My freshman home: Fluor Tower, an 11 story suite style residence hall!
Living in a suite my freshman year was one of the best and most memorable experiences I’ve had at USC. Having seven roommates instead of one made me feel like I had a group of friends from the second I moved in. You’re going to have a great experience no matter where you choose to live on-campus freshman year, but here’s why I loved Fluor:
- Cozy privacy. We had four bedrooms, two girls per room, joined by a common area. It was wonderful, clean, and most importantly, not shared with an entire hallway of other people. I loved the privacy offered by the suite-style dorms.
My roommate and I meeting in-person for the first time on move-in day!
- Amenities. Our suite common area had a small table and couch. It also included a kitchenette with a microwave and toaster, with refrigerators in each bedroom so you didn’t have to compete with your suitemates for fridge space. If you didn’t feel like cooking, you could always head down to Cafe 84 downstairs, which was sure to have amazing crepes. Our bathroom had two of everything, so there was never a wait for a shower or a sink. And our bedrooms all had air conditioning units!
- Friendship. Having 7 girls to go to Welcome Week events with was so fun. We had already spent all summer talking and getting to know one another, so it was instant friendship when we arrived. It was also really cool having 3 of my 7 suitemates be international students who had a world of experiences to share with me. And I of course had one suitemate from LA who made sure to show me around. And of course we made friends with tons of people from other suites in Fluor Tower.
As a freshman, you’re going to meet tons of people on campus, especially in your dorm and it’s adjacent dining hall (Cafe 84 is still my favorite). If the suite life is for you, definitely go for it! It’s an instant set of friends in a cozy place that feels like home.
[author title=”Author” author_id=””] href="#" data-color-override="false" data-hover-color-override="false" data-hover-text-color-override="#fff">Button Text
I noticed Fluor Tower has an option for a single bed, but the USC website doesn’t have a floor plan for it. Do you know what the single looks like? Would I still have suite mates by choosing a single? Thanks.
The single bedrooms in Fluor are separate from the rest of the suites! So you would not have suitemates, however you would still be on a floor with 16 other guys and 16 girls, and you would likely hang out with the people in those suites. I would reach out to USC housing at housing@usc.edu for a photo of the floor plan. They’ll be able to answer all of your questions.