L&L community?</p>
<p>We're very torn. We thought his decisions had been made, then we go and get a Capstone Invite today.... </p>
<p>Thanks SO MUCH for any information you can offer!</p>
<p>Congratulations Cfitz…was hoping my son would get the Capstone Invite…not yet…anyway it looks like a great program…Capstone dorms are suite style, dining room on the first floor</p>
<p>I’m a Capstone scholar, and I lived in Capstone this year as a freshman. I am also living in it next year, although not many sophomores return. From what I have seen, all Capstone scholars who want to live in the dorm, do. However, if you request a roommate who is not a scholar, it is likely that they will not be put in the dorm with you, because preference goes to members of the program.</p>
<p>Is Capstone a nice dorm? I’d say so.
As far as freshman dorms go, I’d say it’s one of the top ones. The rooms are fairly big. It’s right next to the business, humanities, and political science buildings (a good deal of first year classes are in these three buildings because they have some of the largest lecture halls). It’s also a 5min walk from Five Points, which is always good. The fact that it’s all scholars usually forms a good community; also, the doors don’t automatically close, which means that people are always walking around talking to eachother. Also, there’s a dining hall IN the building (Gibbes Court, not too bad for college dining). </p>
<p>On the down side, the bathrooms aren’t the greatest. You get either really cold air (if it’s hot out) or really hot air (if it’s cold, which usually means in the 50s or below). You can’t pick and choose. There are also ladybugs that manage to get into the rooms in winter (I kid you not), but it’s manageable. There isn’t always hot water.</p>
<p>Capstone Requirements:
Attend one Capstone social event (Hot Cookie Fridays, Everybody’s Birthday)
Attend one Capstone Conversation (they offer a lot, and some are pretty good!)
Do a community service event. (Not a required amount of hours, and it’s really easy).
Do a personal challenge. (So easy, can literally be anything from skydiving to raising your hand in class)</p>
<p>As far as biomedical engineering…
I know a few engineers in Capstone. However, Swearingen (the engineering building) is ridiculously far. It’s literally on the other side of campus. I’d say around a 25min walk. There are shuttles down there, and one of the shuttle stops is right outside of Capstone, so it’s not terrible, but you really have to plan if you’re going to take the bus. </p>
<p>Hope that helped! If you have any more questions about Capstone or the university in general, I can either help or direct you to somewhere that can!</p>
<p>Thanks for the info! Ladybugs we can live with. Bedbugs? ACK, no. Have you heard about bedbugs on campus anywhere? That’s one thing we will do anything to avoid.</p>
<p>Let me give you a little info about my son and if you would, be very honest about whether he would be a good fit for Capstone.</p>
<p>He is incredibly bright and VERY non-conformist. He does not care what anyone thinks about him, and absolutely does not care about “fitting in” or wearing or doing what is “popular”. He is a very committed Catholic and does not like the “promiscuity” of a lot of people in his age group. He has no interest in Greek life or any other social organization that promotes image or status. He has no time or inclination for that. He is on the border of introvert and extrovert. He likes his downtime and loves to play video games like Legend of Zelda with others who have an appreciation for it. He is a snowboarder but obviously won’t have much chance to do that there. Otherwise he is not athletically-inclined. </p>
<p>I’m sure there are many types of students who will be there, but if the majority of them are all about being social, fitting in, wearing the “right” brands, partying and drinking, etc., I don’t think he will do well. The problem with that is, I’m afraid that’s the majority of the student body… Would he be more likely to find people like him in Capstone, or rolling the dice and living in whatever dorm he gets handed? </p>
<p>As far as bed bugs, I’d say stay out of the Lofts at USC. But that’s not technically on-campus housing. </p>
<p>Okay, that’s a tough question. I’ll just give you the general scope of my floor, so you can get an approximate statistic:
Out of the 37 people on my floor, 16 don’t “party”, and 21 do. And by party I mean go get raging drunk at least once a month. We have 6 Greek members, at least 5 committed church-goers (as in they go every Sunday without fail, plus youth groups throughout the week). We have people involved in everything from Student Media to Hillel to intramural sports to Student Government; there are video gamers (I swear the guys do nothing but play FIFA all day), divas, and athletes. We have a wide range of majors - Theatre, International Business, Pre-Med, Biomedical Engineering, Philosophy, Journalism, etc. There are people who go out 3 nights a week, and people who stay in and watch movies or play Risk with friends.</p>
<p>That being said, he will be exposed to people who party, but it will never be forced on him. He may have a roommate who drinks (unless he chooses his roommates beforehand), and it may or may not be a problem. That’s why we do roommate contracts at the beginning of the year, so there is a general agreement for the two to abide by. But there are many amazing people in Capstone, from all different backgrounds and people who like all different kinds of things. I guarantee he will find a niche to settle into.</p>
