10 Things I Wish I Knew Before Transferring to USC

By: Cherise Clough ‘24

USC was my dream school because I thought it was the perfect school for me. I got rejected when I had applied to start there for my freshman year of college and that rejection broke my heart. Two years later, I decided to apply to transfer—choosing to give myself one last chance at trying (even though I didn’t have much hope that time). Fast forward to 2021, and here I am living my dream, but has it been everything I expected? Here are just a few things I wish I knew before coming to USC as a transfer. 

1. The football games aren’t free for students.

When I toured USC, one of the things I loved was how much school spirit there seemed to be. Everyone talked about the football games and how much fun they were. No one said that they weren’t free. When I saw an email saying I can pay $200 for a season pass to the football games, I laughed and tried to find the free student tickets. Only to find out that there was no such thing. You couldn’t even purchase a ticket for the individual games. I couldn’t believe it. I was already getting excited to go to the first football game, dress cute, and shout as loud as I could in support of the football team. This $200 price tag just felt like a slap in the face. 

I will say that the prices for the seats at each game tend to be very expensive. Some games cost close to $100 for a ticket and the really popular ones can cost even more. In that case, the $200 season pass isn’t a bad deal at all as it gives you a ticket to every game. But if you don’t want to get the season pass, don’t worry, because lots of students end up selling their tickets for a much cheaper cost for the individual games. Also, if you know a friend, they might even give it to you for free. Just keep in mind that there are going to be games that everyone will want to go to, so it might be harder to get a ticket.

Like mentioned earlier, if you do get the season pass but don’t feel like attending every single game, you can easily pass your ticket on to someone else. Another thing to keep in mind is that every other sport on campus has free tickets for students!

Click here to read USC’s ticket policies for students!

2. Don’t expect a lot of free USC merch.

Before coming to USC, I had gone to the University of Miami and loved it. One of the things I loved was the ample amounts of free merch. I won’t lie, I was a little sad when I realized that was not the case at USC. I know it sounds bad but who doesn’t love getting free things, especially from the school you worked so hard to get into? Who doesn’t want to be sporting around in the bold cardinal hoodie with gold USC letters shining across for everyone to see? I was disheartened when I saw there wasn’t much being given for free. Of course, the USC bookstore has all the cute merch for a price. 

3. Restaurants in the USC Village do not accept the meal plan.  

The Village is a popular hang-out spot that has restaurants, Target, Trader Joe’s, great outdoor space, and a few residential colleges. The village has a lot of cuisines you can choose from; there’s Mediterranean, Italian, Korean, Japanese, American, and more. I was excited to try all these different restaurants but once again, my dreams were crushed. Restaurants in the village do not accept the meal plan. That means no dining dollars, no meal swipes—nada. They only take real money. For me, these restaurants are now saved for special occasions. 

To learn more about the USC Village, click here!

4. You have to pay for printing with your own money.

This might be more common in a lot of colleges but if you’re coming from a college where they gave you funds to print, then this is something to be aware of. To print, you can load money to your USC card. This is called discretionary funds and you can use that to print.

 Bonus tip: there are free printing services offered in the Student Union at CBCSA and in the LGBTQ+ student center as well as others.  

5. There is a limit of 18 units per semester.

At my previous university, you were allowed to take up to 17 units for the semester. If you wanted more, all you had to do was tell your advisor and you could go up to 21 units without being charged extra. I was shocked to find out that at USC they start charging you after 18 units. As a junior transfer, that doesn’t allow you with a lot of space in your schedule to take all the classes that you are interested in. I came into USC hoping to add a dance minor, film minor, and maybe even another major. At my old school, I had been a double major and a double minoring student, so finding out that I couldn’t do the same at USC: crushed me. On the bright side, if your GPA is 3.75 and above, you can apply to have your credit limit extended and it won’t cost you. 

More information regarding that can be found here!

6. The majority of the university’s required courses are 4 units.

This includes your writing courses, your languages, and your required general education (GE) classes. This is something that I did not know because I am so used to the average class being 3 units. With 4 units being the amount for your required courses, it doesn’t leave you with ample amounts of space to take everything you want. 

