<p>Anyone care to share? How is USC treating you? Academics, social, etcetc.
:D</p>
<p>Snoop Dogg and Xzibit just cruised up to McCarthy Quad and did a song. With The Game.</p>
<p>Lil Romeo will be joining them with his game... (lol)</p>
<p>wow now i'm incredibly reticent on going to usc. </p>
<p>Yes, I am odiously prejudiced against bad music and the artists that make it.</p>
<p>come on now...i'm a radio DJ at the student-run station, and i like to think that i listen to and play a broad range of "good music" (and it's definitely more obscure music), and i had fun at the Ghostface Killah/Game concert last night. the Lil Romeo thing...well, that's questionable, just as long as he doesn't perform haha.</p>
<p>the number of independent and local bands that pass through the various venues and coffee shops on campus (especially Ground Zero) is incredible. like i said, i'm a huge fan of indie and alternative music, and often times i'm impressed by the bands that come through.</p>
<p>can you give us an example of what bands have passed through Ground Zero?</p>
<p>for me, the live music scene on campus was a (small) part when choosing schools. Ground Zero coffeehouse has been pretty amazing so far. mostly small aspiring and/or local bands, far too many to count, list, or remember just this year alone. in years past pretty big bands, as far as alternative/indie music goes, have come thorugh:
Mon Frere (actually, i was here for this show, i was interning this show for the radio station before i had a show)
M83 (pretty big electronic/post-rock instrumental band)
Sparta (3/5 of At the Drive In)
The 88 (eh, kinda poppy, small nonetheless)
Limbeck
TSOL (landmarks in 80s punk rock, especially in Southern California)
Abandoned Pools
Piebald
Minus the Bear</p>
<p>and other places throughout campus in recent years:
Killradio (kinda post-hardcore)
Phantom Planet (yes, of The OC fame, though i knew of them years before that)
The Pink Spiders
Mos Def (i'd consider him alternative rap)</p>
<p>on the whole, i'd say if you like good music, going to USC shouldn't be a problem...in fact, i'd say that people here have pretty good taste in music...maybe not as eclectic as it might be at more "liberal" schools, but still good considering.</p>
<p>There's also Conquest (The Fray headlined). Other bands such as A Change of Pace and My Former Self also played at Springfest. Sometimes bands i.e. Ken Oak Band "randomly" show up in front of Tommy Trojan and play for an hour.</p>
<p>The music school also has recitals pretty frequently if you're into that kind of music. They can be student recitals or performances by the professors.</p>
<p>yeah in addition to the shows at Ground Zero, i've actually attended 20+ classical concerts, master classes, and recitals (some by famous musician-professors like Peter Marsh, Midori, Antoinette Perry, and Shelly Berg). i've also been to one at the Walt Disney concert hall. actually, one of my best friends here is a violist for Thornton who's played with a lot of big names already. i love classical music, and being at USC has made me love it even more, and i've also had the chance to listen to some very interesting stuff since i've been here.</p>
<p>That's cool...</p>
<p>Back to the original question, though, what's going on non-music wise?</p>
<p>^ yeah, how is the social scene (excluding music since there seems to be a plenty on that already) and academics?</p>
<p>social scene is what you make of it...because the school itself is certainly not lacking in it...whether you choose to take advantage of the huge party scene, the immense cultural aspects of LA, or both is up to you.</p>
<p>so far i've been to a few art shows (and my other architect friends went to more, and also hit up the Getty Museum). more times than i can count i've been to Hollywood just to shop (often for music haha), walk around and eat crepes at the Kodak Theater, go to the Farmers' Market/The Grove for food, street fairs in Downtown, etc. it definitely helps to have a car, but it's not necessary...a little patience and a $3 all-day pass on the bus can take you where ever you want (oh, and have a group of friends...riding the bus alone isn't advised).</p>
<p>as far as the party scene...again, it's up to you to take advantage of it. unless you're absolutely averse to partying, if you've never really done it i'd recommend that you go a few times to see if you like it. i didn't party at all in high school, but i kept my mind open to it...i've found that it's a great way to meet new people, a good excuse to hang out with friends, and just to take a break from a long week.</p>
<p>other than partying, USC's like a lot of other campus' in terms of things you do in dorms. you can hang out in other people's dorms, watch movies, play video games, mess around (just recently we hung our friend's shoes by the laces from one of the raised light fixtures in our hallway :p), go fountain hopping (there's 20 some fountains all around campus, often huge groups of people go from fountain to fountain taking pictures in them), etc. if something creative is your fancy, there's immense amounts of creative people at USC...you'll almost undoubtedly make friends who want to write and direct movies, form bands, make carve rubber stamps (haha, one of my friends is amazing at it and she showed me how to do it). and more than that, because USC is so strong in the creative arts, people at USC often have the means and the drive to fully carry out creative projects.</p>
<p>and how could i forget football?! this semester is so much more boring without it. home games are intense...the games themselves are amazing...even if you don't really like football, it's fun just to go to the games with your friends and cheer for your team. tailgating is fun, lots of food, lots of people...you have NO idea what school spirit is until you've been on campus during Homecoming weekend!</p>
<p>again, it all depends on what you want to do. compared to most universities of comparable academics, USC is an exciting place to go to school, and it's not lacking in anything you want to do socially. because of that, i can't stress it enough, it's up to you to make your college life fun.</p>
<p>academics, i'll save for another post...this one's too long already haha.</p>
<p>I believe there's a lot of variety available--ultimate frisbee, racquetball, Greek parties, other parties, video/computer gaming, exploring LA, and just a lot of regular campus stuff all on or near campus. So far, my S has just been loving his freshman year at USC, as have nearly all his friends.</p>