Living in Parkside International Residence College (IRC) my freshman year has been awesome. Although I originally thought I wanted to experience the “dorm life” that a typical residence hall would have provided, I found living with a group of eight guys in the same suite to be very rewarding. It helped me gain very close bonds with a select group of people and I also got to meet people from different parts of the world; three of my suitemates are from overseas—two of them have actually been teaching me Mandarin Chinese, but I still have a while to go. I was particularly happy because my roommate and I were placed in a corner room which ended up being almost twice as big as other dorm rooms on campus!
Living in a suite, we often left our doors open so that other people could come by and hang out if they wanted to. We became pretty close with most of our wing (which is nearly sixty people), and living on a coed floor meant that we became close friends with both guys and girls.
Another great aspect of living at IRC is that the Parkside café is right downstairs; there are also plenty of study rooms as well as music practice rooms for people who don’t like to study in their dorms or just want a change of scenery. All in all, IRC proved to be a great place to live for me. Regardless of where you live while attending USC, I am confident that the people you meet and the experiences you share with them will make your college life both exciting and rewarding!
