good tip, @CAtransplant
I just went to the Welcome app (which I haven’t been using) and registered for today’s 4:00 p.m. PDT “Get Ready for Housing Move-In and Campus Dining”. Thanks!
Soo confused - “get ready to move in today at 4:00pm,” preceded by “no one can move in” sent yesterday?
today’s zoom on housing and dining answered so many questions:
- awaiting state guidance, if state doesn't respond prior to 8/17 start of classes there will be no on-campus housing this fall,
- move in appointments will be made at time of housing assignment, move-in staggered from 8/10-8/16,
- for freshmen, there is capacity for everyone with a pending app to get a room,
- for freshmen honors, all with a pending app will be in mccarthy,
- for freshmen, the traditional freshmen dorms will continue to house freshmen,
- one parent can accompany students onto campus and into dorm during move in,
- there are linen services, if families want to limit how much they're packing,
- everyone must move out by nov. 25, for deep cleaning and re-assignment if they get a new room for spring (no guarantee),
- hope is to increase housing density in spring, if conditions allow,
- usc hotel will be used to quarantine covid-positive students,
- if exposed but not positive, students will isolate in place, may happen repeatedly,
- students in a suite are considered a family and may remove masks and gather in the suite living area,
- no furniture is being removed from any bedroom, so two of everything in rooms which will now be singles,
- dining sounds good, each dining hall will have a different themed focus, all freshmen on campus must subscribe to 21 meal/wk plan, grub hub will be used to select from available dining hall options for student ordering and pick up,
- if usc closes due to covid, no refund for unused housing or dining,
- housing cost is based on double occupancy, even though all singles,
- dining cost has been reduced due to fewer # wks in fall semester.
Yeah @CADREAMIN they were doing this presentation AS IF students will be moving in though they still don’t know. IF they move in, this is what will happen, that kind of thing!
Good notes @saltyandpeppery - I also wrote down a few more things:
- if you get an offer of housing, usually they give 48 hours to accept but if they don't get to make offers until late next week it's possible they could bring that down to 24 hours.
- not only dining but also housing cost is reduced due to fewer weeks in fall semester.
- you can still cancel housing request and will not be penalized
- even if you accept housing offer, if you say you want to cancel before you move in you won't be obligated to pay. Once you move in though you'll be on the hook
- For spring housing application, he did not think there would be a time stamp for priority as in normal years. Rather the priority would go according to what the Provost has previously said for Fall, i.e. those with on-campus classes, etc. would get first priority he thought. (though I would think that after those priorities are filled, then they would go by time stamp for next priority? But that's just a guess on my part)
- even though you are using GrubHub to order the meal you want, you pick it up (no delivery) and there is no extra charge or fee like a GrubHub would normally have.
- you can also go pick it up in person without pre-ordering but will probably have to wait.
- if you have dietary restrictions you should email the dietician lindsey pine to let her know but for vegans and vegetarians there will always be options at every meal.
Wow you guys are good @CAtransplant and @saltyandpeppery
** awaiting state guidance, if state doesn’t respond prior to 8/17 start of classes there will be no on-campus housing this fall **
Respond to what? Does this mean - currently no one is moving in and if nothing is said (no changes) then there is no on campus housing (the double negatives make it harder to get square). Alternatively, they would need to say it is ok (which seems unlikely) between now and 17th for people to move in. Do I have this right?
I suppose this applies to upperclassman and graduate students? This is actually important for me to know as it impacts some things we are doing. What a mess. Thanks for taking the time to post all this!
Yes I think you’re saying what it means. The current guidelines are the campus is basically closed. They are now Awaiting new fall guidelines to come any time now.
If state does not revise current guidelines they will not be able to open. This would apply to upperclassmen too is my understanding (not sure about grad students?) and that’s why they haven’t given upperclassmen a move-in date and time slot yet.
Thanks for clarifying!
@saltyandpeppery @CAtransplant
Excellent summaries. I joined in late, but got in a couple of questions on move-in date choreography, which you’ve mentioned. Another wrinkle is that they do anticipate that students might not be able to move in during the August 10-16 period. As I understood, after a student accepts the housing offer, they will have an opportunity to reserve a move-in date and time slot based on availability for the particular residential house. If there is no suitable slot, or there is insufficient time to get air tickets, etc, to make available slots, students can still accept the housing offer, and move in after classes have started.
@ridingthewave thanks. I understood that bit almost as you did but I wrote down If you can’t make it on the move-in date they give you, they will hold your spot til Monday the 17th. But my understanding was they don’t want people moving in any later than that date.
@CAtransplant I had asked the question about the move-in interval. It was my understanding that the person who addressed it said that one could move in after classes were underway and didn’t cut it off at August 17. I think it was answered assuming a context of a late go-ahead from the state on USC’s move-in plan. If this is August 14, it’s likely that students will not be able to book an air ticket (without a very high fare) or make other arrangements to be there by the 17th. I’m sure there are other circumstances that could also prevent an August 10-16 dorm move-in, such as an unexpected positive COVID-19 test result before flying out.
