Marks Tower Reviews
University of Southern California
Reviews Summary
Marks Tower is a mixed-review dorm that offers a mix of convenience and challenges for its residents. Located favorably near EVK dining hall, McCarthy Quad, and other campus events, it's an ideal spot for easy access to campus activities. The dorm features large windows that let in ample natural light, a mini-fridge, and a microwave in each room, creating a more home-like atmosphere. However, Marks Tower is not equipped with air conditioning, and the summer heat can be quite overwhelming, making fans a necessary addition for many students. The construction noise and thin walls further add to noise disturbances. The dorm's communal bathrooms are infamously known for being unclean, especially over weekends, although cleaning staff works daily. The laundry is situated inconveniently in a musty basement, with machines frequently being occupied or out of order. Despite these drawbacks, students find the community aspect of the dorms beneficial for a freshman experience, depending on the floor's community dynamic.
No Air Conditioning
Communal Bathrooms
Laundry In Basement
When students lived here
Freshman Year
5
Sophomore Year
1
Overall rating breakdown
Room
Building
Location
Bathroom
Browse 6 Student Reviews
Reviews with a Verified Student badge were written with a school email.
2 years ago
Pros:
- Pretty good location near EVK (best dining hall imo), McCarthy Quad and the events there (ex: Farmers Market, Club Rush), Marshall
- Nice workers if you decide to talk to them
- Big windows!! I love natural light and never draw the shades
Cons:
- Noisy at night-- thin walls, you can hear people in front of building and clearly in hallways late at night (have been woken up at 2-3am many times). Also next to a parking garage so may hear some car noises
- The bathrooms are disgusting during the weekend when cleaning people did not come and partiers are gross (I am a girl and have a fairly poor community on my floor but that may change year to year). I prefer to shower in the gym.
- Construction going on... I'm not on the worst side b...
Verified Student
4 years ago
Hallways always trapped the worst smells so our floor constantly smelled like BO or actual feces. Walls in each room are white-painted cinderblock— at least five people who visited my room said it looked like a prison cell
4 years ago
No air conditioning is brutal whenever it's over 80 degrees outside. Also, one elevator only goes to odd floors (girls) and one only goes too even floors (boys). The laundry room is in the basement and is only accessible through the girls elevator.
4 years ago
I really liked the dorm experience. The girls on my floor happened to be very chill and really kept the bathroom clean which was nice. People came to clean/restock it daily. The room itself was a decent size. It didn't have AC which was unbearable at times. We had the fans on all the time for at least half the school year. The view isn't that great unless you live on the top floors. Also there were only a few laundry machines and dryers that would break all the time so it always felt like we had to fight for a spot or do laundry at weird times.
4 years ago
Lived here as a sophomore transfer. It was overall tolerable but definitely would NOT recommend. There’s no A/C so had to buy a fan. The communal bathrooms were gross and the shower stalls were small af. The laundry room is in the basement and you have to take an elevator to get there, so that was inconvenient. Overall it was definitely not worth the cost.
4 years ago
Not the best, but easily not the worst freshman dorm.
Pros- close to Taper & Marshall, comes with mini-fridge and microwave, nice study room on ground floor, large window
Cons- communal bathroom (some girls are just as nasty as guys), no amenities in the building itself, no air-conditioning, laundry in basement (machines were regularly full or broken)