Hi everyone! This week we’re blogging about our dorms and housing at USC. As a senior I’m on my third apartment and fourth place at USC. Here’s a breakdown of my housing experience at USC.
My freshman year at USC I lived in Marks Hall, a small three story dorm on the Southside of campus by the main quad. I had one roommate I got through USC’s random roommate matching, and she’s still one of my favorite people four years later! I enjoyed being a part of a small dorm community, since there was only one floor of guys and one girls floor in my dorm. The first floor was reserved for the TV/Pool/hanging out room and another large room reserved for studying. While Doheny library was right next to my dorm, I studied most of the time in my dorm lounge. I loved living on campus! There are so many events that take place on campus and in the quad, and all you had to do was walk right outside your dorm to join in. My dorm also did a lot of activities together, like going to see plays at the Pantages, trips to Santa Monica, or food runs to In-N-Out and Sprinkles.
Marks Hall
My freshman roommate and I
Sophomore year I moved off campus into a USC owned apartment complex, Cardinal Gardens. This complex is North of campus, right across the street from the gym and one of the dining halls. I lived with three other girls I met freshman year in a two bedroom apartment complete with a kitchen and balcony. I loved having my very own apartment and felt very independent and cooked all my own meals!
Junior year I lived in a non-USC apartment one block north of campus on Shrine Pl, next to the Shrine Auditorium. I lived with three other girls from my sorority in a two bedroom apartment. I loved living on Shrine because it is one block over from Figueroa and all of the eateries on that street! I was also one block away from my sorority and ate the majority of my meals at my sorority house that year. My apartment complex also had a gym which made working out really convenient. We got the apartment pre-furnished, which meant that it came with super comfortable leather couches for our huge living room. The space was great for study groups and entertaining friends.
Junior year apartment
While I love apartment living, I always wanted to live in a house at USC. This year I live in a small, three bedroom house one block north of campus with three of my favorite engineers. We have a full kitchen, dining room, and living room complete with a fireplace downstairs, plus a laundry room which is really convenient. I also finally have my own room, something I haven’t had since I came to college. All of our friends love coming over to our house, whether we’re hosting a dinner, birthday party, cookie decorating party, study group, student org meeting, or just hanging out. I’m still conveniently located one block away from sorority and right across the street from the grocery store. I’m also a block away from the Lyon Center, and have been taking advantage of the great weather lately to go swimming.
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- My house!
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- Our living room
As I’ve gotten older I feel as though I’ve graduated through the various housing options, starting with living in a dorm away from home, completely dependent on EVK and the other USC dining halls, progressing to my own apartment, and finally living in my own house. I feel completely prepared for finding my own apartment in the real world and doing things like setting up utilities/TV/internet with new roommates, and preparing my own meals. Luckily I still have one more year to go! I just signed a lease to live a few blocks from USC for my grad school year 🙂
Until next time,
Natalie
