<p>I’m a parent of a former student. 4 students from Class of '05 from our suburban Phila. HS went to USC. 3 left, 2 after 1 semester and 1 after freshman year (my D). BUT I also know 3 students who attended and really liked it. Those who liked it: 1 was in the Honors College; makes a big difference. 1 was in Intl Bus, plus she fit well in a top sorority. 1 had family in the area and clicked right away with a sorority. My daughter’s experience: Huge all-woman dorm (600+) way too big, many girls room w/HS friends, no study rooms. Bad teachers - eg my daughter’s math teacher introduced himself by saying “I just want you to know that I don’t care about y’all, because I’m retiring this year” and it showed. My D is now at a local branch of Penn State and says that the courses and grading are better and tougher. Nothing to do but drink - few alternative activities, the only recreation within walking distance are bars. No public transportation or shuttles to shopping areas. There are some students who believe the Civil War ended the wrong way re: slavery. This was a shock. Visit and spend lots of time; make sure this school is a good fit for you.</p>
<p>Not going to defend but just state that S’s current experience is different.
True he’s in the Honors College, but he’s not a frat boy,he’s extremely liberal as well. He finds plenty to do instead of drinking, in fact tonight,after watching the football game against LSU, he’s going to an off campus play at the Trustus theater,which is in walkable distance. He also this week, saw two comedians on campus,no charge.
it does help to have a car but he lived w/o one last year.Interestingly, most of his closest friends are native S Carolinians.
You’ll find good/bad teachers everywhere I suspect.</p>
<p>It is interesting how different people have different opinions. My DD is a freshman this year from NJ. She lives in Paterson, which I think is the large female dorm you refer to. She is also attending the school with three others from her school. Her experience so far has been very positive. Yes, she does see some differences between her being from the north, and so many being from the south. She is enjoying the experience of living with people who in some ways are not exactly like her-she feels like she is expanding her world. She loves living with a bunch of girls! She has found people overall to be extremely friendly and helpful. Her attitude so far about her professors has been positive. She has found them to be helpful when she has had questions. She has gone for extra help when needed, and she has gotten help.</p>
<p>My D did decide to go through rush for the experience of it. She did decide to pledge a sorority, although she initially did not think that it was going to be what she wanted. What impressed her about the sorority she ended up pledging was the genuine down to earth feel that the gals seemed to have. With that said, she still has friends that are not in a sorority, and seems to enjoy both.</p>
<p>This is my second and last child going to college. My son did a different route entirely. He went to Bentley in Waltham, MA. (outside of Boston) Whereas USC is, what I would describe as a college where it is about education and the “total” college experience, Bentley was a little less about the “typical” college experience and more about the student who maybe was not interested in the sports and comradery of belonging to a school with sports being at such a high profile feel. It was an outrageous school, and a great experience for him, because it was a good choice for him.</p>
<p>I guess what I am taking too long to say is that just because a place is or is not right for one student (or 3 or 4 or more) does not mean that it will not, or will be, great for another!</p>
<p>I do want to mention that my D has found more to do than drink…not to say that she would never drink. She works out at the Stron a few times a week. She says it is amazing and loves it. She also plays rec soccer and volleyball. The only thing she has said to me was that she has to schedule everything in carefully, so that she can take advantage of all that is available to her. Oh, btw, she says the food around campus is actually very good. She also likes the surrounding area. </p>
<p>One more thing. My D is a “student”. She works hard. I think she would take great offense to hear that there was a general opinion that the work, quality of teaching and grading was not as good as somewhere else. She would take offense because she thinks very highly of the challenges that have been put before her so far. She feels that she is learning, being challenged and stimulated. As a mother of a highly intelligent daughter, I could not have heard anything better from her.</p>
<p>I agree with “reasonwhy” with regard to spending time to see if it is a good fit. My husband and I made sure that our D had 3 visits to the school before committing to it. Everytime she went she said she knew it was the right school for her more and more. Funny, a more “status” school in the northeast went from being initially number 1 for her to a distant number 3.</p>
<p>To the previous posters - I’m glad that you’re children are enjoying their choice of college. As I mentioned, I know of 3 students from our area who liked SC, however 3 out of 4 from my D’s HS class transferred out during/after freshman year. There is a cultural difference in going from a suburb of a major NE city to a large town in a rural deep South state. Not better, not worse, just a difference that we didn’t anticipate.</p>
