<p>can any currents trojans give a detailed analysis of their dorm so it will help the future applicants choose the right dorms to reside in?? thanks!!</p>
<p>Here's my response to another similar thread:</p>
<p>Onto my annual Marks Hall commentary. Yes, it can definitely get warm in the rooms. You'll probably want a fan or two to get it cool, and keep the windows open if you can. The room size really varies, as each room is literally a different size and shape. I had a decently sized room. Some are larger, and some are smaller. Still, none are as small as UCLA rooms! (I visited a friends room there, they are tiny!). The atmosphere varies depending on who is living there. My year, people were pretty social, and the hall doors were often open. We would go to movies together and do various activities. It isn't as much of a party environment, and things can get pretty stressed around finals time, but people are still social and know how to have fun. My year, we had a somewhat absentee RA, but that shouldn't be a problem next year(as I actually want to be the RA for Marks next year- fingers crossed!) There is air conditioning in the library and one of the common rooms. Several pianos in various areas, and a TV downstairs that everyone gathers around for away games. Overall it is a nice atmosphere for students who want to have a good time and get to know the hallmates, without a ton of partying and loud nights.</p>
<p>My S is in the Great Outdoors Floor of Pardee. It has a LONG hallway, with rooms on either side. There is a safe built into each closet (one per student). His floor and the Great Outdoors Floor of women have two or so events/semesmter. Last semester, they had a camping trip & backpacking trip. This semester, they're going skiing & not sure if there will be another activitiy as well. He's on the 7th floor & the temperature is pretty comfortable all the time. There is a washer & dryer on each floor. There is also a community bathroom & no sinks in the dorm rooms. My son is happy with his dorm--it's considerably cooler in temperature than the honors dorms. His room overlooks the commons. I believe it's quieter than New/North/Birkhant but may not be as quiet as the nonors dorms--Marks Hall & Trojan Hall. Location is convenient & quierter than the honor's dorms, which get all Figuora's street noise (including sirens).</p>
<p>id like to hear from people in new/north...or others??</p>
<p>I'm in Birnkrant and I really like it. The location is great (TroGro is a whole 30 seconds away by foot) and the Tuesday night dinners are much better than normal EVK food. Everyone who lives in the building is super friendly (in my opinion anyway), and I think it has a really nice balance between academics and a social life. The second floor is nice and you can go down and study in a quiet environment. The rooms are bigger than the rooms in Marks Tower, Trojan Hall, and Marks Hall I think. All in all, Birnkrant is amazing, and I'm actually trying to get a Birnkrant single for next year... I don't want to leave :)</p>
<p>Sorry, another comment about Pardee Tower!</p>
<p>Pardee is amazing! You meet lots of great people, the rooms are decently large, and we get sweet 5-stack bookshelves on each side of the room. This dorm is the least confusing on campus since it's just one hall with rooms on both sides. Plus, it's in a great location because it's close to Trojan Grounds (24-hour cafe), EVK (dining hall), Commons, and many classrooms (unless you have lots of science classes). The community bathroom is actually kinda nice...it gets cleaned every day, and there are six sinks, four showers, and five bathroom stalls so you never have to wait. It doesn't get very noisy, but I AM on a girls' floor, and people like study hard/party hard...I think Pardee is comparable to Birnkrant in terms of social life and room size.</p>
<p>thank you nikara! that was super helpful.. as an RHPer im pretty sure that i'll end up in marks hall.</p>
<p>just wondering though, if it doesnt have AC and the rooms are smaller, what is the benefit of living in deans hall? they mention "if you are eligible, apply quickly!"... is it cheaper? just easier to study in?</p>
<p>Technically, there are events specially geared for honors students. Also, almost all of the RHP kids will be in there (not a requirement, but strongly encouraged). There is a faculty advisor attatched. In Marks, some of the rooms are huge, but some are small- it's just the luck of the draw. Also, there is the "Library" downstairs- you'd never use any of the books there, but it is great for studying (and the occasional dance party!). It is more for the atmosphere that people join and stay. The focus of social activities isn't nearly as centered around alcohol and partying, as it is in some of the other dorms. It's not cheaper, that I know of. Definitely easier to study in. Also, there is the new tea shop right across the front lawn. Lots of nice places to study/read/sunbathe/nap right outside the building. I tended towards the try to read, turning into a nap option.</p>
<p>does anyone know anything about north residential college housing? it looks pretty cool.</p>
<p>I lived in North my freshman year and while I liked it, I didn't love it. (Though if I could've been on the New Cinema floor, that would've been nice)</p>
<p>Anyways, while I really like my room (we had a view of the courtyard), and my roommate, there was no real sense of dorm connection. People were almost too social in the sense that you didn't know anyone that well. I think it depends on the person, because I'm not a fan of the superficial vibe that tends to be more present in New/North than other places. Also, it kinda sucks to deal with the aftermath of being on very social floor. I personally would rather go somewhere else and party and come back to my nice, clean, puke free dorm. </p>
<p>I guess it really depends on the type of person you are. For example, I just don't understand how guys can live in their frat house and get any work done. I know people on our floor would study a lot in the library. But I'm the kind of person that would rather have a room to study in than having to go to the library because the floor is really loud. </p>
<p>If I could do it again, I'd pick either Fluor (I like the idea of suites, and if you don't like your roommate, you have 6 other people you could hang out with, as well as the other 3 suites) but mainly because Fluor has a kitchenette and I was sick of dorm food by the end of the first month. </p>
<p>or Birnkrant (because of location, and it has a really nice social/academic balance which I think someone else also mentioned)</p>
<p>Pardee is okay but I don't like the layout of the room (the desks being against the window and unmovable)</p>
<p>Parkside is really nice, but I feel it's too far away (and yes, at USC we are spoiled and think that 1/2 mile is just too much) It's so much more convenient to live near New/North/Pardee area. </p>
<p>Not too familiar with the rest of the on campus dorms.
