USC Freshman: Ask me Anything

<p>As a girl who’s looking to pledge sororities and likely be a part of greek life, I guess I want to know how large the stereotypes are. For someone who ended up not going greek, when you meet or see a sorority girl from DG or Theta or so on, do you immediately pass judgement or find them hard to talk too? I’d hate to join something that limits the people you hang around with in college. Any insight would be awesome, thanks so much :)</p>

<p>Do you know anyone in ROTC? If so, are any of them also in fraternity?</p>

<p>The thing about sorority girls, especially the very obvious ones, is that they travel in packs. Which obviously makes them hard to approach. It’s not intentional or anything, but there is definitely an effect. And yes, I do immediately pass judgment on them. Joining any organization will limit your social circle simply because of the fact that you now have a closer group of associates, which will take up more of your time.</p>

<p>None of the people I know in ROTC are in fraternities. That isn’t to say they don’t exist, but ROTC does take a lot of time.</p>

<p>Partying: thursday nights is the big one on the row. Special events usually on friday nights. Though any night thursday through sunday will have things going on. Tailgating all day on campus for home football games of course. Off the row is a similar schedule, but depending on who the attendees are it’ll change some.</p>

<p>And yes, it is entirely possible to avoid parties all weekend long. It’s a big school, there’s a lot of stuff going on, and social life does not revolve around one street.</p>

<p>So would you recommend rushing your freshman year, or sophomore year when things calm down?</p>

<p>Would it be helpful to have a car at USC? </p>

<p>Would it be hard to navigate Los Angeles without a car?</p>

<p>So is USC classified as a party school?</p>

<p>Sent from my HTC-PG762 using CC</p>

<p>With the metro extension, it’s easier to navigate without a car…my D mostly uses her car to come home, leaves it parked at USC></p>

<p>Here’s a question that’s easy to ask but difficult to answer:</p>

<p>3 worst and 3 best things about USC in your opinion?</p>

<p>

If you’re living on campus, a car isn’t exactly necessary. As you move off campus, a car becomes incredibly helpful and I would recommend bringing it sophomore year onwards if you can. Realistically, the only place the metro is somewhat convenient is to downtown/la live. As for everywhere else, a car is infinitely faster and more convenient. Yeah, yeah…people will say you can take the bus/metro/friends/zipcar/etc…but in the end having your own car and being able to use it at will and go wherever you want anytime trumps any of those options.</p>

<p>@ROTCer: Bad experiences from ROTC members trying to pledge. Several years back one was forced to quit by his ROTC leader when he had only a week left of pledging. Last year my fraternity gave a bid to a guy in ROTC but he couldn’t do it.</p>

<p>Sorry guys, I’ve been away for a couple days, but it seems as though some others have picked up and answered a lot of your questions.
I will cover what is left.
@Applicant- What hawkwings said was correct. Thursday-Sunday there is almost always SOMETHING going on if you wish to party. A lot of times you can find parties off the row, but personally I have found myself and the people I spend the most time with tend to prefer fraternity parties. They are simply of higher quality and usually impose strict guy/girl ratios. If you attend a completely open party you will likely see an abnormally large number of male attendees. </p>

<p>@corner- DG and Theta are two of the three top sororities. If I was intimidated by these girls, it likely would not be due to something negative. </p>

<p>@thethin- It’s really up to you. If you are a girl, it may be best to rush as a freshman, as there is no spring rush. As a guy, I think first semester rushing may be ill advised if you don’t have a good understanding of the Greek system prior to coming to the school. If you hurry too quickly into the process you may find yourself pledging at a house you really don’t belong in. Taking a semester, or possibly a year, to gain a better understanding of each house can be extremely beneficial if you really want to find the perfect fit for you. By all means go ahead and rush any and all semesters, just don’t let brothers talk you into accepting a bid if you aren’t completely sure you want to. </p>

<p>@aces- Warchant answered your question well. People often cite the many transportation options available, but in reality there is just nothing like the freedom and flexibility that comes with having your own car. Keep in mind that your own vehicle can, however, be quite expensive. </p>

<p>@curious- I can’t speak on classification, as that will vary depending on who you ask. However, we have a robust sports program, a thriving Greek system, and a very social student body. Take these three characteristics and you are bound to have a pretty extensive party scene. </p>

<p>@anar-
This is really hard to do when I don’t know what I’m comparing it to. For example, I could say great financial aid if your other option is a state school, or I could say terrible financial aid if your other option is Columbia. It’s all relative. I can list SOME of my favorite and least favorite things.</p>

