Marshall 2013 (USC) - Calling All Applicants

Scholarship information will likely be in the admission binder that will be sent out to admits

All the neighborhoods you mentioned are too far away from USC. The ones you mentioned are ideal for UCLA ...not USC.
Any of those places would be a bad commute everyday on I-10 freeway

I have spoken with quite a few current students who agree that most first year students live either in downtown LA or on the west side (Santa Monica, Westwood, Culver City) with a few commuter students living in Hollywood, Pasadena or the south bay (Manhattan Beach, Redondo, etc). Apparently, the majority of students then migrate to the west side for their second year in order to be more centralized between campus, fellow students, the beaches and other activities the west side has to offer. In order to skip this first step, I intend to move directly to the west side this summer. I currently live about 25 miles south of campus through some pretty rough areas so my current location would make for a hellish commute.

I believe the best "bang for your buck" is either Culver City, West LA or Santa Monica in that order (all considered on the "west side"). These areas are relatively cheap, only 5-10 miles from campus (accessible via surface streets if the I-10 is a nightmare during rush hour) and close to plenty of great shopping, dining/drinking and out door activities.

Downtown LA has cleaned up quite a bit over the last 10 years and is perfectly safe now but is very expensive (in comparison to other, nearby options) with minimal proximity to "extra-curricular" activities. While only a few miles from SC's campus (5-10 minute drive on surface streets), I do not think it is worth the price.

@Apex: I agree with you on all points except Santa Monica. Santa Monica is as expensive as downtown. Parking is a pain in the a$$ there.
I think the golden mean would be Culver City/ Palms Area. Close to the beach, various activities and rent is reasonable compared to others. Of course commuting @rush hour is bad...better than from Santa Monica though.

Downtown has cleaned up quite a lot in the last few years especially near the LA live/ Disney concert hall area, but anything outside that 2 mile radius is still unsafe. And all the high rises in the safe neighborhood are ultra expensive

An open parking space in SM is definitely a rare sight and you're right, rent (although still under rent control in some areas) is still at a premium due to the desirable location which is a bit far from campus.

Palms is another good suggestion. The Palms/Culver City area is where I'll be looking this summer.


I 100% agree.

I am familiar with the area. I am actually there right now. Living in LA will mean traffic. Besides, from what I hear the first semester will not have us leaving campus at 5pm, more likely 9-10pm. No traffic then.

The best demographic and financial bet would be Culver City. I mean the Expo line travels right through USC. Keep your costs low and it's quickly becoming a scene for younger folks.

Got an email from Roger Salazar confirming my admission and telling me that the admission packet has been dispatched and should be on its way now. Did anyone else hear anything?

I have not heard anything since my admission call on Friday 2/1. If the admission packets were sent out yesterday, hopefully I'll receive it today so I'll be keeping an eye out...

I got a similar email. He also left me a voice mail telling me to expect the admission packet by the end of the week (I'm on the east coast)

Anyone receive their binders yet? Wonder how long it will take them to ship to Asia..

If they have sent them out today, Tuesday, you should be getting your hands on all that information by this week for sure. Domestics sooner than international of course.

I'm in. They are super fast!! Did my interview on 5th Feb, and got my admission email on 6th.

You are lucky dude. I, and most others, had to wait for more than a month to get my decision. Seems like you were almost through even without the interview and they just wanted to make sure you are not a weirdo by talking to you once. Congrats.

Received my binder today. No mention of scholarship in the letter. Does anyone know if this is the only way to know if you received a scholarship or not? I'm not sure if I should bother emailing admissions (just in case)...

I received my binder today as well and I don't don't think I received any scholarship/fellowship help either.

In the "Class of 2015: Ready to Go" section of the binder, under "Financial Aid: General Information" it states that "Fellowship recipients, both domestic and international, are notified of their award with the official letter of admission from Marshall." I am guessing this is referring to the personalized admissions letter on the watermarked Marshall letterhead that was in an envelope in the shipping box along with the binder. There is no mention of an award on my letter so I think I'm out of luck...

However, there is quite a bit of really helpful info in the binder so everyone, keep an eye out for yours and I hope a pleasant surprise awaits in your official admissions letter.

I got my binder too. There's no info about scholarship...