The apartments are fine but for freshmen I really reccommend being on campus.</p>
<p>Misoobishi is lying. Birnkrant sucks and the best dorm is Trojan Hall, imo. huge rooms. No ants. NO rats. yeah sounds sexy. </p>
<p>New and North? Sex beer fest, hello! BTW I think everybody on Birnkrant is super rude and I think that girl in my hall should stop having loud sex with her boyfriend in her dorm. Misoobishi is super rude too, she sqeals obnoxiously and makes inhuman noises that nobody can decipher. Also she pushes people and flirts with everyone. seriously, yeah.</p>
<p>On 2nd floor of birnkrant there's a creepy man that nobody knows of that randomly comes out and scares people. Half the hall way is blocked off because there was a fire and apprantly ghosts haunt that side! (There's no entrance to that side of the hallway, yet I see people on that side... hm)
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LOL no i'm just kidding. (well not about the 2nd floor part. But i actually like the 2nd floor because i don't have to fight with people in Leavey to study) Misoobishi is my psychotic roommate btw and although she DOES make inhuman noises and squeals... well she does. the end. Oh she does kidnaps children and ra-pe little animals though. Are you still believing me? I'm just kidding </p>
<p>Birnkrant IS really great and I'm glad I live here instead of anywhere else. marks tower/trojan hall have smaller rooms than birnkrant. Trojan hall is absolutely the worst choice ever. they DO have bugs. they DO have ants (or did) they also might have some rats, idk. I think marks tower did. Whatever, all dorms have bugs to certain extent, it's rather gross but we don't see them too often.</p>
<p>If you are a partyer, North is the best choice because it is the destination for.....a lot of parting. Yea... It gets pretty rowdy. </p>
<p>I like it a lot, the only annoying thing is the obnoxious loud fire alarms early in the morning.</p>
<p>lol uyulove... what an awful roommate. My goodness. You.... graphic artist, you.</p>
<p>I've visited a few dorms because of friends, and in my opinion:</p>
<p>Marks Tower- rooms are pretty small, and I've definitely heard of cockroaches being around. The elevators (especially the guys' side) seems to break down frequently.</p>
<p>Marks Hall- rooms can differ in size. One of my friends has a pretty spacious room while her next-door neighbor's room is pretty tiny.</p>
<p>Trojan Hall- rooms are pretty small, but it's not bad I guess. BUT it's right next to a big street and you can usually hear cars zooming by, it's pretty ridiculous. My roomie would like to add that "it looks like a prison!"</p>
<p>Pardee Tower- rooms aren't bad, the desks are by the window and can't be moved, which kind of sucks. Some people really like Pardee (if they have lax RA's) and some are just indifferent about it.</p>
<p>New/North- every time I'm in these two buildings, I run into someone being raucous and drunk. I don't know, maybe I'm always in the wrong place at the wrong time. New/North isn't exactly conducive to studying, so if you're a study-in-the-room type of person (like I am), these two might not be right for you. Also, I remember this one time.. I was in my friend's room and his neighbor's sink broke and was overflowing (with dirty water from the bathroom) and was slowly flooding the room. I don't know, not many good memories of New/North, but I know some people really like it.</p>
<p>Century- nice because of the kitchen, but unless you know how to cook, not going to be all that useful. It's kind of far (near Cardinal Gardens)... but I am a pretty lazy person and I think walking for 5 minutes to class is far.</p>
<p>Cardinal Gardens- don't know much about this place except that it's where a lot of football players live. (My friend lives next to Emmanuel Moody. I think that's pretty cool)</p>
<p>Birnkrant- I already wrote about it :)</p>
<p>Note to scholarship people: Don't feel obligated to live in the Dean's Halls. From what I've experienced, the Dean's Halls aren't particularly special. (Marks is better than Trojan though, in my opinion) You meet plenty of scholarship people who live elsewhere. For example there are at least a few trustee scholars in Birnkrant, and a bunch of presidential scholars, as well as FSH/TO/BacMD etc.</p>
<p>ok so i'm torn between birnkrant and fluor tower. it basically comes down to comfort (fluor) versus fun (birnkrant). any thoughts on way or the other?</p>
<p>Fluor's fun, that's for sure. i don't live there, but i know quite a few people who do...it seems like you can do your work when you want to, but socialize when you want as well. there's a lot of athletes in Fluor as well (being next to the gym and all), and they're always fun. and it also seems like some of the best friends people make in Fluor are their suitemates...seriously, you should see some of these people, you'd think they'd known each other for years. aaaand suites = common rooms = parties :D</p>
<p>my opinion on Marks Tower...i'm probably on the loudest floor of Marks Tower...seriously, at 4 in the morning people are always doing something. granted, our RA's pretty cool and i can't say that for other RAs in Marks. but it's nice enough...the roaches are mostly downstairs in the lobby bathroom and around it. i've never had an insect problem in the room though. it's fairly tight knit though, and i mean it when i say you get used to the fact that you have a lame lobby, 3 washers and dryers for 200+ people, hot rooms on hot days, and no real communal rooms. but for me, one of the best parts about Marks Tower...Ground Zero! excellent milkshakes, nice teas, and shows. as i type this, a (not too good) band is playing below my window. but many good bands play there, and i wouldn't trade that for anything.</p>