<p>I find it unacceptable for a college professor to ‘blow off’ a course and students because he’s retiring. To rationalize it by saying that there are bad teachers at all schools puzzles me. But there is a lot of rationalization on these forums - does it make people feel better (or help them avoid examining the issue) when they say “there are bad teachers everywhere”, “there is a lot of drinking everywhere” etc.?</p>
<p>My D’s personal experience is that her courses at a Penn State branch campus are more challenging and are graded more rigorously than were her freshman courses at SC. I was very surprised by this because I thought the branch campus might be a step down from SC Columbia.</p>
<p>As far as activities go, of course the gym is available. My D also found respite in Canterbury of Columbia (the Episcopal student ministry) and joined some clubs. But drinking remains a primary activity. I’m sure that there are many schools that are just as bad or worse, but there are also schools that have more alternative activities on weekends. The atmosphere might be different in Honors housing or in the smaller dorms. My D lived in both Paterson and Capstone and drinking etc were prevalent in both. Students should be prepared for this, especially if they were not drinkers during high school. </p>
<p>She also joined a sorority. (There are threads on sorority rushing that are worth reading). The sorority sisters (in all the sororities) would take their pledges to bars and buy them drinks, lots of them. In fact, one sorority was put on probation because so many of the pledges had alcohol poisoning after one outing. It could be easy to laugh this off and say kids will be kids, but the drinking is much more intense than it was years ago. When we visited on parents weekend, my D’s roommate had red eyes - the whites of her eyes were completely red. She had ‘popped her eyes’ from vomiting after binge drinking.</p>
<p>She did make friends (all SC natives) and with whom she still keeps in touch. It was a surprise to her, though, that some students felt so strongly about the Civil War because we don’t think about it much in PA. We have traveled all over the world and have relatives in MO, TN, CA etc and didn’t expect regional differences to be a problem.</p>
<p>I hope your D is happy at her branch campus of PSU.
Probably shes close to home now and maybe thats what works well for her,and probably its a smaller campus atmosphere.Don’t be deceived that smaller ='s less drinking.While touring colleges, we happened upon an apparently weekly ritual of booze/beer being sold out of car trunks to kids at an elite small top 25 LAC.Obvious non students (read…adults) doing the supplying.A thriving business,long lines.Im sure there was plenty else to do, it was an artsy type place, close to a thriving college town.
S couldnt be more different than the prevailing culture,mindset and style of the majority of the kids on the USC campus and hes perfectly happy.
Hes a big city (NY),travelled and cultured kid with many experiences under his belt, but he hasnt had a problem adjusting .Its not worse, or better than a Northeastern college experience would have been, its justdifferent.Maybe its the Northerner who has to open their minds a little to understand the southern culture better.I’d also like to add, USC was one of the most integrated campuses we’ve ever seen.More like what we are used to in our living arrangement than most campuses we’ve been on or visited.S really liked that.
Hes also been blown away by the hospitality and friendliness of people.Initially skeptical in a big city Eastern way,but now a convert!
We’ve had lots of college experiences in all types of settings, I worked in academia for along time, older D is a Far Western Honors College Public U grad and now a Grad student at a top 25 Private U.It is true you can get good/poor teachers at any institution,at any level.Faculty are human, maybe that teacher was having a bad semester?
I’m so glad your D is happy where she is now.It just proves the point that there is a school for everyone, that a choice for one may not be right for another.Another reason to visit and spend time as cece has stated.
By the way, if D lived in Capstone, I’m surprised she didnt have more in dorm choices of activities to participate in. What about the scholar lectures,discussion groups,movie nights?What about the movie nights at the Russell House?Did she go to football games?Did she see the concerts/comedians on campus last year?See any shows at the Colonial Center? Attend any lectures/book talks? Just an example of whats available…S this week saw two comedians, both whove appeared on TV.Also,a magician.Live music on the Patio on wednesdays,Shag dancing event (Shagging at midnight on the Horseshoe) this past friday.Big group watching of the LSU-USC game yesterday afternoon, followed by off campus play at a historic small theater (walkable distance).Today,some laundry and schoolwork followed by the local Greek Festival (walkable, good cheap food, also went last year).Next week, who knows what he’ll do.</p>
<p>I am a student at USC and don’t drink. I find a lot of activities around campus that don’t involve drinking–plays, concerts, ballets, art museum, all the people the student union brings in(as mentioned above), sports activities, movies, student shows, swimming, Greek Festival, Chinese New years activities, etc…Maybe being in a sorority was a mistake(the Greek life does tend to center around drinking at all colleges–but I know many Sorority/fraternity members that don’t drink too). There really is a lot to do around campus–if you want to find a non-drinking fun activity any day of the week you can.
