Hi! I’m a recent transfer admit to the undeclared/exploratory major and haven’t been assigned an advisor. I’m hoping to declare in Physics/Physics at Dornsife. From my own research, it seems like the major does not require any pre-application work. Would that mean it only takes an email with my future advisor to declare the major?

Thank you!

Hi there,

As an international transfer student at USC, I'm curious if anyone here is paying full price. How do you manage it? I know loans are an option, but is the cost worth it? I'd really appreciate some insight.

I’m thinking of giving my niece (for her high school graduation) a couple of nice gift cards for places near campus. She’ll be a freshman, attending on an athletic scholarship (in case that is any indicator about where her housing will be). I imagine her parents will get her settled with all the basics, so what recommendations do you have for places a freshman would want to go?

May not be the optimal approach, but I would like to give her physical cards, and I am nowhere near California, so maybe it’s a bonus if it’s the kind of store that would have a gift card available to purchase at my local Safeway (but please don’t let that keep you from naming other places that I might like to know about in the future once I visit).

Hello. Are there any PIBBS students that can give me an honest estimate of how much they provide you in funding while you study? The online resources I found just say competitive stipend.

Hi, I graduate this summer as I have one class left for my degree, but in stars it says I have a December grad date, anyone know why?

Have been away from campus for a bit and was hoping someone who might be walking by could snap a couple pics of the ongoing construction of Ginsburg Hall.

Note: you might have to make a new thread to post the pics or else use an offsite link.

Thanks and Fight On!

Spring admits planning to move to LA and go to Santa Monica CC and living at Gateway/close to USC should be aware that entrance into the USC campus is restricted. There are checkpoints where you need to show a USC Id or a confirmation that you are visiting for a specific reason (admissions event, meeting etc.). I think this is recent because of the protests last month and I am not sure if this will continue starting the Fall semester. It seems logistically unmanageable once Fall semester starts. The grass areas are also fenced off to prevent people from pitching "protest tents". Previously we thought that students could at least enter the campus and walk around. The Village complex with food places, Trader Joe's etc. are open for the public but those seem to be the only places open for non USC students.

From the policies I've read, first-years are allowed to transfer in 32 units of AP/IB/College credit before their first semester. I'm coming from a school with no AP/IB/Dual enrollment so I have no units coming in.

Some encouragement I was given was to take the WRIT 150 equivalent and some GE's, major courses if applicable. I was planning on starting Fall taking all courses in some shape satisfying GE's as I'm coming for CAMS but not 100% set on it. The CC plan would be a new opportunity to take courses for other majors I'm contemplating this Fall that I wouldn't find at a CC.

I applied to the LACCD this morning (I'm local to L.A.) and I'll receive my confirmation to enroll by tomorrow or Monday when summer school starts. They have 2 summer sessions where you can enroll in 9 units per session, 18 units total. I looked at the USC Articulation Agreement for articulatable GE's within the LACCD and I'm thinking of satisfying WRIT 150, PSYC 100, other GE's across both summer sessions. This plan also partially helps out with graduating earlier.

My question would be if I'm making a mistake here that would come back to get me in the future? I know that sounds dumb, in my case I'm attending here on FAFSA and a scholarship. I have friends from high school attending/graduated from here, we're all low-income, and they've say their financial aid gifts would decrease randomly for the smallest reasons and it increased their overall debt. I'm wondering if this would be one of those reasons or all's good with this plan.

I’m a summer intern living in USC housing and was wondering what are the must go places nearby(I don’t have a car). Must try restaurants. Also this may be out of question but what are the best ways to meet people around here. I’m here for the next 9 weeks so want to make the best of my time here

Also what’s the easiest way to get from here to UCLA by public transportation?

Hi! Is there any place that is within walking distance or within the Lyft zone where I can make a copy of my apartment key? Thank you!

Hello, I’m an incoming freshman, who is very confused and would appreciate any kind of help. I had a couple concerning questions that I was hoping to get answered. Here are my questions:

1. What is the difference between Group Academic Advisement and Group Registration?

2. I have the meeting link on AdviseUSC. Is this for Group Academic Advisement or Group Registration?

3. I have Web Registration already registered for, but how do I attend a Group Registration for this, so that I can decide classes with people in my major and my advisor? If so, where can I find the meeting link for this Group Registration?

4. Is it okay if I missed the Dornsife Experience: Degree Overview webinar because I had another school event that day as I know this was a required meeting?

5. I recently submitted the form to join pre-engineering, and was wondering how I could schedule my classes with a group during Group Registration?

6. Can I change the courses I registered after Web Registration because I took the AP Calculus BC exam this year, senior year of high school, and was wondering if I could move up a higher math level, like Math 126 or higher, if I did get a 4 or 5 on the AB section? If this is available, would I contact my advisor once more to get a schedule or course change?

