Once it starts trying to load just wait for it that wheely thing can go for awhile but you are in the queue. If you close you may get locked out again.
Is everyone who applies today given the same priority level? Or does it matter how early on I get in?
It matters. Goes by time stamp of completed app. At least that is what they say.
For future reference, log-on about an hour early… refresh every ten mins or so… have profile sections (3) all answered ahead of time (could have actually done it yesterday, as soon as they emailed you the password)… have special interest community application filed before (could have done it even up to weeks ago, if you wanted to)… and then at 9am Pacific, you can simply start the application - as you would already be logged in. Then, when you get to the special interest community page, skip the application (because you already did it or can do it later)… scroll down and confirm which one it is… pick the corresponding residential community and save / move-on. And of course have a credit card ready to go.
My daughter did all this and was done by 9:09 am.
Just food for thought for future years’ applicants 
That feels unfair as someone who’s being told the server is full… if they do it that way, they should make sure all freshmen can get on when they try.
Housing is easy to get at USC. Don’t sweat it. Weeks make a difference in applying not a few minutes or hours.
I’m hoping that more USC students want the dorms known for parties, because having to live somewhere like that would be a deal breaker for me.
As @CADREAMIN suggests, you will be fine… especially if you plan on filing the application today… even if it has to be later in the day due to site traffic. Even more important than speed can often be locating a roommate and agreeing on your preferences in order exactly. That will make USC’s job easier, as they can satisfy two applicants with one room placement. And you can locate such over time and even change requests over time too. You are not locked in to what you put on your application portal today.
Finally got in 20 min ago 
Took nearly 40 min of clicking back and forth between the login and the overload screen (and then they kicked me out again when I was trying to update my roommate profile, but luckily it was after I finished!)
I’ve been trying to log in for over an hour now - any tips??? I’ve tried opening/closing the browser - and plain old perseverance!
@bentandbarc - Is it something obvious like you entered dashes in your USC ID? I did that initially and took them out and logged right in.
I got in!! just keep trying
It sucks that housing comes out before financial aid. I can’t say for sure if I can go to USC, if I don’t know how much money I’m getting.
Things to consider when deciding on a college obviously include factors like academic reputation, diversity of student body, majors and minors offered, activities available, campus, rankings (US News and Niche are good ones to consider) and the actual cost of attendance / financial burden for your family.
But… as a resident of FL who really despises the humidity that makes our heat genuinely unbearable for many months out of the year (also true for most locations in the southeast), weather is often something that students fail to take into consideration until it is all too late. For example, the brutal winters in and around Chicago and in some parts of the northeast can be hard to take for many.
It is thus not surprising that 5 out of the top 6 colleges in terms of rank related to weather are all in California… including of course USC at #3.
http://www.bestcollegereviews.org/colleges-with-the-best-weather/
This is just another factor to consider while you decide. I can tell you that now every time my older daughter returns from USC to FL, her first thoughts usually are something related to how she misses the weather in CA already and how much she hates our weather in FL 
So choose wisely… four years can be a very long time… if you are in the wrong place – for you.
Wait do we need to commit to going to USC before we apply for housing?
@helloisabelle - No, you do not need to commit. Fill out the housing application, pay the $55.00, and stop at roommate selection.
Im a girl and was offered housing at McCarthy for honors. Is anyone interested in rooming?
@WWWard We are also in FL with a son attending USC (hopefully daughter will join him in the fall). My son makes the exact same complaint about the humidity every time he steps off the plane in FL. Daughter is contemplating schools in NE and Midwest, as well as USC, but I’m a bit afraid that a lifetime spent in South FL has definitely not prepared her for frigid, snow-filled winters!
@jcwjnw99 So you can apply for housing, and later decide to go somewhere else and decline the housing?
Regarding housing… we didn’t apply for housing until May 1st for our Ds who are juniors now. Not a smart move on our part. For D3, we applied for housing at her top 2 bc she also didn’t decide until last minute. We lost the deposit at one of them but it was worth it to us.