As for the bad professor…I’m sorry that happened. I can’t think of any professor I’ve had that would be like that–they have all been wonderful(for the most part) and certainly have taught me a lot. There is no excuse for your daughters situation, but maybe there were some extentuating circumstances(ie…maybe wife just died, going through a divorce, retiring because of health issues etc…) I would have switched sections if I had that bad of an experience early on and complained to the dept. chair, but I’m like that.
As for the “Civil War” stuff…all I can say is this is the most diverse campus I visited(and I am from Florida)…I see a lot of inter-racial activities and even dating etc…and have not experienced your daughters experience. I was expecting to see racial problems coming to a southern school, but have seen the most interactions between the races here that I’ve ever seen. My HS had very few minorities and there was certainly much more segregation there than here.</p>
<p>Reasonwhy: You said: “I find it unacceptable for a college professor to ‘blow off’ a course and students because he’s retiring. To rationalize it by saying that there are bad teachers at all schools puzzles me. But there is a lot of rationalization on these forums - does it make people feel better (or help them avoid examining the issue) when they say “there are bad teachers everywhere”, “there is a lot of drinking everywhere” etc.?”</p>
<p>Frankly, I’m surprised at how gentle everyone is being with you, considering you opened this thread in a very challenging manner. No one is rationalizing anything, but rather than question your daughter’s statement or integrity, they’ve attempted to deflect or defuse the situation for anyone who comes along behind to read your post. (My opinion of what they are doing.)</p>
<p>When my son was in elementary school he came home and told me something his teacher had said. I was so offended I marched right back to school to set the teacher straight. I found, much to my embarrassment, that what my child told me was totally different from that which had actually been said. The comment was actually made by the teacher in an assembly with the principal and an uncountable number of witnesses who assured me that my child had either misunderstood or misconstrued what had been said. </p>
<p>I am NOT intimating that your daughter is in elementary school, and I am NOT intimating, inferring or insinuating (trying to cover all my bases here) that your daughter is incorrect, lying or stretching the truth. I do, however, wonder if it is possible that she misconstrued/misunderstood or just didn’t hear correctly what the prof said. Although I tend to sometimes naively think the best of people, I have a very difficult time believing that a prof would walk into a roomful of students and make that pronouncement. I have to believe that the students would have made such an uproar that everyone on campus would have been aware of it. I would not argue with the fact that there might be a rogue professor at USC - and AT EVERY UNIVERSITY - who might sometimes feel this way. But to actually say it at the outset, I just can’t fathom. (I can’t wait to go in tomorrow and find out who retired from the math department last year. 
</p>
<p>My husband is a prof at the University and I know for a fact that there are many wonderful, challenging and caring professors. Many of these men and women actively reach out to students on campus, particularly freshmen. But, I’ve also known a few that imho should probably retire - and soon. This, I have to believe, is true at every institution, including the campus your daughter is currently on. </p>
<p>No school suits every student. My son, who is in the Honors College, is not a partier, nor is he in a fraternity. I often wish he would spend more time studying and less time involved in extracurricular activities at the University. </p>
<p>I’m sorry your child was not happy at USC; it obviously was not the place for her.</p>
<p>Wow! I know the Penn State campus very well and some of the branch campuses even better. Honestly, I’ve never seen more drinking on one campus than at Penn State. My daughter, at USC, does “party”, but actually finds it difficult to find a party at times. Most parties are busted with underage drinkers before she even gets there. As for activities at USC, phew, there’s so much. Agreed that many do go home on weekends, much like Penn State. I sure do hope your son/daughter is happier at Penn State; they were ranked the #6 party school in the nation (went down from last year’s #2 ranking), you are aware of that, aren’t you? I’m sure that both schools have their advantages, one of USCs biggest advantages is the southern hospitality. I’ve never, ever known a school that has 100% top rated profs. You’re in a dream world if you think that all profs are helpful and good!</p>
<p>Webbies, I did look it up—and there is one prof I could see making a comment—BUT it definitely would have been in jest(he had an odd sense of humor) and students seemed to either love him(more loved him) or hate him(personally he was my FAVORITE math professor–I liked his off-the-wall humor and talking to his hand etc)…If this is the same person (he did retire and did teach a freshman section) your D may have been “stretching” the truth and just didn’t get his teaching style—BY the way this is why universities have a drop/add period for classes(so one can switch sections or drop a class without penalty).</p>
<p>aimers
just for the record it wasnt “Webbie” questioning the teachers motive it was the OP “reasonwhy”.
