<p>I'm trying to choose a dorm. So far, New/North sounds fun, but when I stayed there at USC Explore, it wasn't that nice in terms of facilities. Also, I'm worried that I will never be able to finish anything if people are always popping into my room. Plus, there wasn't a communal kitchen that I noticed, and I want to at least have the ability to cook.</p>
<p>Is Birkrant any nicer? And I heard they're making it an honors dorm, so would that affect the social scene any? If I lived in Parkside (which I hear is the nicest), would it get boring? And for any of you in the special music community, how is that?</p>
<p>So, I'm kinda lost. Any advice would be helpful at this point.</p>
<p>I live in Parkside. I pretty much only sleep and do homework there, but it’s very nice. I socialize elsewhere, but I know people on my floor and on the music floor who are very social with each other.</p>
<p>i stayed in parkside a few days ago at an explore USC thing… it was very quiet and its good for someone who needs to study alot, but maybe not a good place to socialize. the nice thing is that there are no communal bathrooms!!! its one bathroom for 8 people, which was cool (no need to walk around a floor in a towel). however the floormates had no clue who else was there (for example, in the elevator, my host pressed floor 2 and the other person in the elevator said “im on that floor too! hi im blah blah”). also its far away from alot of the major campus stuff, but its right next to the parkside dining hall which is the best dining hall i heard (i had a personalized omlet yumm :)) good luck!!!</p>
<p>The best one is probably Birkrant. I was constantly lost in New-North, and some rooms don’t even have windows. Also, do anything possible to stay out of the honors dorms; by far the worst facilities.</p>
<p>To explain what CBP123 said in their post, Parkside is referred to as “Darkside” because of the bad cell phone reception.</p>
<p>I currently live in Parkside. I agree that there is not much of a crazy social scene, but if you put in the effort, then you won’t have any trouble making friends. Since it opened about 3-4 years ago, it has the best facilities on campus (top-notch study lounges, each bathroom is shared by only 4 people, etc.). Whenever my friends from other universities visit, they always say that Parkside seems more like a hotel than a college dorm. The grass lawn in front of the building is a great place to play some sports or enjoy the sun. And like someone else mentioned, the best dining hall on campus, Parkside dining hall, is right next door.</p>
<p>So what’s my opinion of Parkside? The new building and chill atmosphere make it the best place to LIVE, as studying and sleeping here won’t be a problem. When I want to party, I can just go out and trash some other place and then come back to my nice clean dorm. But Parkside might not be as “traditional college dorm” as some people would like it to be.</p>
<p>If you want that traditional experience, then you should probably try to get Birnkrant because it has a great combo of atmosphere and location. But if it does become an all-honors dorm, I’d recommend that you think twice. Not that honors people are boring (I’m an honors student, and so are some of my friends, and I think we’re fun people haha), but the dorms that are currently honors-centered don’t seem to be that enjoyable in my opinion.</p>
<p>After Birnkrant, definitely consider Parkside for the above reasons or Fluor Tower for its location next to the gym and Cafe 84 (assuming that you don’t want to deal with the craziness of New/North).</p>
<p>Good luck choosing your dorm! Hope this helped.</p>
<p>P.S. Just saw that the OP asked about the Parkside music floor. That’s where I’m living, if you want to know more then PM me. And by the way, you don’t have to be a musician to live there (I am not a musician).</p>
<p>Georgia Girl, those waffles are actually only available at EVK. </p>
<p>I second Parkside being awesome. Yes it is quiet, but it suits my needs perfectly. I’m in a sorority, so I still get the social experience, just not in my dorm, though I am quite social with my roommate and one of my suitemates. Also, while Parkside is kind of “far away,” it really isn’t that bad–I’ve definitely walked to Taper in about 8 minutes, and it’s convenient to GFS. Also, tram route B and Parkside Express run to the Row every 15-30 mins, so that’s quite convenient as well.</p>
<p>It really depends on what type of person you are and whether you think you’ll be studying in the dorms and all that.</p>
<p>Personally, I was in new/north, which is known to be more social. This doesn’t necessarily mean more partying, but that people were more inclined to leave there rooms, leave their door open etc. I got to know most people on my floor. Studying wasn’t a problem because Leavy library was a 2 minute walk. And who has Friday classes anyways? As far as the facilities, it’s older so there’s no AC, but that was only a problem maybe 1-2 months out of the year, and fans made it fine.</p>
<p>Paarty is relatively similar. Birnkrant might was slightly less social, and the buildings were really meh. People I knew at parkside tended to only know their suitemates for the most part, though its obviously a nicer place, but also on the exact opposite of campus as most dorms. Fluor (sp?) had a small kitchen. Personally, even though I cook, I couldn’t see myself cooking during my first year, specially if you have a dining plan. The microwave was good enough when I needed something extra.</p>
<p>I lived in Fluor my freshman year and I loved it. You don’t have to share a bathroom with 40+ people, you get a kitchen and it’s all freshman. </p>
<p>What about those new ones? (Arts and Humanities?) They are in the middle of nowhere, but I heard they were really nice. I was a junior when they opened and I was pretty bitter!</p>
<p>And sorry guys, New North had a terrible reputation all 4 years I was at USC! It’s frat central, which if that’s your thing…</p>
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