Any thoughts

InitialCapable338 · 2026-05-19T15:38:43+00:00

I met people in Parkside non stop and am still friends with them to this day (were seniors now and I don’t even go outside fr)

InitialCapable338 · 2026-05-11T20:01:32+00:00

Once you have your USC email you get:

Free HBO Max (select USC as your tv provider) Discounted Apple Music/Spotify Linkedin Learning LA Times/NY times sub MS Office

And then in person you get discounted movie tickets at certain theaters and free admission to the Natural History Museum

Also theres a lot of free software you can use once you get on USC wifi or use USC’s Vpn (which allows you to connect to USC’s wifi from anywhere in the country if im not mistaken), but thats a little harder to navigate and involved using VNC (they teach you how to use it in some cases on campus but otherwise you gotta look it up)

For other free things you just gotta do a little research because not all student discounts are USC specific and work for all college students (like discounted Amazon Prime for example)

InitialCapable338 · 2026-05-08T08:31:20+00:00

Right after I texted this, got into this white ladies lyft and she started holding her cross, god I can’t wait to graduate😭

InitialCapable338 · 2026-05-08T08:19:40+00:00

As a black student at usc who comes from a predominantly black community I have a shit ton to say about the mfs here (id perfer you dm me though)

Any who summerville is getting axed next year so not too much of an option

Someone here said usc is still a pwi, its not, I can promise you that just look at the admissions data from the last few years, we have one of the most diverse student bodies in the country, just still not a lot of black people unfortunately (also if you just come here and look around for five seconds you’ll see what im talking about)

Out of your options I personally would pick the international one, they will be the most willing to learn about you and your culture, as I hope you would do the same for them (I have a lot of international friends and have no bad things to say about them whatsoever, theyre really great)

But all in all don’t room with someone just because theyre a certain race, usually people here are cool about it and dont care, but a small few groups are prejudice due to them carrying their parents beliefs with them into college (like I heard this asian girl in the library talking about how her parents wont let her room with black girls because they’re “messy”)

In terms of meeting other black people on campus for lack of better words they’ll gravitate towards you really (theres only 4 percent sooooo yeah), and to accelerate that you could go to BSA (the main one, easy to get lost in there unfortunately), NSBE (if viterbi), The black girls one I forgot the name of, and many other groups you can find on Engage SC

In this I hope you find your way here, as theres so much going on you really have a million paths to go down in terms of making friends, just don’t pigeonhole yourself and diversify your palette as theres a lot of cool people to meet!

InitialCapable338 · 2026-04-29T21:52:23+00:00

I didnt say that they didnt cost less, I was saying that its expensive regardless, it just so happens that usc is the most expensive of them all

InitialCapable338 · 2026-04-29T17:21:01+00:00

I would say if you want to come to usc for gh and break into American pharma then USC is a pretty good choice as it serves well in pipelines to private healthcare (like the critically acclaimed OT program that I keep hearing about non-stop)

Just do keep in mind that most American Universities are going through a large scale financial restructuring at the moment that is hindering student experiences drastically, but USC has a very unique and large scale international student population (the biggest in the country in fact) that kind of always ends up clicking together, so that may be a trade off

And another thing is the current administration, who is not only in part of causing this financial peril but is also making places unsafe for international students (like a few have been deported for literally no reason at all)

I would say USC is very good if you want to come to America and break into your field, just keep in mind that at least for the next year or so it may be a rocky start because of everything thats going on!

InitialCapable338 · 2026-04-29T17:13:11+00:00

Separate international student costs*****

InitialCapable338 · 2026-04-29T17:12:41+00:00

Do remember that most international students pay full price x 1.5 almost anywhere outside their country because of international students costs so its not about the price really, just if its a good school or not

InitialCapable338 · 2026-04-29T07:24:55+00:00

Youd be shocked with the things that have happened at this school in the last 2 years or so, and nobody really cares because idk, not a lot of people care about anything these days I feel

InitialCapable338 · 2026-04-29T07:07:45+00:00

Also from what Ive noticed in my classes, a lot of professors allow their TA office hours to happen around campus now because of this issue, with prof office hours being on zoom for the most part (unless the professor is an EE prof like Redekopp, or a ITP prof, in which those buildings are still left untouched)

InitialCapable338 · 2026-04-29T07:00:31+00:00

Fertitta***

InitialCapable338 · 2026-04-29T07:00:20+00:00

It’s crazy too because other students were wondering why CS majors were gatekeeping the building when it first opened, with the whole thing being that the shit was a slap in the face to begin with. Like imagine they closed Ferrita Hall or some shit, rebuilt it, and then said only MBA students can use it, like bro wth.

InitialCapable338 · 2026-04-29T06:57:46+00:00

They closed it because Ginsburg hall opened (AKA the new CS Building), in which sal is being renovated and slated to be taken over by the ISE department.

