<p>Hello!</p>
<p>I am going to be a freshman at USC next fall and have a question about housing. I am looking to live in a suite-style room with three other roomates.</p>
<p>What, in your opinion, is the best option for me in terms of location in campus and overall nice-ness of the room? What halls would you say are the best? Thanks</p>
<p>Amanda</p>
<p>I’m probably not the best person to respond to this for a female as I have a freshman son at USC now and a daughter who is an upcoming freshman like you. </p>
<p>But from what I can tell, if you get into the Honors college, that would be the dorm of choice; else Capstone if you get invited to the Capstone program. Otherwise, Patterson is all female but basically brand-new (renovated a year ago I believe) - I’ve seen the inside and it’s very nice. Also, Columbia dorm is very social, right next to Capstone and both of those are conveniently located to most of the freshman classroom buildings. My son is there and likes it but he’s not crazy about all the partying- although I bet you get that from any dorm. Another option you can’t beat the location is Preston- central campus- right across from the Russell House and library. Older building but in a nostalgic way. </p>
<p>You might want to read up on the Living Learning Communities for these before deciding. Also, there are virtual tours of each dorm posted online.<br>
[University</a> Housing - Virtual Tour](<a href=“Residence Halls - Housing | University of South Carolina”>Residence Halls - Housing | University of South Carolina)</p>
<p>Also for next year the renovations will be completed on the women’s quad so there are some very nice choices for freshman women. They are Wade Hampton, Sims and McClintock although when redone and connected they might be considered one dorm - but by far one of the best location on campus - very central. They will be suites when completed. </p>
<p>Getting in housing of your choice is not a slam dunk, but look at living learning communities - applying for communities associated with those dorms will give you the best chance. In fact, for current students, all housing is done by choosing a LLC (although there may still be a general one). </p>
<p>With Women’s quad and Patterson, incoming girls have some great options. Both are steps away from Russell House and pretty dead center of campus (with possible exception of engineering building). I lived on women’s quad back in the day and loved green space (quad) and that it wasn’t a high rise - no need to wait for elevators.</p>
<p>D lived in honors and it was great - lots of extra study and meeting space that redoing old dorms can’t provide. If you’re in honors no need to look further unless you have a specific roommate in mind who is not in honors.</p>
<p>I really wouldn’t recommend Capstone/Columbia as the “best options”. A lot of people say they are, but the locations really aren’t that great. They also aren’t the most up-to-date dorms. If you end up with a class in Swearingen, then it’s the worst place to be on campus. (They like to put general ed classes in Swearingen. I had a Theatre course there.) They’re about a ten minute walk from the Horseshoe and Russel House. [Although, they’re definitely not nearly as bad as Bates and Bates West!]</p>
<p>Patterson is definitely the best option for girls. The rooms are extremely nice and it is right in the dead center of campus.</p>
<p>I think that Preston, Maxcy, Patterson (anything on the Women’s Quad) are definitely the best locations. Woodrow/Thornwell/Horseshoe Apartments are also good, but they’re all apartment style, which I would not recommend for a freshman.</p>
<p>Maxcy is small, but I absolutely loved living there. It was only a five minute walk to 90% of my classes.</p>
<p>If you search through the forums, you’ll see some old posts of people talking about all of the dorms. Some of the info is a little out of date, but locations haven’t changed and a lot of it is still very accurate.</p>