its nice to have you here giving a students perspective.</p>
<p>As a Mom whose d is applying from out of state - PA, as well, I would like to thank reasonwhy for her perspective.</p>
<p>I have already sent 3 kids off - so I have been to plenty of schools to visit etc…</p>
<p>Many of reasonwhy’s observations are worth noting - the cultural differences are/can be great. There is such a thing as culture shock.<br>
Isolation on a big campus also happens. My daughter would be going down there knowing NO ONE. This situation is much easier when nobody knows anyone but can be isolating if you are in a big dorm with lots of kids who went to high school or even lived near each other.
She would be over 600 miles away with no family near by. The airport does not seem to be conducive to convienent flights to the northeast - Philly, Baltimore.</p>
<p>These are my two big “concerns” in sending my daughter down there. She has no interest in joining a sorority and is not sure she could get “into” big college football games.
Tell me what is left? The campus is large - but for the size of the student body -there was no one there, save for the kids visiting or students working.
We drove around but I guessed we missed the “downtown” area - stores etc?</p>
<p>How is there not public transportation? Do campus shuttles not transport off campus?</p>
<p>The campus was beautiful. Spotless. The no smoking policy shows. The kids who worked and gave tours as well as admissions reps were great.
We did have a good time.</p>
<p>USC is very friendly to out of staters - very unusual for a large state university. My daughter probably stands a better chance of getting accepted to the Honor’s college than she does getting accepted to the main campus at PSU as a freshman. Can anyone explain that one to me?</p>
<p>Honestly, I don’t know if the fit will be good or not. Stay tuned…</p>
<p>S saw the tour groups walking around,as he lives across Greene St from the Russell House and saw all the groups go by…
You were on campus during the TV time of a huge “away” football game.Kids were probably inside watching.On weekend mornings,campuses are all quiet.Kids like to sleep in.Did you stay over in an evening?Friday night there was a pretty big event right out on the Horseshoe.You would have seen plenty of kids there.
There are two shopping/restaurant areas nearby but they could be easy to miss if noone points them out to you.There are plenty of walkable options,except for the “big box” type stores.S had no car last year but never had a problem finding a ride to what he needed.PSU (S spent a summer there and we visited twice) is different b/c the town butts right up against the edge of the campus and there really isnt anything else.Columbia is a city,so there are other business/functions of life going on other than what caters to the college student.
Sorority/Fraternity membership is about 10% of the population,comparable or less than many other institutions including places like PSU.
Football is another story.Maybe a kid who doesnt enjoy it gets to enjoy it once they are on a big football campus,maybe they never do.PSU lives and breathes football…if a kid is going there they better learn to love it as well!
Forgive me for keeping making comparisions to PSU, but thats another state U and I would suspect most in state kids there come knowing bunches of kids from their hometowns or high schools.Some kids are more comfortable in that situation, and maybe for them staying in state is the best option.
Transportation in town at USC is not good.Biggest drawback to the city of Columbia, in my estimation. And the school doesnt run shuttle services to off campus locations.Some large campuses do, some don’t.You would have to look into that if its an important feature for you.
The local airport is okay.Very easy to manuever through security,very comfortable surroundings.Mostly connector flights to the larger East Coast destinations.But this happens alot elsewhere as well,D is in St Louis and theres many fewer direct options to NY than there were as little as 2 years ago.
By comparision, a place like State College, seems to be inaccessable at all except by car…but I guess if the car ride is only a few hours, it makes some parents feel more comfortable.
S went to USC not knowing anyone but the kids he had met at the McNair interview weekend.But he got to “know” kids through Facebook, and also through the UChoose roommate matching service USC provides once you give your housing deposit and enroll.In fact, his best friend is a native S Carolinian who he met on the service,they lived in the same dorm but were too late in submitting their request freshman year9boy procrastination).They simply made the time to seek each other out when they moved in to Maxcy, and have been friends since.
