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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Ask a Trojan: Rec Letters and Rushing Panhellenic as an African American
By: Kelly Kinas ‘16
Panhellenic Recruitment starts August 20th with the Rules Symposium. You can apply here until then but you may have some questions now. I am totally here for you! I rushed my freshman year, was on the sister side of recruitment my sophomore, & was the VP of New Member Education on the Panhellenic Council last year (Junior year)! So if you have any questions, just go to our ask box and ask away like s0phistique did! Her question was “What is it like for an african american student to rush a panhellenic sorority?”
Learn from your Big SCister
By: Grace Carballo ‘17
The first lesson is that almost every word that has an S or a C is “Trojanized” to have both and you shouldn’t fight it, but rather laugh and promptly accept it. Soon you’ll be doing it, too. I’m writing this post for my biological brother but since we’re all Trojan Family, the whole class of 2020 is more than welcome to my unsolicited sisterly wisdom. As a rising senior, I’m practically of a different generation than you young folks and my life experience is worth its weight in gold. I would give my right arm (dominant hand and objectively a critical component of my “good side”) to be able to have 4 more years of college like you young grasshoppers get to, especially if I could relive it knowing all I know now. In preparation for writing this letter I looked through my old photos from 2013-2014 (a simpler time) and can’t even believe how good we had it/have it at USC.
The Smoothest Move-In
By: Grace Carballo ‘17
Moving in with someone is a big step in any relationship, so not matter how well you know your soon-to-be roommate, it’s perfectly natural to be a little nervous. Whether you met through mutual friends, knew each other in high school, found common ground in your generic posts in the USC Class of 2020 facebook group, or both opted for the “random roommate” in an admirable leap of faith, there’s no way you know what it will be like to live with them until you actually do.
Women Traveling the World
By: Grace Carballo ‘17
When you’re thousands of miles away from home, everyday annoyances can seem like serious dilemmas, especially when they’re harder to solve in a country you aren’t as familiar with. It’s upsetting but not the end of the world when your laptop malfunctions at USC or your credit card gets lost or canceled, but when you’re several countries away from the nearest Apple store and your bank has no branches in your host country, it can be fairly terrifying to say the least. It happens to everyone at some point or another and just like that, the honeymoon phase is over.
How To Have The Best Time in College
By: Emily Young MA ‘16
Since I am reaching the end of my five wonderful years here at USC, I thought it would be great to share my college tips for having the best college experience!
It’s Perfectly Reasonable to be “Undecided”
By: Grace Carballo ‘17
I entered USC as an Undecided Major and I hope to exit triumphantly next spring with 2 majors and 2 minors, pending how some of my abroad credits transfer in. Though I do not work in the Admissions Office, I do in fact, know almost all of the majors USC offers simply because I’ve considered declaring most of them.
Ask A Trojan: Best Parts About Coming to USC
By: Cole Sullivan ’18
When I think about the best parts of my freshman year at USC, three things come to mind: Nico and Vinz, French Fries, and an incredibly hot football game.
How To Get Motivated After Spring Break
By: Grace Carballo ‘17
Spring Break is a well-deserved break after midterms for relaxation and recuperation, but like all good things, it must come to an end. And though finals are still far enough in the distance, the day-to-day tasks that were fine before Spring Break can often become unbearable after 10 days on a beach or in a tent or pretty much anywhere more scenic than Leavey.
Loving Yourself Is More Important Than You Think
By: Judy Lee ‘17
We all hear the term “self-love” thrown around a lot these days. Most times, it’s a term used to encapsulate nice things you can do for yourself that make you happy. Now, before I move any further with this: yes, it is very important to do things that make you happy. However, I feel as if it runs much deeper than that. Self-love, to me, is also a lot about healing yourself and finding calm.
The DON’Ts of Study Abroad
By: Grace Carballo ‘17
There’s a lot of different reasons to study abroad but one of the most common, and important, is to learn about a culture different than your own. I’ve learned first hand how challenging this can be- to embrace the unfamiliar, to accept my own cluelessness, to depend on strangers, to laugh at my mistakes, and keep on putting myself out there be it conjugating verbs or trying to use slang words correctly.
Questions To Ask Yourself Before You Pursue A Relationship
By: Judy Lee ‘17
Relationships—especially in college—are an endeavor on their own. As a converging point for so many different people and for so many different disciplines, it’s a lot of things on your plate. Because of its reputation for bringing couples together, sometimes the pressure can get to you in a way it didn’t before. If you’re feeling iffy about a situation regarding being in a committed relationship with someone, make sure you ask yourself these questions as part of your consideration:
My First Year as a First Gen College Student at USC
By: Carla Rubio ‘19
My name is Carla Rubio, and I am studying Theatre Production at the USC School of Dramatic Arts. I was born in San Francisco but raised in Bakersfield, CA. I am the oldest child of four; I also happen to be a twin. If you were wondering, I am a fraternal twin but my sister and I do share similar features.