<p>Great, I truly appreciate your honest opinion on everything. It is a huge help. I guarantee I am probably far more worried about this stuff than he is. Thanks again!!</p>
<p>@CFitzRN I’m in a Christian organization on campus and I don’t drink or party and it’s not really an issue.</p>
<p>USC is a school in the South and there are PLENTY of people on campus who are very adamant about living a Christian lifestyle, so if your son wants friends like that, he’ll definitely be able to find them.</p>
<p>I have several friends who are Catholic and a lot of them go to the Newman Center on Sundays for Mass.</p>
<p>There are tons of Christian organizations on campus, and I would really encourage your son to check them all out. I know that a lot of people in my organization aren’t Presbyterian (including myself), even though it’s run by Presby’s and I know a lot of people in other Christian organizations who aren’t necessarily in their denomination. It’s just all about finding what fits you and it might not be the same as it is at home.</p>
<p>I believe that it’s on Greene St in between Russell House and Five Points. And it’s across the street from Williams Brice (the nursing building, NOT the stadium).</p>
<p>There’s a row of houses there that I think are mostly owned by church organizations on campus.</p>
<p>AUGirl, you are a doll. Thank you so much for everything you’ve helped me with. Bless you. (edited to add a big thanks to Gamecock Girl too - and everyone who took time to answer questions - bless you all).</p>
<p>So i got the Capstone Scholars invite also. I want to do it, but my roommate isn’t living in Capstone. She’s a Carolina Scholar and is staying in the Honors dorm. I want to participate in a lot of the community events (like the Hot Cookie Friday and community service stuff and Capstone Conversations). I would want to participate at least once a week, but hopefully more. Would it be hard for me to make friends if I didn’t live in Capstone? I don’t want to be left out of the community if I do Capstone. Also is the Honors dorm a long walk from Capstone? Do a lot of Capstone students also participate in these events?</p>
<p>@DadQuestion: “Do the Capstone Scholars get any advantage when registering for courses?”</p>
<p>As far as I know, no. Registration for fall semester of freshman year is done at orientation - later orientation dates get the worst picks. After that, from what I can tell, it’s based on how many credit hours you have. So if a freshman with 20hrs and a freshman with 12 were registering for their second semester, the one with 20hrs might get to pick their classes a few hours sooner.</p>
<p>If there is an advantage for Capstone Scholars, I’ve never seen it.</p>
<p>@Eccm93: “So i got the Capstone Scholars invite also. I want to do it, but my roommate isn’t living in Capstone. She’s a Carolina Scholar and is staying in the Honors dorm. I want to participate in a lot of the community events (like the Hot Cookie Friday and community service stuff and Capstone Conversations). I would want to participate at least once a week, but hopefully more. Would it be hard for me to make friends if I didn’t live in Capstone? Do a lot of Capstone students also participate in these events?”</p>
<p>Are you asking if it would be hard to make friends in Capstone? Maybe, but if you didn’t, you would make friends elsewhere. Also, there are designated U101 classes for Capstone Scholars, so you would meet people that way. At community events, it’s terrible to say, but I rarely talk to people that I don’t already know through my floor or otherwise. Most of the time I go in and swipe my carolina card to get the credit point, grab a cookie, and go. Capstone conversations are lectures done by important people within the community, Columbia, or sometimes people from places like the New York Times or elsewhere. Not really a place to meet people. Furthermore, it is not required that you do community service through Capstone; in fact, most people get their community service credit with other organizations in the university. </p>
<p>That being said, I have met some wonderful people by living in Capstone. The important thing to remember about Capstone as a dorm is that there is an “open-door policy”, because the doors do not close automatically. This is not common in the other dorms on campus. Because of this, my floor has become its own community, and from day one I met people that I most certainly would not have become friends with otherwise; as a freshman, it was great because I didn’t know anyone. So yes, you might miss out on the community of Capstone as a dorm. But you’ll still be fine if you are a scholar living elsewhere. In the end it’s a personal choice.
Oh! And, I came into USC not knowing a soul, and I had all 3 of my roommates randomly chosen for me. We all get along, and it helped me to get out of a comfort zone I had been in. If you’re worried about rooming with a stranger, don’t be. Odds are, it’ll be fine, and you might end up making a lifelong friend. (Cheesy, I know). </p>
<p>“Also is the Honors dorm a long walk from Capstone?”
I would average it to be between a 12 and 15 minute walk. Probably closer to 12, but it all depends.</p>
(edited to add a big thanks to Gamecock Girl too - and everyone who took time to answer questions - bless you all).</p>