@CADREAMIN My daughter got Birkrant which she’s happy about (1st choice) but after letting the system automatically match her with a roommate, she learned last night that her roommate has very different habits and preferences. I know she can request reassignment, but the person she contacted at the housing office said that if she requests Birkrant and a double again the system will not realize she has requested reassignment or will think her reassignment had already been processed. So they suggested the only way to get reassignment was to find a roommate and select eachother or choose a different dorm or type of room. Do you have any experience with this? It’s pretty stressful because the girl she was assigned to is such a polar opposite and they pretty much already concluded they’re not a good fit.
@collegemom111111 That’s terribly unfortunate. I wonder how that happened. What are their major differences?
@CADREAMIN we also thought the same that IRC is not preferred by many and were equally surprised to not get it. Its going to fine at Marks tower also and my son is already used to dorms culture as he spent his high school in boarding school. Its just that as parent it makes me worried as he is not used to hot weathers without AC and also because he is a picky eater and parkside dining menu seems to suit his taste but then He can always go there for change as USC is not that large campus.
@friend1976 I really think the social nature and friends he will make in the freshman quad area will outweigh the couple weeks of hot weather. I had one (sent several to USC) that picked Parkside for AC reasons and while it was great overall he said he wished he would have started in one of the dorms in the freshman quad area cause it was so much easier to meet people. Him and his suite mates spent a lot of time over there for friends and projects. And he is one of those 4.0 engineer types, so go figure. So his younger sister chose Birnkrant on his advice and says it was the best place to live ever, even without AC. It is also super close to the Village and their dining hall so he can mix it up. And Starbucks! But do bring a fan. 
@friend1976 Although my input is very dated (30+ yrs), I enjoyed my time in Marks Tower. Our floor was very tight and we did a lot of things together, like go to the beach and football games. There were a lot of Hawaiians on the floor that I befriended and am still friends with to this day. But the best part was that I met my future wife there 
I was also an engineer, and getting to the other side of campus for class was never a problem. I’m not a picky eater so I was happy having a dinning hall downstairs for late night snacks (loved their teriyaki chicken sandwiches with waffle fries). Or we’d pile into someone’s car and make a Tommy’s run…Lastly, I don’t know what the big deal is about having AC; it’s not the South, it’s SoCal. My daughter got the top floor at New North; we’ll get her a big fan and she’ll be fine. Bottom line, your son will have a blast as long as he doesn’t hide in his room (most kids left their doors open in my day). Enjoy the ride!
@CADREAMIN Thank you for all your advice! I think I will prob add onto homeowners insurance. Besides the lock anything else you can think of as a must have? I’m starting to get anxious about my first one going away and think I should start college shopping to keep me busy.?
@lkbux64 Thank you!
@sonsav One thing you may not think of as a first time to college parent is a mattress topper. We did a 2" foam mattress topper (not too big, but enough to make a difference). If you are flying that is something he could get on Amazon after he gets there. And if driving, don’t open until there - it expands when it gets out of the box. We got ours off of Amazon, I wasn’t a fan of the ones Costco sells. We returned that one for some un-remembered reason. I will try to find the link to the one we got, we didn’t have any issue with smell or being too hot, etc. Opened it up and put it right on the bed, then a mattress pad on top of that. They worked great, all of mine got one! Made the beds much more comfy. When mine showed up with one, the rest of the floor started ordering them.
@friend1976
My son just finished his freshman year in Marks Tower. Being from the Deep South the idea of no AC was frightening but it ended up being no big deal to him. Just buy a powerful enough fan to move the air and you will be fine. It does not have to be a huge fan but it cannot be a cheap one either.
Confused about meal plans. My soon to be McCarthy freshman claims only the cardinal meal plan was an option. Is this true? Can meal plans be modified? How do we add the $500 dining dollars for $300? Can those dining dollars be used in The Village or only at Lemonade, on campus Starbucks etc?
@Stgmom The default is the Cardinal plan, you can upgrade to the Gold plan (that has the dining dollars).
Deadline to change your meal plan is August 30, 2019.
You go to meal plans and select change plan, the change period may not be open yet for fall.
@Stgmom dining dollars can not be used in the Village. My D lived in McCarthy this year so I know she’d be eating mostly in the Village. Even with getting an extra $200 I thought we’d still be losing money. I put some money on her uscard and gave her some money to use in the Village.
We also went with the Gold plan, since it basically gave you free money to use on dining dollars (i.e. - more DD credits than their actual cost). Kids do tend to get sick of only having the residence halls as an option pretty quickly, and the dining dollars allow you to go to the food court at the student center + starbucks, etc. Here is a link to a map showing where DDs are accepted:
https://hospitality.usc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/17-18Hosp_Meal_Plan_Map.pdf
My kids always burned through those dining dollars before the term was up, showing just how much they preferred that flexibility. Their friends who had the Cardinal plan ended up spending money elsewhere anyhow and wished that they had the Gold plan. Very few had the Trojan plan. Most seem to pick between Cardinal and Gold.
Concur on the gold plan. The best thing students in the Village can do is to be encouraged to get out of the Village and socialize at other places around campus, not sit in the suites or limit themselves to the food places there. They are nice, but they lack the familiarity and closeness the other eateries and Tutor Center offer on the main campus. They should head over to the Starbucks and food places where the majority of freshman are and hang out. Those extra bucks can help that happen - they need to use them.
Thank you! All the replies were quite helpful. Will be on the lookout for the meal plan change period.
I also concur on the gold plan for McCarthy residents. My daughter was a freshman there this year and enjoyed using her extra dining dollars – esp. at the Starbucks, which is one of the few places to get food late at night while studying. She used every penny of them both semesters.
Wow – the Starbucks takes dining dollars? There goes all of my concerns about whether my son would be able to spend the entire $500 in a semsester. . . .
@lkbux64 Lol, yes, the Starbucks in Birnkrant takes dining dollars!
Was anyone happy with their housing assignment?
My D has not received the housing assignment yet.