<p>best: Location (includes weather, being in LA, etc.), Professors (was very impressed with the teaching quality I experienced my first semester; although, I will obviously need more time to form a more reliable analysis.), involvement opportunities and clubs (there are just so many things to choose from. Go to the involvement fair and sign up for things that interest you!)</p>

<p>worst: superficiality of some of the student body/dominance of Greek system (Might be a personal problem, but I have met quite a few people that just don’t seem genuine like the people I’ve known throughout high school. I have talked about this in earlier posts in this thread but wanted to reinforce my disappointment with this aspect. I feel these two things are interconnected, which is why I listed them as such. I can elaborate if needed.), living situation (I would much prefer better on campus housing that could accommodate most undergraduates. Think Stanford, Emory, Brandeis.), and too many transfers (USC accepts an extraordinarily high amount of transfers, far more than other privates of similar caliber. I just find this annoying and feel as though the students would benefit from seeing their entering freshman class stay similar in size to their graduating class. Transferring in is MUCH simpler than being admitted as a Fall Freshman. This forms a hierarchy within the school and allows significant disparities in ability to be present within classes). </p>

<p>I like your question anar, so I may come back and add some things if I think of more.</p>

<p>How are the dorms? Are they bigger than a public universities? And are they nice?</p>

<p>Adding on to lauren933 question, how are the suites as well? How many per suite?</p>

<p>And adding to curious’ question are people in suites able to socialize as much as people in regular dorms do?</p>

<p>Again, reflecting only my D’s experience, she has had a great experience in the suites. Loves her suitemates, has met many others not in her suite. She is in Parkside and really enjoys the plays and events.</p>

<p>Keep in mind as you read the replies that they reflect only one person’s experience…</p>

<p>Most of the dorm/suite questions can be answered by looking through the housing website and other searches.
Dorms are similar to the public university dorm rooms I’ve seen.</p>

<p>My experience: I lived in Pardee freshmen year and my floor never became as cohesive as other ones because half went out to pledge frats and half stayed in most weekends. I made friends with some girls on a different floor, so I had some male and female friends in my building. I spent most of my time at Parkside because I had male friends in a suite and the female suite across the hall was cool so we would hang out and sometimes go out to parties together. My friends who lived in New North had a good social life but it seemed they went out more. My friends in Birnkrant had a lot of fun spending time together on the floor and going out as well. Everyone I know who has lived in Birnkrant has really liked it.</p>

<p>On the other hand, there were suites in Parkside who were either out all the time or in and didn’t want to hang out when we asked them. To each his or her own. Main point is that the experience will be whatever you make of it. If you’re worried about suites being less social, then just put in more effort to meet people and you’ll find people looking for the same thing.</p>

<p>Dorms, compared to public universities, seem to be a bit better. For instance, they all come with a fridge and microwave, which are great to have.
However, I still could not describe them as “nice.”</p>

<p>The suite dorms are a different story. They are actually nice. Nothing amazing mind you, but not having to use communal restrooms is a big plus. The suites also have air conditioning which, believe it or not, can be pretty valuable in Los Angeles. </p>

<p>All that being said, the “nicest” dorms are in the lowest demand, largely because they are in a distant corner of campus and house a significant portion of the international students (less social). The most desirable dorms are
1.) New
2.) North
3.) Birnkrant
4.) Pardee</p>

<p>Every other dorm seems to constantly have people complaining. </p>

<p>@mom- Thanks for highlighting that again. It can’t be stressed enough. All these answers are coming from me and my limited experience at SC. While I try to supply broad information that I have obtained from speaking with friends, I’m bound to misrepresent some things, so please don’t take what I say too heavily.</p>

<p>Are first year freshmen allowed to apply for suites or do you have to be 2nd/3rd year and beyond to apply for suites?</p>

<p>Do you know anyone that lives in Somerville Place? Do they like it and is it easy to meet nonblack friends?</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>Suites are primarily intended for freshman however there are a small group of Sophomores through Seniors who in fact do end up living in them. There are some single rooms in those buildings as well as single rooms (most expensive $$$$) within suites that non-freshman (and some freshman) choose because most other rooms are doubles that you would share with someone else and they choose to live alone. That being said, most sophomores and upperclassmen that do live in university housing live elsewhere because during housing selection you can pull people into your group and live with your friends if you want instead of being surrounded by freshmen.</p>