Is New North Residential College the best dorm at USC?

Living in New North was really rough. The building is the oldest dorm on campus, the only one without an elevator, one of the few without AC, and was quite dirty and dingy most of the time. The bathrooms were dirty and the trash would stink from the vomit at least twice a week, or whenever people would go out and drink. The hardest part of me was trying to fit in with the community. New North is 95% white people, most of whom are in greek life, and as a person of color I didn't experience the "social" and "always open doors" reputation New North sold. I think New North is where the stereotype of the spoiled rich USC student holds. My floor was exceptionally loud, with people yelling and running around until 1 or 2 am almost every night, even during finals week and quiet hours. My room was decent, though again the furniture, carpet, walls, door locks, etc were all very outdated and not worth paying the same price as the newer, better dorms at USC. A couple positives were the kind staff and the location, close to EVK, the library, starbucks, and close walk to the Village. I would not recommend New North if you are any type of minority, or just don't vibe with the frat bro/sorority girl environment in general.

New north is the social dorm which means fun, music, and people but this also means screaming at all hours, trash or vomit in the hallways, and disgusting bathrooms. Honestly I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything, but I would never live there again. It’s the iconic college dorm experience. If that’s something you’ve always wanted then I say go for it, but if you like AC, clean hallways, and sleeping before 3am on weekends then this might not be for you. It’s hot as balls during the summer, but it’s really close to evk (up to you if you think that’s a plus haha), and starbucks is 30 seconds away.

Truthfully New North is overhated. It's not entirely awful and is generally pretty liveable. The rooms are way larger than most doubles at USC, the bathrooms have regular enough maintenance (but some still get horrendous at times), and at least for my room, the noise from others isn't enough to bother me. Even though New North is known as the social dorm, I find that the smaller dorms like Pardee, Marks, or Birnkrant have more intimate communities. My main complaint is that there aren't any elevators so climbing upstairs with luggage, groceries, etc. is an absolute pain.

While it was THE party dorm, it was sooo disgusting. I got sick like every other week. Vomit and mucus all over the showers and bathrooms. I am paying 75k for this school, and I deserve AC and clean bathrooms. ALSO: I would not recommend living in this dorm if you're not rich/white. If you're any type of minority, you may feel uncomfortable. This dorm is where the reputation of University of Spoiled Children thrives. Positives The lounges were fine and it is very social so I made friends pretty fast. Just gotta find your people.

As far as the building goes, yeah it could use AC, but don’t be a bum and get a fan (or sneak in an AC unit but make sure they don’t catch you). If you rush, most of your pc will be in this dorm. If you want a dorm that has nice ass bathrooms, AC, and pristine condition room, go elsewhere, the rooms are livable and come with a microwave and a mini fridge, can get a sink - try for one it makes the rooms bigger, and there are communal bathrooms that will definitely get gross over the weekend. At the end of the day, this is the best freshman dorm by far. Go to Trojan or cal mart and sneak your shit in a back pack and go wild, it’s lawless, it’s social, it’s the best thing for any freshman - be in this dorm.