<p>Does the dangerous neighborhood affect the party scene/social life at all? where to most parties take place? If there are off campus parties mainly, are the close enough to campus and away from the ghetto?</p>
<p>Most of the north side of campus is heavily patrolled by security. There is also a free taxi service called campus cruiser that students utilize to get around instead of walking alone at night when they are off-campus. </p>
<p>USC is on the southern edge of downtown on the Figueroa corridor. Generally when people associate LA with “ghetto”, they think of south central areas such as compton, watts, and inglewood which as you can see are quite far away on google maps. The University Park neighborhood where USC is resembles more of a working class neighborhood. Statistically speaking the neighborhood is much safer than New Haven (Assuming you went to Choate and know what New Haven is like…)</p>
<p>alright thanks!</p>
<p>also, is joining greek life basically mandatory for partying?</p>
<p>I think less than 20% of the school is involved in greek life so it isn’t a requirement for being social or going to parties. If the only kind of party you enjoy is a frat party then yes you should consider joining greek life. Keep in mind pledging is pretty time consuming and can be stressful so take that into consideration your first semester when establishing a gpa for the sake of job recruiting (if you are a transfer versus being a freshman). There is both a fall and a spring rush and if you decide to pass on fall you can always rush in spring once you get a handle on things your first semester. There are many many other threads in this forum on the topic of greek life so consider searching for other threads on this topic.</p>
<p>what other types of parties are there mostly? what % of parties would you say are greek? are teh house parties near USC or in the ghetto parts?</p>
<p>my parents just want me to be safe and are worried about any even slightly sketchy neighborhoods…</p>
<p>thanks for all the help!</p>
<p>Most of the students that live near campus live on the north side which is pretty safe. LA <em>is</em> in a large city though and you need to be street smart. Don’t wander around late at night alone looking like a target. Most of the crime in this neighborhood is crime of opportunity that you find near any school campus (e.g. theft because students are targets) but it isn’t anything like some of the other urban campuses around the country despite what you may read. You should consider taking a campus tour if you can and walk/drive around the north side of campus to see what it is like during the day and night. House parties are usually on menlo/ellendale which are two big student street north of campus made up of entirely student apartments/houses. Pretty much everything east of vermont, south of adams, and west of figueroa is where the bulk of students live and party at. Greek row is 28th street from hoover to figueroa. If your parents are worried then consider living on campus in a dorm or off campus somewhere like gateway/tuscany/west 27th apartments.</p>
<p>ok thank you so much for the insight. i thought the extremely dangerous neighborhood would curb student partying but thank god it doesnt :D</p>
<p>I am from a east coast suburb and have never lived in a city in my life so i am soooo excited and nervous!</p>
<p>People who live in suburbs (this includes the more affluent areas of SoCal) assume USC is in the ghetto but having lived in a number of urban environments I can assure you it isn’t. There is crime, yes, but no more than any other large city. You just need to learn to be street smart (watch who is around you, don’t flash wealth e.g. iphone/ipods, always walk quickly) when you are walking around alone. We get crime alerts once a week here but it is usually a student getting their phone or something mugged from them on the street when they are walking alone. If you live off-campus, it helps if you ride a bicycle as thousands of students do here because then you aren’t an easy target as you’re moving fast. Keep in mind usc has hundreds(thousands?) of private security referred to as DPS who literally stand on street corners all around campus, especially on the north side, at all hours to keep an eye on student safety. All of the greek houses have their own private security standing out front also usually.</p>
<p>People who call the USC neighborhood a ghetto have lived charmed lives; they have never seen a REAL ghetto.</p>
<p>The parties you would want to attend/the ones you will attend will almost ALWAYS (99.99%) be in neighborhoods where a majority of the apartments and houses are occupied by USC students. So when you ask if the parties are “by USC” or in “the ghetto parts” — it doesn’t really make sense. Most students live near campus, so most parties will be by campus. I guess if that’s a concern of yours, don’t go to a party thrown by a non-student? Although I never heard of such things happening anyway.</p>
<p>You do NOT have to be Greek to have a vibrant social life at USC. Like someone else mentioned, this has been discussed to death here. Read past threads and you’ll learn the ropes. Greek life isn’t for everyone, so make sure you know it’s something you want to be a part of before you commit. If you choose not to rush, you won’t be a social pariah and you’ll have PLENTY of parties to go to. Also, if you’re a girl, you can still go to frat parties no problem.</p>
<p>If you’re a freshman, your parents should feel secure knowing you will be living on campus. Campus is pretty much as safe as you can get at USC. If you’re a transfer, consider looking at the newer, large-scale apartment buildings (like 27th St) as they will have more restricted access, security guards, etc. Although, you will be safe anywhere north of campus if you’re just SMART and aware of your surroundings!</p>
<p>Are you just coming to USC to party? Don’t you have a question about libraries or something?</p>
<p>The north side is by far the safest other than being on the campus itself. The west side is less safe as there are more neighborhood people that live alongside but it is DPS patrolled and there are the security guys with yellow jackets. However, the east side past the 110 and the south side past exposition is another story…</p>
<p>why would i ask questions about libraries when i can go to USC’s website and look those up LOL</p>