Mom 4…this is why people say you have to visit the campuses…to get that feeling of whether its right for you.</p>
<p>I’ve been holding off responding to the statements made by OP (reasonwhy) because I was frankly, very surprised at her comments.</p>
<p>My D is now a sophomore at USC. Though we live in Dallas, my wife and I are originally from Ohio, have ALL our families still there and both our children spent significant time (4-8 weeks) in Ohio almost every summer from the time they were 4 and 6 until they were sophomores or juniors in HS. I mention this because in my opinion it has grounded them to be more “Midwestern” in their thinking/actions than Southern.</p>
<p>My D roomed with PAmom’s D last year who is from suburban Philadelphia. I know in my D’s case I NEVER heard stories about difficulty fitting in, things to do etc. They both joined sororities but both also have maintained strong ties with their non-Greek friends; my D’s best friend to this day is not Greek and from New Jersey.</p>
<p>I really took offense to the vitriol of the original post; there is/was more going on there than either she has been told or is willing to admit. It’s one thing to relate that a school is not a good fit for someone but to make the broad generalizations about a campus culture as colored through one set of eyes is not only unfair to the school but also offensive to the many great students who attend the school.</p>
<p>My D had 20 plus hours of AP credit so she was able to bypass intro classes in English and History. She took an upper level English class on the Beat Generation writers/poets her first semester and said it was one of the best classes she has ever taken, that the professor was “amazing” and very engaging. He also included additional reading articles and handouts that explained the historical/social climate and perspective to help make that very unusual time in our social history more relevant to the I-Pod generation. </p>
<p>My D has noted that there are still a FEW people around (especially in a few fraternities and sororities) that are deeply rooted in the old South, and all that that implies. To her credit she has let them know how she feels about their shallow views and frankly just doesn’t associate with them…there really aren’t enough of them to color the prevailing attitude/culture of the school despite what the OP would lead you to believe. If you look hard enough at ANY school you will find people with extreme or prejudiced views about something. To me it sounds more like the problem was with the OP’s daughter who viewed slower talking, more laid back southerners to be less intelligent which is a common misconception for many from the Northeast and couldn’t be farther from the truth.</p>
<p>My D was in Capstone which was heavily OOS students and her floor had a significant number within her major (Sports Management) so maybe that had an impact on her first year experience though I really doubt it. Her social circle includes as many instate students as OOS and frankly I don’t think she sees them as anything other than her friends.</p>
<p>As to the issue of drinking and college. My D laughed out loud when she read the OP’s comments about taking pledges out and buying them drinks…it read like they were forcing drinks on their pledges. She says that she has never seen anyone force a drink on anyone at anytime. We have friends with kids at schools throughout the country with many at Ivies and top northeastern LAC’s. Drinking at some of those schools is far more the prevalent thing and part of the subculture than at USC because in some of those small New England towns in the dead of winter what else is there to do? Sure college students drink; it’s a part of their maturation and growing. Does anyone hold a gun to their head and force them to? Does anyone think less of them if they don’t…according to my D two of her closest sorority sisters NEVER drink and it is never an issue. To say that it is only thing to do tells me that the OP’s D didn’t look very hard for things to do. Freshman year is a year of great transition and many students struggle with their new found freedom, some more successfully than others. Some of the biggest drinkers/wildest partyers I knew when I was in college eventually grew up,and have led extraordinarily successful lives.</p>
<p>Let’s be fair, not every school is a good fit for everyone. My D attended two small schools; the first had a class of 90 and in the school she graduated from her class was about 175. She wanted something larger but not huge. She wanted Div 1 sports especially football and she wanted a good but not overpowering Greek scene. She wants to be a sports lawyer and with the top Sports Management program in the country, USC was a match for every one of her “wants.” She would take issue with the notion of classes being too easy or faculty be uncaring or apathetic. She loves her classes, has been able to develop relationships with several professors already and in general loves USC.</p>
<p>I am always happy to discuss/answer more specific things via PM with anyone.</p>
<p>One other note: Go to ANY school on a weekend and it will look deserted…I didn’t wake up on weekends until noon or later…at USC, on an away football weekend many kids travel to the games. They have HS friends who attend these other schools and the reasonably close proximity of many SEC schools makes the trips very doable. My D and many of her friends went to Athens for the UGA game on the 15th. Last year her UGA friends came to Columbia and this year she has friends from Vandy heading to USC that weekend. Also while the weather is still nice many kids head to the beaches. Don’t judge the relative quietness of the campus on a given Saturday to reflect or imply that USC is a commuter school. It really isn’t one.</p>
<p>“USC is very friendly to out of staters - very unusual for a large state university. My daughter probably stands a better chance of getting accepted to the Honor’s college than she does getting accepted to the main campus at PSU as a freshman. Can anyone explain that one to me?”</p>
<p>I can’t speak on behalf of PSU or USC admissions. In my opinion, the University of South Carolina recognizes the benefits to the state and to the students from South Carolina of having a diverse student body on campus. So, they actively recruit and seek top-notch students from out-of-state.</p>
<p>“USC is very friendly to out of staters - very unusual for a large state university. My daughter probably stands a better chance of getting accepted to the Honor’s college than she does getting accepted to the main campus at PSU as a freshman. Can anyone explain that one to me?”</p>
<p>My d was accepted at PSU main campus and not accepted into the Honor’s Program at USC last year. Just in case it is a deal breaker I thought I would divulge that info - the Honor’s College is actually pretty select - more so than some would think. The only kids I knew that were honor’s college material that would not get into PSU main were ones that waited way too late to apply. You also have to apply early to be admitted to the Honor’s College so it should be fine both ways.</p>
<p>I can pretty much “ditto” eadad’s comments about his d’s experience at USC. Very similar situation for my d. </p>
<p>Not everyone is cut out to go to a large state school as an OOS student -I’ll admit it can be a little more challenging than going to your own state school.</p>
<p>What I have said was a little misconstrued. I was trying to make the point that USC is “friendlier” to us from PA than Penn State is. PSU actually is not on her radar.<br>
Not every State U is friendly to OOS kids. UNC and UVa come to mind. The fact that USC is friendly to OOS is a plus to us being from OOS.
