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
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A Conversation with Southern California Healthcare Outreach Founder Nikhilesh Kumar
By: Lanie Brice ‘24
Yesterday, I had the chance to sit down over Zoom with Nikhilesh Kumar, the founder of Southern California Healthcare Outreach. This USC organization was created in 2019 with an mission to educate the people of Los Angeles and beyond about healthcare and health insurance from how they can enroll in lower cost options and take advantage of policies to how they become more active in the policy choices around the issues. The club is currently open to applications for the spring term until Saturday February 12th. Here’s my conversation with Nikhilesh on his experience founding this organization, what club members can expect when they join, and the initiatives that he’s most proud of.
How to add Active Recall to your Study Routine
By: Kelsey Cheng ‘25
We’ve all been there––rereading your textbook for the third time at 1 AM, hoping that the test won’t be that hard. Like many students, I studied by highlighting notes and rewatching zoom lectures. While this may work for some, there are other ways to absorb learning material. In honor of midterms week, I tried out a new method of studying called active recall that’s supposed to increase memory retention and decrease hours spent at Leavey.
5 Tips for Double Majoring from a Double Major
By: Nancy Aguilar ‘22
Deciding to pursue a second major is a difficult decision on its own, and it can be a very tedious and lengthy process depending on which major you’d like to add to your existing curriculum. Plus —even if you are successful in adding it—the work has only just begun. In my experience, this process took months to achieve. My first major under Dornsife was International Relations and Global Business; later, I applied to the School of Cinematic Arts in August 2020. Prior to, I had months of preparation for the application entailing essay writing, storytelling and creating my own film. If you’re adding a major that is within the same school it’s probably a relatively easier process, but, sooner or later, all double majors have to deal with the same obstacle: finding balance.
How to Make the Most of the Virtual School Experience
By: Nancy Aguilar ‘22
Now that we have had almost two years of online school as a result of the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic, it’s safe to say that we’re way past Zoom fatigue. This is chronic pain. Just when we thought we were safe in Fall 2021, Spring 2022 gave us a wake up call.
Tips and Tricks to Get Started with Notion + Mini Notion Tour
By: Lanie Brice ‘24
Notion has taken the planning world by storm in the last couple years, but it can be an intimidating and confusing tool to get started with. Notion offers the allure of nearly infinite possibility of formatting, planning, and notetaking within an app that’s available on your computer, iPad, and phone. I’ve been using Notion on and off for a couple years now, and it’s taken me a while to create systems that support what I need and are easy to stay consistent with. Here are my best tips for getting started with Notion and how to best utilize it to stay organized during this already chaotic semester.
Day in the Life of a BCA Major
By: Kristen Adams ‘25
Business Cinematic Arts, or BCA for short, is a unique major offered by the Marshall Business School and the School of Cinematic Arts for students interested in learning about the business side of the entertainment industry. As a freshman, I have enjoyed the classes I’ve had to take thus far, ranging from economics to film classes, and am excited to see all the new opportunities I’ll have coming up. Here is a rundown of what it’s like to be a BCA major at USC!
8 Tips for Finals
By: Hannah Skinner ‘23
The end of the semester is upon us, and so are finals. It can be a tough few weeks, but there are ways to lessen the stress and take better care of ourselves too. Here are my wellness and study tips to help you succeed during testing season!
Day in the Life of a Film Production Major
By: Nancy Aguilar ‘22
I transferred into the School of Cinematic Arts during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in January. Fall 2021 has been my first in-person experience at taking film production classes and I had no idea what I was getting into, but in hindsight that was probably for the better. I’m currently taking a Junior level course, the notorious CTPR310.
Which USC Theatre (Acting) Major Should You Choose?
By: Cherise Clough ‘24
If you are interested in acting or pursuing theatre, then you might be wondering which major is best for you to study while at USC. Between the BA (Bachelor of Arts) Theatre major, the BFA (Bachelor of Fine Arts) and the emphasis in Acting: it can get pretty confusing. Below, I will be discussing them all and listing a pros and cons list for you. Hopefully, by the end, you’ll be able to make the right decision for yourself!
3 Lessons I Learned from Volunteering with JEP
By: Kelsey Cheng ‘25
USC’s Joint Educational Project (JEP) is one of the oldest and largest service-learning programs in the United States. As a volunteer, Trojans can tutor local students, teach yoga, instruct lessons, and more. This fall, I volunteered as a team member for the Peace Project, a mini-course taught at local elementary schools about peacemaking. Here are some of the lessons that I learned from my first time teaching.
Should I join Freshman Science Honors and Thematic Option?
By: Nathan Kim ‘24
As an incoming freshman, you might’ve received an email or letter, inviting you to join a couple of programs called Freshman Science Honors (FSH), only for natural science majors, or Thematic Option (TO). One year ago, I was in the same shoes, wondering if FSH and TO were worth it, and if you’re like me, a flurry of questions probably flooded your mind on what these programs exactly were and their various benefits and drawbacks. Although there are posts online talking about these programs, I wanted to give a complete, personal take on them as I am a part of both. Quick disclaimer: I took these classes during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Best GE’s I’ve Taken in Multiple Categories
By: Dara Udobong ‘23
So I’ve been around the block (if I I do say so myself), and after almost 3 years of higher education and only 2 more GE’s to go, I’d say I have an above average grasp on some of the best GE’s to take in select categories. Getting your class schedule together is one thing, but picking just the right GE that fits in with your core classes is a whole different ballgame. With the breadth of choice afforded to us with our general education classes, who wouldn’t want to pick the right one? And I know, I know—sometimes, it all comes down to the professor. That’s why in this article, I’ll be including some of my best GE’s to date with an aweso