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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5 Study Hacks
By: Natalia Wurst ‘21
It’s that point in the semester where everything feels extra not okay. Maybe you’d normally be able to handle simultaneously juggling two research papers, ten extracurriculars, and a couple of annoying suitemates, but you’ve been juggling that since mid-September. It’s old news now. I feel pretentious calling the following list “hacks,” like you’ve never thought of them before, but humor me for a little and pretend you haven’t. These are implementable techniques to make such times less hellish.
Pass/No Pass: Here’s What You Need to Know
By: Danielle Collins ‘20
It’s that time of the semester: registration. Time to find those double dipper GEs, bookmark Rate My Professors, and avoid Friday discussions at all costs. One thing you might be considering is whether or not to take a class Pass/No Pass (P/NP). Here’s what you need to know.
Visions & Voices Recap - Talking Race: Social Media and Social Justice
By: Amy Wang ‘21
The Visions & Voices event “Talking Race: Social Media and Social Justice“ featured Meredith D. Clark, Karen Grigsby Bates, Feminista Jones, and Felix Gutierrez. While the panel covered many topics regarding social media and its influence on activism, there were several ideas covered that especially piqued my interest.
Meet Gene Delvecchio, Pioneer of USC’s Most Entertaining MKT Course
By: Joy Ofodu ‘18
Foreword: I am so honored to have been in the guinea pig section for what is now known as MKT 461: Marketing Blockbuster Entertainment. I recommend this course to anyone at USC, Marshall student or not, who loves entertainment, brainstorming and courses that analyze markets in real time/ have real-world implications. This is one class you won’t regret taking!
How To Dining Hall
By: Natalia Wurst ‘21
Even though dining hall food is currently the most unappreciated aspect of my college experience, I know it will quickly turn into the metaphorical “one that got away” the minute I have to cook anything more complicated than pasta. Multiple sources have confirmed this fact. That being said, if you’re a freshman, or even a sophomore/junior/(senior?) with a meal plan, it’s perfectly valid to be sick of months or even years of the same old, same old. No one is denying that this a first world problem, but the struggle is a struggle nonetheless.
Great Mentors and Where to Find Them
By: Maddie Walsh ‘20
Surrounding yourself with older and wiser mentors as an undergraduate student can lead to important opportunities and connections, but it can be hard to know where to start. Here’s a list of suggestions inspired by people who have helped shape my own USC experience in the last 2 years.
How do I know if I should change my major?
By: Jamie Wu ‘18
College is a crazy 4 years full of new experiences, new friends and new memories. However, it’s definitely not a smooth ride. It’s a roller coaster filled with ups and downs, nights of laughter and nights of crying. Among the important decisions that can make or break your college experience is deciding what you should major in. And although another one of our bloggers Jonathon talks about it in his video, another big decision is deciding whether you should change your major. I’m going to pose 4 questions for you and hopefully that’ll guide you along the way.
What if I don’t get into USC?
By: Jamie Wu ‘18
“USC is my dream school and I’ve wanted to go there ever since I was 5.” I’ve heard this from lots of perspective students and sadly, some of those students don’t get into USC. So what do you do when you’ve put in so much effort in your college applications but it didn’t turn out the way you want? How can you reconcile the fact that you’ve spent countless hours on your common app with the fact that you’ve been rejected from your dream school? I know it’s hard but it’s not the end of the world and I hope these 5 reminders will give you some solace.
Where to Find Free Events @ USC
By: Natalia Wurst ‘21
If you’re anything like me and spent the summer before freshman year researching every possible way to mooch off our school, you probably don’t need this list. But for the rest of you sane people, who still want alternative (FREE) ways to spend your weekend besides watching Netflix, here is where to find them:
Where to Find USC Alumni
By: Joy Ofodu ‘18
Maybe it’s because I’m about to become one, but I can think of no better time than the present to pass on the various ways a current (or prospective) USC student can connect with alumni to inform their own career journeys! Alumni connections aren’t just professional - they can be social, personal, based on membership in a certain community or local to your hometown! Here’s where you can find USC Alumni:
Making Friends as a Transfer Student
By: Alexis M Peters ‘20
You may think that this process is no different than making friends as a freshman, but you would be wrong. Any transfer student knows that making new friends at your new university is not always an easy feat. Maybe as an incoming freshman at your previous college, there was a welcoming committee ready and willing to help you move into your dorm in a flash. There was a long welcome week full of events and activities specialized for you to mingle, make friends and assimilate into college life. There are mixers and events to get you integrated into your dorm community. And sure, they’ve got welcome week at USC, but as a transfer student, it’s just not the same. You’re older than a freshman, and should therefore be able to figure out USC life yourself, right? But coming from another college can be challenging in many ways, and one of those is making friends. As a transfer student myself, I understand how difficult it is to start over from scratch at a whole new university. It might be tough, but it’s not impossible. Fear not! Here, I offer tips to making friends as a transfer student easy as pie.
How to Time-Manage Like a Pro
By: Natalia Wurst ‘21
There’s an informal consensus I’ve gathered from making conversation with sleep deprived people on elevators: midterm season is just a never-ending cycle of death that comes at you every few weeks and doesn’t go away. I make a lot of jokes about crying at Leavey for a girl who’s trying to seem reputable here, so we’ll put those aside for now–here’s how to finally get around to being productive in these very bleak times.