Happy post-Oscars Monday! This week, we’re blogging about our freshman year housing at USC, which is bringing back some crazy fun memories. I can’t believe it’s been two years since I lived on campus in Birnkrant… time sure does fly. Last year, I specifically blogged about the Birnkrant triple, which is super useful when you are ranking your choices. Don’t forget – the Birnkrant triples give you more space than a typical double arrangement! Also, check out another post that I wrote about the incoming on-campus retreat for Birnkrant students, which was a great introduction to academic life at USC. I loved getting to move to campus early and meet the students on my floor a few days early.
Hanging out with my floor at the Coliseum when school first started! It’s so fun to find out what they have done in the last two years
One of the coolest things about living in Birnkrant was the location. Having the library, dining hall and 24-hour coffee shop all within a 30 second walking distance… definitely encourages constant pajama-wearing! We even had a mini-gym in the dorm next door, though it was not as intense as the main Lyon center. It was also very close to many of my classes. As a freshman, I had more math and writing classes which were located in the Dornsife College, which is closer to the north side of campus. Basically, my classes were across the quad. I definitely didn’t appreciate how awesome this was until I moved 4 blocks off campus my sophomore year! To think – I used to board to classes that were a 2 minute walk away!
A peek into my triple in Birnkrant! This is the large social room that we had.
Since I already have some blog posts about living in a dorm-style arrangement, I want to talk a bit about my USC housing for sophomore year. Transitioning to an apartment was not too difficult, but I had to get used to the distance. I chose Sierra Apartments with 3 other girls from my floor, and it was quite far from campus, though very close to our Greek Row. I didn’t realize how much of a difference those few blocks made to my every day commute. I use my longboard to get to school and work, and it simply wasn’t an efficient way to get around when I lived a bit further from campus. Obviously, many students live in this area (or even further!), but I was so grateful this year when I chose to live closer to campus. Though there is a difference in cost, it is completely worth it to me. When choosing housing, distance seems to be a huge factor for me, because it contributes so much to daily life.
Sierra apartments, where I lived my sophomore year!
But to put it all in perspective, it used to take me 45 minutes by bus to get from my home to work when I lived in Germany last year, so I guess the extra few blocks seems silly here. And of course, to continue the 4th floor Birnkrant tradition (see my last blog post) that has apparently continued in the VSA’s for years and years, I am pleased to welcome both Archana and Patrick to the awesome club of awesome 4th floor VSAs! Seriously though, this goes back to 5 years ago. Fight on!
My apartment last year in Sierra apartments — it is a USC owned complex.