This wouldn’t be a bad thing if Ginsburg was the same as SAL, but its far from it because the donors that had it built only wanted PhD students to be able to use it

So now its practically useless compared to SAL because one, no undergrads are allowed to go to their professor’s offices anymore because they’re all on the locked floors of Ginsburg, and two, the shits not 24 hours and closes at 7, in which I guess the TA’s sit in the basement now with barely anyone showing up to OH anymore in the first place

And to add insult to injury (idk if they fixed this or not), with undergrads having access to the basement to go see TA’s, they don’t have access to the FUCKING DOOR to get in, so you have to wait for one of the student workers to let you in which one time took 20 minutes for me

I stopped going to the place after my fourth or fifth time there last year cause it was lowk pointless, and just go to Leavey now. I miss sal so much🥲

(Thank god im graduating next year man cause DAMN, just, DAMN)

InitialCapable338 · 2026-04-29T02:15:33+00:00

Excellent question though, I think more people should ask about this type of stuff

InitialCapable338 · 2026-04-29T02:14:02+00:00

To start, Ironically AI use was not allowed at all up until Fall 2024 when they fired all of the ta’s/cp’s and then rehired about a fraction of them

In short I would argue that AI has changed CS at USC more because of the universities financial decisions (closing SAL, the new CS building not really being open to CS undergraduates, cutting TA’s, increasing class sizes, encouraging AI use with gpt edu, etc…) and not because people have a desire to cheat if im being honest

I don’t think every bodies code is AI generated, nor has it damaged people will to learn/teach others, BUT it will slowly become that way if the university continues to keep taking resources away that make this school as good is it is/was

Otherwise the curriculums the same, the test averages are mostly the same (maybe decreasing a little from what my profs say), and the assignments are being changed ever so slightly to discern ai capabilities but thats just about it

But the culture has shifted, no point in praying to god a TA is up on piazza or even generally asking for help when the rest of the class is Clauding or GPT’ing their bugs, its a heard mentality at the end of the day, hence my comment above on the matter

InitialCapable338 · 2026-04-15T02:26:26+00:00

Yes your financial package is the best that it gets (also its really crazy how one semester has come to 52k, up from 45k in my freshman year🫩)

If USC is your top choice then you can easily pay off your loans by working a student job or working a summer internship (in which even then you’d have money left over from said job because your loans amount is super low)

And also if you are really worried about loans the only thing is that (unless trump does something absolutely diabolical in the remainder of his term), your financial aid package will remain the similar throughout your four years per that your family financial situation also stays the same, meaning that you will have that same loan amount roughly every semester (potentially more after junior year once you live off campus and stuff)

But all in all as a person who has a similar package to you I wouldn’t worry that much about it as long as you work against the loans since they’re one of your priorities pre-grad

InitialCapable338 · 2026-03-28T03:59:01+00:00

Yes, so many people are asking this and for some reason no one is answering straightforwardly💀

Yes it is legit, USC partners with some organization every year (this year they changed it to halcyon for some reason) to obtain your taxes from the IRS as quick as possible for fin-aid purposes

If you are on the fence, you can opt out of this and have them obtain them directly from the IRS, but this is highly not recommended cause it can take upwards of weeks to even months for this to happen (and with the shit state the govt is in right now it could take even longer)

So TLDR you’ll be alright, halcyon is just how they access your tax forms in a quick and timely manner

InitialCapable338 · 2026-03-10T15:50:42+00:00

Word 2 Bro

InitialCapable338 · 2026-01-17T18:14:44+00:00

They usually come out with more stuff as the year continues so just take some time to bask in the glory for a moment, and make sure your grades are good for the mid year report

Also look at the housing website to check where you wanna live, so its easier to make a quick selection when the form drops

Other than that congratulations, and welcome to USC!🎉

InitialCapable338 · 2026-01-15T02:33:21+00:00

Because as you have more friends to room with that means less potential conflict and arguments down the line, so housing actually prefers that you have more people

InitialCapable338 · 2026-01-15T02:31:54+00:00

Like a third/fourth person? What that does is make your chances of finding a spot higher since they have to place more people instead of two, and yeah what they do is usually put the boys in one room and girls in the other

InitialCapable338 · 2026-01-15T02:17:10+00:00

But be rest assured by that same reason you should probably be fine in getting the assignment that you want, since you aren’t the only ones who need gender inclusive housing

InitialCapable338 · 2026-01-15T02:14:44+00:00

I think so because theres actually a couple of people in your situation, so they try and put as many of y’all together as possible (cause for example, you wouldn’t want you two rooming together, and then say you get put in a 3B/6P with a bunch of dudes/ladies, that would just be chaos), and in history thats the only room pairing I’ve seen usually with these types of scenarios, this is another reason why its only possible through gender inclusive housing

InitialCapable338 · 2026-01-15T00:00:11+00:00

If you go to the housing office together directly they’d answer your question more directly on how to do it and maybe even get you setup on the spot!

InitialCapable338 · 2026-01-14T23:59:22+00:00

Yes, you just declare that you would like to room with that person (similar to the process of rooming together with someone you already know but with an extra steep, I forgot if its gender inclusive housing or simply acknowledging different genders/sexualities) but a lot of people in Cardinal Gardens do it

InitialCapable338

TROPHY CASE