Of course this creates a problem for USC housing if they stick to the policy that you are only charged if you move in. Someone can accept a housing guarantee, say that they are only able to come August 22/23 weekend, and then reconsider. It seemed with many moving pieces at this time that they are still formulating what will be in the housing contract. It is possible that they will make August 17 and later move-ins as binding insofar as being charged. I did appreciate how forthright they were in the discussion and their willingness to try to address difficult hypotheticals.
@ridingthewave you may well be right. I think my head was kind of spinning by the time they got to your question after a super busy work day and all the questions in that webinar!
oh by the way @saltyandpeppery’s post 3501 about how RA’s can’t move in Aug. 7 unless they get approval from LA county health? Now Daily Trojan tweeted:
“At this time, Residential Education is still planning for an Aug. 10 move-in for RAs, and will provide an update in the coming days, according to a University media representative.”
“awaiting state guidance, if state doesn’t respond prior to 8/17 start of classes there will be no on-campus housing this fall”
And if there is no on-campus housing… there will be no athletics. Period. USC would need to create some form of a “bubble” for student athletes that they can potentially control on campus. There is no way to house them at scores of private accommodations surrounding the campus and also control the prospect of COVID outbreaks across all sports.
Ugh. What a cruel year. C’mon vaccine.
Did they say anything about how confined students will be to their rooms? Will students be able to pick up their food and eat in a courtyard or outdoors if masked and socially distanced? Will they be able to study outdoors if masked and socially distanced?
@lkg4answers yes I think they touched on students being able to eat food outdoors socially distanced. The studying outdoors wasn’t actually covered at this meeting but at a prior one I attended put on by housing a couple of weeks ago they said that would be allowed so long as it didn’t get to be too many people or social distancing being ignored. I seem to recall talk of some kind of monitors walking around to make sure distancing and mask-wearing are being followed.
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Anyone thinking of a dorm with all these conditions? It just seems so lonely.
I think we are all in a little shock that we are here, in this position of uncertainty, on August 1st. Sad all around after high hopes early in the summer. My D went to LA today and back to her apartment. Will be curious to hear what it feels like there.
@CADREAMIN I agree. When they had to. come home unexpectedly in March, who ever would have thought we’d be in this position in August. My heart breaks for all the students who are missing out on so much.
Acknowledging that every Trojan and family is different, but here’s some of how the hope of a dorm feels to us:
- my son desperately needs peer relationships and interaction, even if just in the suite at McCarthy, he’s been very lonely at home since the shutdown and our family can not give him the peer contact he craves,
- finishing high school virtually at home was very sad and unfulfilling and he does not want a year of college from his family bedroom,
- USC provides 300 days of sunshine a year, for getting outside to walk/run/socially engage with other students, compared to months of harsh cold and snow for us,
- picking up boxed meals and eating outside with others at social distance sounds much better than the routine of family meals,
- I have reasonable confidence that he’ll wear a mask, wash hands, and make a good effort to maintain social distance,
- i wish usc was surveying students and families to get a pulse of what’s working and what’s not, my son has zero interest in the extensive online orientation programs that were offered and the welcome activities which are beginning this week, i applaud the effort to replicate what’s worked in person, but it’s not the same to watch a performance by yourself or sit on a zoom call and hope that relationships will form,
- the idea of assigning virtual roommates is laudable, but unappealing,
- i can’t imagine online social events or online student clubs, for my Trojan living in a dorm and having some in-person interaction is the only hope of new friends,
- he also needs the responsibility of getting himself up, getting to class on time (even if online), managing his workload, etc.; my Trojan is more likely to take care of himself when he’s independent rather than at home,
- for my son, he has no interest in a gap year, as non-school experiences are so limited, and It’s irrelevant anyway since USC is one of the schools that has not offered it as an option,
- so, yes, much of the proposed on campus experience seems very lonely but it’s the “least worst” hope for my Trojan, so we continue to keep fingers crossed that it will be an option this fall.
The biggest surprise is that USC is establishing a policy that no prorated refunds for housing or dining will be issued if the campus is closed during the semester. That’s a very large economic risk for families, and seems unreasonable to charge for unused services. Have just found the housing contract we’ll be expected to sign and will need to read it carefully: https://housing.usc.edu/index.php/publication/2020-2021-living-agreement/
Would be interested in how others are sorting through these issues, and how your Trojans are feeling about freshman year.
Great post @saltyandpeppery. Not advocating one choice or another, everyone has to do what is best for them, but if they want to live on campus, (and are allowed to), freshman parents should keep in mind that there will be a lot of students all around campus, upperclassman will be just steps away or across the street at their off campus apartments because getting out of a leases isn’t an option and they don’t want to be at home with their parents. Plenty of sophomores-seniors will be bopping around. Unless health issues, they aren’t likely to stay home plagued by the lonliness mentioned above. They have been at home so long already! Whether one agrees with it or not, these kids are just gonna go on with their life when they get back to school.
I was gonna suggest a Trojan “big brother/sister program” where upperclassman could sign up as available to “mentor” freshman - like just be available to answer important questions like, “Which one is the best Taco truck and where does it park?” But I guess social media takes care of that nowadays. But it would be someone they could “talk” too about things from food to classes.
Agree that the no pro rate policy is odd if a student has to leave at no fault of their own. hmmm…