A Full Guide to USC Housing

By Jamie Wu ‘18

It’s that time of the year again where everyone is frantically trying to gather all their friends and decide where to live next year. But don’t worry because today we’re going to break down all the popular options for USC undergraduate housing (including those for incoming freshmen!) 

Freshmen

Freshmen have three options: living in Freshmen residence halls, suites or apartments. The first option includes Birnkrant Residential College, Marks Hall, Marks Tower, New Residential College, North Residential College, Pardee Tower and Trojan Hall. These residential halls are what are commonly known as “freshmen dorm halls” You live on a floor with 24 or more other rooms, with a communal bathroom. Because people are always walking in and out of their rooms, these halls tend to be very social and it’s very easy to make new friends here. Note you must get the at least the Cardinal Meal Plan if you live in one of these halls. 

The second option is for freshmen who want a quieter and more private living situation. These suites include Fluor Tower, McCarthy Honors College, Parkside Arts & Humanities Residential College, Parkside International Residential College. These suites usually hold 4 roommates in 1 room or 2 roommates in 1 room that is also tied to a cluster of 3 other rooms (so total 8 people in a suite). The new McCarthy Honors College is the only suite with a kitchen. All the other suites have their own bathrooms and small sinks. 

The last option is apartment living. These living situations include a variety of 1 bedroom with 1 person to 2 bedrooms with 4 people. The top six apartments that undergrads usually live in are Cale and Irani Residential College, Cardinal Gardens, Century, Cowlings and Ilium Residential College, Nemirovsky and Bohnett Residential College, Priam Residential College and Webb Tower. Everything that ends in “College” is located in the new University Village. 

Sophomores and Upperclassmen: 

Similar to some of the freshmen living experiences, sophomores and upperclassmen are also able to live in the following places. Although the new colleges in the University Village are mostly open to freshmen, there are a handful of sophomores who also live there. Everything besides these are reserved mostly for upperclassmen and a popular choice would be Cardinal Gardens and Webb Tower (sick view of downtown if you’re on the 15th floor!) 

• Annenberg House
• Cale and Irani Residential College
• Cardinal ‘N Gold
• Cardinal Gardens
• Century
• Cowlings and Ilium Residential College
• La Sorbonne
• Nemirovsky and Bohnett Residential College
• Parkside Apartments
• Priam Residential College
• Webb Tower

**You must have at least an Apartment Meal Plan which includes 40 swipes to all the dining halls and $150 in dining dollars you can use anywhere on USC’s campus. 

USC Housing Registration Process:  

You have to register using USC’s online housing application found here. After you’ve registered, you’ll get assigned a lottery time at which point you get to pick where you want to live (the lottery time is random so hopefully you’ll get a sooner time, which means more options to choose from). This is the timeline so make sure you know all the important deadlines! Good luck with everything!