7. USC’s Life-Science Requirement (GE-D) requires a lab.

Now, if you’re a transfer and your major wasn’t science then perhaps you were also forced into taking a few science classes. I was forced into taking two— Human Biology and Ecology. I’m not a science person so I was glad to be done with science once and for all. That is, until, I came here. After I accepted my decision to USC, I found out that they weren’t counting any of the science classes I had taken because it did not include a lab. This was again another roadblock in my dreams of double majoring and minoring at USC.

8. You are required to do at least 3 semesters of a foreign language.

Most schools require you to learn a foreign language but USC was the first I saw that required you to do three levels of that language. This was another requirement I wasn’t prepared for. Pro-tip: If you took an AP language in high school and received a 4 or 5, you can waive this requirement.

9. They won’t tell you which courses will transfer before you accept.

I wasn’t able to see which of my courses could transfer and fulfill their requirements until after I accepted. I had no idea if I would even be able to graduate on time. I wish I had access to this information so I would’ve at least known how many requirements I had yet to fulfill. Maybe it would’ve changed my decision or maybe it wouldn’t have, but it would’ve certainly managed my expectations. If you’re planning on transferring, they do have a database where you can see which courses at your school will transfer to USC. 

You can view their database here and can learn more about USC’s General Education (GE) courses here!

This is another website that will also help you find the equivalent courses at your university. (Thank you to the commenter who shared it with me! I wish I had known this back then.)

10. You need to ask permission for classes that require D-clearance.

A class that requires D-clearance means that you have to ask the department for permission to take the class. My first time registering for classes was hell all because I didn’t see the letter D after the section number for each class. (See picture above.) 

Also, keep in mind that if there is something that prevents you from registering for one class, USC will not allow you to register for any of your classes. Anything can prevent you from registering for a class, whether it’s a scheduling conflict or needing that D-clearance. This was something that I didn’t know and my planned schedule for the semester was obliterated. Not even my backup classes could’ve saved me because those also filled up with lightning speed. I am not exaggerating when I say that the first time registering for classes with USC brought me to tears. Thankfully, in the end, I was able to find other classes that worked with my schedule, as well as, fulfilled some requirements.

Tips & Reminders for Transfers 

• Make sure to send those AP scores to USC if you got a 4 or a 5. They can really knock out some of those GE requirements.

• Make sure to send your most updated official transcript as quickly as possible. This will make the process of evaluating your courses go faster.

• If you’re interested in transferring, be aware of USC’s required courses and see if there’s any overlap between your school’s requirements and USC’s.

• Even if you have completed every single requirement, you are still required to take 2 Core Literacy classes at USC in Dornsife College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences. More information is on their website here.

• All General Education courses at USC are four units.

• When registering for classes, ensure that there are no conflicts that could prevent you from registering.

• If you have more questions regarding transferring your courses, click here. 

After I got rejected for my freshman year, I thought that was it. I thought it was time to close that dream and move on. I didn’t think I would be accepted as a transfer, so I never focused on their requirements. But if you’re interested in transferring here, I would definitely recommend doing those required courses that you know would transfer to USC. That way you have more flexibility in the classes you want to take.

Other students that had always planned to transfer to USC, ensured that they did all the university’s requirements at their previous school. They got everything out of the way beforehand, so that when they came to USC they had the opportunity to double major as a transfer. So, If you know USC is your end goal, doing this can make things a lot easier. That being said, don’t feel like you need to avoid the classes you really want to take while you are at your other college. I took classes that I really wanted to take at my previous university and I do not regret that.

There are a lot of ways in which USC is great but in case you are coming in as a transfer, these are just a few things to make note of. Many of the things I listed may have been common knowledge but they weren’t to me. I wish someone had told me these things beforehand, so I could’ve had more of an understanding of how things worked. I hope you found this helpful and if you have any other questions, feel free to use the Ask a Trojan feature.

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