<p>My first S at USC moved to an outside apartment sophomore year and while it has worked out for him and he has a really clean place, it has it's issues, primarily distance. It just seems it would be easier for next one there to stay with USC offered campus housing as a sophomore. Any plugs or info on any of the USC housing options for upperclassmen? </p>
<p>When I asked some students, they told me staying with on-campus housing is lame after freshman year, any thoughts to the contrary?</p>
<p>I have the same thoughts and questions about off campus housing for the future years.</p>
<p>Luckily I still have a year before I have to worry about this (or as my son would probably prefer, that I don’t). As far as student opinions, I imagine it is common for upperclassmen to want to feel more independent. </p>
<p>I am guessing the fact that USC lacks common on-campus housing for upperclassmen and even sophomores probably makes that attitude more prevalent in the student body. I am sure this is similar to other schools with similar housing situations.</p>
<p>Your student can sign up for USC owned/operated apartments for soph and they are very close and convenient. Cardinal Gardens is just across Jefferson, in fact. Not luxurious, but really fine, clean and safe. The added benefit is they are rented by the semester, so you won’t have to pay for summer. Also, the student is only responsible for his/her share, so no worrying about roommates paying bills. More desirable to the kids is Troy Hall and Troy East, just next to the Shrine so very close. Also run by USC. For those with bigger budgets, the 4 year old Gateway is on the corner of Jeff & Fig–again very close, and while not run by USC, they also offer students rental of their half of the room, no worries about others paying. All of these options are fully furnished, with Gateway including leather sofa and flat screen tv–and comes with cable, I believe. All also provide wireless internet. These are all a big step up in independence from the dorms. No food plans. And yet, they also provide some nice amenities, including roommate matching for those who need it.</p>
<p>There are other options that are popular, but you can get further out, need to buy furniture, and usually offer only 12-month leases. Perhaps for junior-senior year, when students often get internships in L.A.?</p>
<p>If your son/daughter and his or her friends all sign up for USC housing renewal, it is likely that SOMEONE in the group will receive an early time slot. That person can then pull in any friends they would like to live with and have a good chance at getting Troy/Troy East followed by Cardinal Gardens.</p>
<p>Thanks WarChant. Any USC housing that you know of to avoid when making choices? S is engineer and actually likes to study so quiet and boring is ok.</p>
<p>Our engineering S was happy to find an apartment just off campus. Now is pretty late to be looking for 2013-14 housing, but there probably are still some options. My kids liked “Regal Rita,” which was very lose to Greek houses and quite reasonable. Most kids live in houses or apts near campus from sophomore year on.</p>
<p>I was curious if anyone had anything new to add to this discussion. I have started looking into housing for sophomore year and feel a bit nervous about the options. So many seem a good distance from campus. Some of the closer, “nicer” ones get such awful reviews on yelp that they don’t seem like good choices either. I would love for him to live on campus again next year but it seems like the only two options are Webb and Parkside Apts and so I would imagine demand for them would be high.
Anyway, I would love to hear about great places to live or places to avoid.</p>
<p>When my kids attended USC, sophomre student housing was availalble. My D lived in Webb, which was a great choice. When her friends were sophs, they lived in Gateaway, which was right across the street from campus and a great option (but a bit pricey) as well. S lived in Troy East. Caradinal Gardens was another option for sophomores. There are a lot of apartments very near campus that are owned and managed privately as well as some that are managed by campus. The places my kids slived were all decent and a short 4-10 minute walk from campus. Never felt unsafe at them–they were generally near frat or sorority houses, just next to campus.</p>
<p>Tuscany is another apartment building that is supposed to be available for students and said to be quite nice. Check with University Housing for suggestions, to see what units they manage. They manage more units now than when my kids were students a few years back.</p>
<p>@HImom, thank you so much for the response. I will look into those you mentioned. Still a bit overwhelmed but hopefully having some decent options will help!</p>
<p>So here we are again, time is speeding by. Regarding Tuscany and Gateway, anyone have any current/updated thoughts on those - perhaps experience in last year or two? Past reviews are lackluster - primarily management (both), cleanliness (Tuscany) and pricing - well we know they are both high. Are they good on the outside but not so much on the inside? Or have they improved in last couple years?</p>
<p>S is at Gateway this year and really likes it. The downside is price (!), but the upside is ultimate location across street from campus, A/C, all utilities/wifi included, furnished, flat screen TV, gym in building, clean, free coffee in lobby, and student only pays for their portion of apt–so no dealing with roommates moving out or whatever. I’ve heard from many many parents who have been very happy with Gateway (with the caveat that it is expensive). </p>
<p>But soph year there are many options that are university controlled housing/apts just off campus but still very very close. Cardinal Gardens was fine for my first son, and S2 really liked Troy East which is among the top picks so requires a good housing lottery placement to get a spot.</p>
<p>I lived in Troy Hall for Sophomore through Senior years, although that was a generation ago! Very convenient location and assume it’s still run by the university. I recall the Troy Hall half was built before Troy East, so it’s older, but the 2 bedroom apts had a better layout. There was a bedroom off each side of the main living area, and each had it’s own bathroom. I believe Troy East only had 1 bathroom for all 4 people.</p>
<p>Cardinal Gardens went through a renovation during the summer of 2013. The units are beautiful. Don’t judge them from the exterior. The units were repiped. New flooring and appliances.</p>
<p>Agree that our kids tried to figure out their housing by December or January, so they had the most housing options, but a lot depends on how many people the kid wants to live with. If it’s two people for a one bedroom, that makes some options available. If it’s four people in two bedrooms, that makes others available. If the students are to each have their own bedroom, that is more money.</p>
<p>If they are willing to share bedrooms, have not heard about problems finding housing. Sooner is better for getting housing near campus at decent prices. That said, our D was slow recently and didn’t look for or find housing until summer one year and was still able to get decent apartments at a reasonable price less than two blocks from campus.</p>
<p>If the friends of your kids that will be living in the same unit are reliable, having a lease that only makes the kid or family responsible for an individual portion of the housing isn’t so important. For my kids, in the 8.5 years total they were at USC, one lone semester, S had a person living in his housing unit that left after a semester; his space was taken by another person so it wasn’t a financial loss for anyone.</p>
<p>One advantage of housing that is 12 months instead of calendar year is of course, if your student wants to take summer school or have a job or stay longer than the academic year and not have to relocate.</p>
<p>If there is a car involved, be sure to understand where it will be parked and if that fee is IN ADDITION to the rent.</p>
<p>DS lived in Century Apartments last year as a sophomore. University owned, quiet, clean- recently renovated. The unit had 2 bedrooms for 4 boys. It worked out really well for them. This year they lease a 2 bedroom right behind Shrine Auditorium. It is working out just fine as well.</p>
<p>My son has been at Gateway for 2 years and likes it. He has very minor complaints, but the location, contemporary feel, a/c, and the fact that it is furnished outweighs the complaints. The new apartment complex called Lorenzo is a little further away but nice as well…I have toured it. They have a shuttle to campus. It will be interesting to hear how their first year went, since they just opened this year, and to see what modifications are made (like with the shuttle). It is nice too because there is a cafeteria on site.</p>
so quiet and boring is ok.</p>