By friendly, I mean in the sense of OOS scholarships and tuition reduction.
This school will be at least $5,000 a year cheaper to attend than PSU or Pitt e.g.<br>
Couple the great tuition deal with USC’s liberal AP credit policy and she is way ahead of the game.</p>
<p>I completely understand that a lot of kids would not be out and about. One drawback of having these things on a Saturday.<br>
Football is basically a few weekends in the fall semester. </p>
<p>What do the kids do in the winter and spring? I am not trying to be difficult here - I am really trying to get a better whole picture now that we have visited. </p>
<p>Do your kids use the Strom Thurmond Fitness Center?</p>
<p>I know exactly waht you mean JustaMom - My d had no interest in PSU but we made her apply as her only in-state app since we had no idea how the situation might change from October to the following Fall! After she was accepted from PSU she didn’t really hear much from them. Meanwhile she was being “courted” by USC and it definitely helped her to take a closer look!</p>
<p>As far as weekends go - my d did go to other schools to visit friends, had friends come visit her, took visits home with SC friends to meet their family and learn more about them, took road trips to Charleston, went to see plays, went to baseball games, played intramural sports, went to concerts…whew. In know she is very busy!!
Now that she is a sophomore she is getting even more involved and is very happy with her advisor and her department. She is getting opportunites that she feels she would not have had elsewhere.
I do think that students need to be proactive in finding things to do and people to do it with. It’s there but you may need to look a little !
And yes - my d uses the Strom. She says the pilates classes are pretty good!</p>
<p>I’m a freshman at USC and I came from far out of state: about a twenty hour drive.
I have to say, I agree with most of the responses about how much there is to do on campus. cathymee mentioned the comedians and music, but there are also free movies every weekend, intramural athletic games, things like that. I’m very excited because Bill Nye the Science Guy is coming in October and students get free tickets.
There is definitely a drinking culture, but it’s easy enough to avoid if you don’t want to be a part of it. I’d say that about half of my floor doesn’t drink, and no one has ever tried to get us to.
There are definitely problems with getting around town, but I’ve found no shortage of people with cars to help with that, and there’s a lot to do within walking distance. It’s a few blocks in one direction to downtown and a few the other to Five Points.
I’ve definitely had problems adjusting to being so far away from home, but that would happen for me at any out of state school, not just USC. In fact, USC does a lot to combat that by offering things like the out of state mentor program and out of state seminars to help adjust to the culture, find things to do, and have someone to talk to when you do have problems. It’s a great resource, and they have free food.<br>
Oh, and the football thing. We are passionate about football, but there are a few people in the dorm who aren’t. Some of them we’ve converted, and others look forward to the games because that’s when everyone is gone and they can actually get some work done. It’s all in how you look at it.</p>
<p>hi betterdays!
Glad to hear you are doing well there
if you ever come up short needing a ride,call that guy over in Woodrow!!</p>
<p>JustaMom</p>
<p>My D was at the Strom at least three to four times a week last year while living in Capstone and is there almost daily this year living right next door in Greek Village. It has such incredible exercise facilities and its pool is a great hang out in nicer weather. She and her friends have a pretty rigid workout schedule, and they also attend a number of the exercise classes there as well. </p>
<p>I know we never had anything like that when I was in school!</p>