UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
STUDENT BLOG
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Navigating Your First Year as a USC Trojan
by Lanie Brice
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Navigating Your First Year as a Spring Admit
by Lanie Brice
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How to Balance Your Social Life During Finals
by Donal Buckley
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Study Tips and Habits to Get Through Finals Season
by Lauren Liang
looking for a specific read?
Tools to Stay on Top of All Your Online Classes
By: Karla Leung ‘22
With the move to online classes for a while, you’re probably spending a lot more time on your laptop — those classes that don’t allow laptops can’t say anything now! Of course there are hundreds of productivity tools out there, but these are a few that I use, or that I think would be useful to you all, to keep up and make online classes a bit easier.
Best Ways to Study
By: Talia Walters ‘20
I don’t know about anyone else, but I never learned how to study in high school. I was always the kind of person who would cram the night before in a panicked, caffeine-fueled rage before getting to school the next morning, taking the test, and doing mostly fine. Despite the horror of each experience, I never learned my lesson, and then I got to college, and it was down hill from there. So, to save you the trouble I went through, I’ve curated some handy tips on how to study.
Is a Class Right for You?
By: Talia Walters ‘20
We are in the midst of the most exciting time of class registration during the semester: the three-week add/drop period. Over the next week and a half (decisions must be made by FRIDAY, JANUARY 31st), everyone is able to try out classes, switch out of and into new classes, and drop classes they don’t actually want to take. But sometimes, it’s hard to figure out if you should continue taking a class because you just don’t know what the best decision is. Now, I’ve been around the scheduling block a few times, and I’ve made my fair share of scheduling decisions down to the wire of the add/drop period. So, I’ve come to help and share my wonderful knowledge. Here are 8 questions you should ask yourself when deciding if a class is right for you:
Worthwhile 2-Unit Classes to Supplement your Schedule
By: Sophia Pei ‘22
Did you know that every semester you pay for up to 18 units with your tuition? Most students take 4 classes (16 units), but there are a bunch of fun 1 and 2 unit courses you could take to supplement your experience. The add/drop deadline is January 21, so go ahead and try out some classes. Keep reading for a list of worthwhile 1-2 unit courses!
5 Reasons USC Students Need to Study Abroad in Singapore
By: Jamie Wu ‘18
One of the biggest regrets that college seniors always have is not studying abroad. I didn’t truly understand why until I studied abroad at the National University of Singapore in the Spring of 2017. Living abroad for 4 months was the best decision of my college career. I know that puts a lot of weight to my words but I genuinely cannot recommend studying abroad enough (and especially in Singapore). And these are the top 5 reasons why.
Keep up Your Language Skills Over the Summer!
By: Ellice Ellis ‘20
Did you take a foreign language this semester? Maybe it was Spanish, Korean, or French, like myself? Well, that’s great! Kudos to you. Personally, learning languages has been a huge challenge for me over the years. I’ve taken French since the 4th grade and I have always had problems retaining what I’ve learned after the school year ended. And as you may know, summer is typically the time that most of what you have learned during the semester wears away. So I’ve decided to pull from my failures and tell you the best ways to stay fluent, or close to it, over the summer.
5 Ways To Organize Your Life in Time For Finals
By: Ellice Ellis ‘20
Anyway you frame it, preparing for finals can be stressful. Whether they come in the form of your normal tests, essays or other types of projects; these assessments are of the utmost importance because they reflect the hard work you’ve put in all semester and play a major role in your final grade. Personally, I’ve found myself stacked with studying, finishing projects, writing essays and completing other important personal tasks during this time. In addition to the stress there seems to be an attitude amongst many professors that their class assignments are the most important. Despite these tensions, here are five pieces of advice you can take into the next few weeks in order to reduce your stress and get your stuff together during this stressful time.
Everything You Should Know About Being a Spring Admit
By: Anna Lipscomb ‘19
If you were admitted into USC for the spring semester, you may be wondering what this means. I can relate - me and many other students at USC have been in your place. Here’s everything you should know about being a spring admit, and the reasons why I would make the same decision again.
SCA’s Diversity Organizations
By: Grace Carballo ‘17
Last Friday, I met some amazing and inspiring peers at the Diversity Networking Mixer at SCA through several rounds of “speed dating.” The event was hosted by Acción Latina, USC WCA (Women of Cinematic Arts), African American Cinema Society, the Asian American Cinema Association, and Queer Cut, the School of Cinematic Arts’ diversity organizations.
An Introverts Guide to Office Hours
By: Ellice Ellis ‘20
“Office hours” is a popular phrase on college campuses. It is mentioned in almost every syllabus and always comes up during conversations about school with family members, alumni, or academic counselors. Office hours are times that professors or teaching assistants (T/A) set aside to be available to their students. A student may go to see a professor or a T/A during office hours because they don’t understand class material, want guidance in the course, or to pursue a topic in more depth than it was covered in class. Going to office hours seems like a pretty simple key to success, but if you’re an introvert or a shy person like myself meeting with your professor seems to be uncomfortable and scary. I’ll be honest, it was not until midterms of my first semester to feel 100% comfortable talking to my professors. I initially was very anxious and scared that I would have been disturbing the professor or asking “stupid questions.” However as time went on, I developed coping strategies that helped me to overcome my office hours jitters.
5 Best Places to Study on Campus
By: Ayman Siraj ‘18
It is that time of the semester when the whole campus seems to get serious about studies – midterms are in full swing, group projects assigned and for some panic sets in as they try to keep up with the express pace of classes at USC. Many of us think of Leavey Library but there are other great spots as well. Here is my list of the 5 best places to study on campus!
The wretched woes and learned lessons from Writing 150
By: Terry Nguyen ‘20
The writing requirement offered at USC is an undergraduate rite of passage: It is not explicitly stated so, but as a course requirement for all majors, Writing 150 is the epitome of freshman suffering. The late-night essay write-ups and the inevitable low paper grade in one’s college career will stem from this dreaded course, but in certain circumstances, we must embrace the beauty within this collective suffering. For those currently oppressed students taking this class — best of luck. Here are a few lessons learned and wretched woes you will experience from Writing 150.