USC Housing for continuing and transfer undergrads

<p>Hey guys! I am a transfer student and have just been accepted at USC ^.^ but now comes the daunting task of housing, financial aid, registration and all the madness in between. </p>

<p>I wanted to post this thread to get input on the housing offered at USC. When applying for USC housing it gives me 5 preferences. I'm trying to look into the housing but not sure where to start. My sister is an alumni and loved cardinal gardens, my dad on the other hand wants me to put parkside as my first choice? I'm shaky on this because if they require you to pay a meal plan and it is on campus meaning freshmen residency? please correct me if im wrong... Any input on any of the housing Cardinal Gardens, Parkside, Founders, Century, Annenburg, Regional Trojan, Pacific, Troy Hall, etc... would help so much!!</p>

<p>Could you please describe the experience you want to get out of where you live and what you value (preferences) in a place to live?</p>

<p>Im not really sure what to say…
Umm I would like to be near the campus because I won’t be having a car for the first semester and I want to live somewhere where I can make friends easily (being a transfer student the “freshman experience” and living in dorms never happened for me) a social environment but I want to focus on my studies too
I’ve been looking at the housing and nothing expensive either, 4,000 + is a lot for me. I’ve been hearing from word of mouth that parkside is considered antisocial? my sister loved cardinal gardens since it was near the campus and my friend who currently lives at Troy Hall? Says she loves it there,
from that I’m leaning towards troy east or troy hall with cardinal gardens as my other preference. But I haven’t heard anything about any other housing units</p>

<p>Parkside IRC and AH are freshmen only, while the apartments there are upperclassmen. Either way, any of them would be bad choices for what it seems like you want. Troy Hall, Troy East, and Cardinal Gardens seem like good choices. Century might be 4th. Honestly, it goes down hill from there. Housing is not the best place to meet people (outside of freshmen dorms). It’s up to you to get to know your roommates and neighbors. Joining a student org and getting involved is most important for transfer students. Good luck!</p>

<p>^.^ thank you!! I feel pretty good about my housing preferences then. And yes I do plan on being super active with student organizations at least that’s my goal, if you have any advice on that please let me know! thanks again for the input</p>

<p>There’s a huge student org involvement fair in the beginning of each semester, so definitely go and check it out. I guess some advice would be don’t be afraid to sign up for whatever interests you and check multiple things out, people will understand if you only show up once or twice to check it out. From that, find out what really interests you and don’t overwhelm yourself by joining too many things.</p>

<p>I’m looking to sublease my apartment at The University of Southern California for August 2012-2013. The apartment is called Habitat Sooze, it is part of the Shrine Collection and it managed by USC. The apartment is 2 bedrooms (4 beds) but the cool thing about this apartment is its size–while most student apartments only fit 2 twin beds per room (and are more expensive) this one can fit two full beds per room. There are two girls occupying the other room so I just need 1-2 girls for the other bedroom. It is 800/bed or 1600/whole room plus utilities which range around 30/month. Just as a frame of reference, Gateway and West 27th two other popular student apartments are much smaller and run at an average of 1200/month. Move in date is any time after August 1 and move out date is end of July 2013. The place has a balcony, a gym, full kitchen, and air conditioning. (also the particular room we are leasing is the bigger of the two with a bigger private bathroom) The living room is very spacious, kitchen is fully equipped (dishwasher etc) and there is a balcony. Plus, id say the biggest benefit of this apartment is its location and safety. It is right next to CVS, subway, yogurt land, and many other convenience stores. Plus it is only a 5 minute walk to campus and the greek row. It is as close to campus as student apartments get! I would love to send you more pictures! Do not hesitate to ask any questions!</p>