My son got his first choice, New North, and was assigned a roommate who has nearly identical answers to the profile questions.
@midwestCityParent8 Glad to hear that my suggestion helped you. It has always seemed to work that way in the past too.
I am sorry to see posts of individuals disgruntled with their housing assignments. To aid anyone looking at this thread and going through this process in the future, the tip is quite simple:
If you really want a specific housing assignment or one of your top choices and/or you really want to room with someone specific, simply locate such a roommate prospect and select each other and make sure that your housing choices are exactly the same and in the exact same order. Doing so makes USC Housingâs job super easy and almost always leads to you and your prospective roommate getting roomed together in one of your top choices. Another path to getting a specific housing assignment is applying for a Special Housing Community, should one of those correspond with your goals.
Question â did you get new laptop or MacBook for college. My D is in Viterbi CSBA Program. Any recommendations? Or suggestions.
Can anyone comment on whether placement tests are required for an incoming Thornton student who does not plan to take a foreign language, math, or chemistry during Freshman year? If the decision is made to take any of these courses in Sophomore year or later, can the placement test be taken then?
Thanks!
"Math Placement Exam
The Mathematics Placement Exam is intended for students who have not taken any college mathematics and want to take mathematics at USC."
https://undergrad.usc.edu/services/testing/placement-exams/math/
"Chemistry Placement Exam
The Chemistry Placement Exam is a 30-minute, 25 question multiple-choice exam intended to assess studentsâ readiness for a college-level course in General Chemistry."
https://undergrad.usc.edu/services/testing/placement-exams/chemistry/
"All students earning degrees granted by, or under the jurisdiction of, USC Dornsife must fulfill the Foreign Language Requirement.
https://dornsife.usc.edu/languages/language-testing/
based on these links, it appears Thorton Students do not need to take any placement tests in those subjects during Freshman year.
.But if they eventually do want/ need to take any of them, they will have to take the corresponding tests
Thank you!
@MMRose I would also note that it makes sense to take placement tests while the information from applicable high school courses is fresh in oneâs mind. One might, for instance, place out of a language requirement if one tests right after finishing four years of a world language in high school.
Do profs at USC grade on a curve?
It depends on the class; some do while some donât.
I would like to take a poll of the members. What is a realistic amount of spending cash to budget for a freshman student per week?
I would exclude anything academic related and I would EXCLUDE any unusual expenses such as a ski trip, spring break trip, major concert tickets,bike purchase etc. My son will have freshman housing , meal plan and dining dollars.
So basically this would cover any off campus meals, Metro rides, etc.
Iâd say $100/ week.
These polls will lead to such varying results that are totally student/family driven. Important thing is what you want them to spend or not spend, and what you/they have to spend. Realistic is going to vary as much as the student body. Some kids donât eat out that much and others do all the time. Some kids uber over to a restaurant in BH or SM regularly on the weekends and wouldnât think of taking the metro. Laundry, coffee expense and Target purchases (now that it is at the Village), is something to factor in, along with Uber/Lyft. $100 a week or $500/month is pretty average, of course some will spend much more or much less. Budget is a personal thing.
I agree with @blueskies2day. There is such a disparity of wealth at USC. Some kids have unlimited money to spend on extras and some eat every meal in the dining hall because thatâs what they have.
For us personally, I did not give my daughter any spending money freshman year. I paid all her school expenses (books, club dues, etc) and necessary toiletries from Target or Amazon. Everything else (restaurants, concert tix, makeup, etc) she paid for herself. She works full-time in the summers and has a part-time job on campus. I want her to start learning how to budget and not spend frivolously. This year she will be in an apartment. I will probably give her $300/month for food and toiletries, cleaning expenses, etc. Sheâll need to cover the rest of what she spends.
When we talked about budgeting last summer, we thought $50/week would be sufficient. There are weeks she spends more and weeks she spends less depending on whether she goes off campus or not.
I agree that the amount needed will truly vary according to the student. My daughter learned to use the subway more than Lyft as the semester wore on. With dining dollars and unlimited swipes of the meal plan, she obviously didnât starve and learned how she best wanted to use her own money. She and her friends really seemed to enjoy finding bargains at thrift stores. Sheâs in an apt. this coming year, so I would love to hear from other parents about what a reasonable grocery budget is. We are from the Midwest, and I feel like groceries, especially those available near campus, are more expensive there.
@Isoinfo I am struggling with the amount as well. I want to give her enough so that she can get what she needs but not so much that she doesnât need to budget. Iâm thinking $300/month. More in August when sheâll have to stock up on spices, oil, etc. That $300 will include toiletries.
the amount needed for students living off campus, and not on a food plan, is totally dependent on how much food they eat. When my 6â5" son moved off campus into an apt, he spent about $800/ month just for food.
@Marcie123 I totally agree with you about giving her what she needs but not enough that she doesnât budget. Our older kids at other colleges got $200 a month, but they werenât in such an expensive location. Weâve talked about upping the food/toiletries budget but just werenât sure how much. Daughter is in a USC apt., so she will also get the apt. meal plan (40 meals and $150 dining dollars), so that helps, too. We would also stock her up with basics/staples at move-in and if we visit. I also told my other kids that if they thought it wasnât enough of a budget that we could discuss but that they would have to show me receipts â neither of them ever did â so we might start with $250 a month and offer the same discussion. Weâve also covered costs for laundry because it was included in tuition at the colleges our other kids attended, so it didnât seem fair to have our youngest have to cover that herself when her siblings did not have to. And @menloparkmom, I can see how someone who is 6â5" would need more money for food!
I have seen people reference Uber/Lyfts as potential student expenses. I recall hearing during the information session that my son and I attended last fall, that USC paid for Lyft rides within LA during certain night time hours? Is that not the case anymore?
@lkbux64 yes you are correct. USC pays for lyft rides within a certain radius around campus (I believe 2 miles) at certain times (8pm to 2am not sure of exact times)
Lyft/uber rides at other times and to other locations need to be factored into student expenses. My D will take the metro into Santa Monica for a few dollars but doesnât like to take it back late at night so sheâll take a lyft for example.
@Marcie123 approx how much is a lyft from Santa Monica to USC?