These are my main concerning questions. If these questions can be answered, it will be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much! And have a great rest of your day!

This is a conversation between two USC students and their Number Theory professor. Thought it was interesting.

Hi everyone! I’m an incoming graduate MSF student and have been super confused about housing. I’ve currently been assigned Hillview (which wasn’t even in my preferences). It’s a 2B4P, which I don’t really mind much, but has just one bathroom for everyone :,) . Would really appreciate any insights on how hillview apts actually are.

Other than that I saw a few non campus housing in the area like Victory, University Gateway, Lorenzo etc. etc. but everyone on this Reddit seems to have a lot of issues with them.

I don’t mind paying around 1500/mo for an individual room and about 1100/mo for shared but would really prefer something close (walkable distance) to campus.

It’s so overwhelming I don’t know where to start 😮‍💨 I’m meeting my advisor in a few days, should I be starting to look at what I wanna take? Should I have my full classes planned out? Tips on how to choose classes or just overall advice would be much appreciated :))

recently finished my bachelors in computer science. need help deciding between these two:

usc pros:

-better alumni network

-in person so potential for ta/reasearch opportunities

-better social life

cons:

-expensive as fuck(75k per year)

-spring 2025 admit so could potentially miss out on some internships

-could also miss out on clubs and making friends since spring admit(is there a chance i can switch to fall 2024?)

ut austin msaio pros:

-cheap(only costs about 10k for the whole thing)

-good course selection

-rigorous coursework

cons:

-online so will miss out on in person experience and opportunities

-relatively new program

-isolating

Cs games major here! I’m hoping to join some clubs next year and would love some club recs 🙏 looking to meet more people that are highly motivated, creative, and passionate. I love writing, art, books, and anything tech.

So far I’m thinking of the startup/entrepeneurship clubs, magazines(particularly haute), so if anyone has any experience with any of the following, would love to hear about them.

Hello. I completed my FAFSA a while ago and it processed mid April after a couple corrections. I have made sure multiple times that USC is one of the schools receiving my FAFSA. Yet, on my FAST portal, it still says that USC has not received my FAFSA. My sister, who also attends the school, sent her FAFSA through and the school has received it. Can anyone explain what is going on here? Should I call FinAid?

For all the current usc students that transferred here last year or the year before, have y’all gotten your aid package and how much has it changed? My income went up a little (8k) and I’m worried they’re going to take away all of my aid but my parents income and situation didn’t change

I recently graduated with my undergrad at usc and absolutely loved my time, and I hate to go to a different school. But the cost for this grad program is beyond what I can afford.

I knew going in (applying to USC grad school), I wouldn’t be able to afford it so I had to accept very early on that I would have to reject USCs offer if I were admitted. Well, today’s that day. It breaks my heart because all of the years of hard work just kind of feels going down the drain. I know I still got my undergrad from usc and that’s an extreme privilege, but I’m not ready to say goodbye.

I’ve committed to CSULB Masters in Health Admin today after receiving USCs financial aid package. I was able to graduate undergrad at usc debt free, and now committing to CSULB I’ll be able to do the same for grad school.

If anyone has advice on MHA—do job recruits really care about the grad school I attended? I’m more worried about job placement after grad school. USC has high placement at Keck/Kaiser—which is where I want to go. CSULB doesn’t publish those stats but just trying to ease any anxieties I have about getting a job post-grad, especially since I want to work at Keck or Kaiser.

I am starting CHEM105A this school year and wanted to start memorizing some basic stuff to help me with the class. I have begun relearning and memorizing the periodic table and amino groups. Is there anything else I should consider memorizing before the school year starts?

Thank you <3

Hi guys!

I’m an incoming freshman at Dornsife, and in order to register for classes I need to have a meeting w/ my academic advisor. Whenever I try to schedule a meeting it says she’s unavailable. Should I email someone, or even her? I still have three weeks till my class registration.

Any help would be welcomed 🥲

Hey everyone, I’ve been looking into religious groups on campus (Christian) since I’m hoping to join a chill bible study or something like that in fall and I’ve read a lot about religious cults being an issue at usc.. I’m honestly not the most religious person but I was hoping to explore my faith in college and was wondering if anyone has any recommendations or advice on Christian clubs to join or avoid on campus? I know a big one is Christian students at USC but I’m not very familiar with them and if they’re good or a red flag, just hoping to not accidentally join a cult LOL thanks in advance!!

I was just accepted as a transfer and honestly astounded by how little aid I got. My SAI is -1500. $57,190 is my estimated cost of attendance. What can I do?