Hi all, I'm in Class of 2008 and I stayed in Seaver for my first year at USC. It's definitely very convenient and I can wake up 10 minutes before class and still make it on time. With that said, however I would still prefer living off-campus, either in Alhambra or South Pasadena area. Some students do live in apartments closeby such as around Monterey Hills area, and a few live on main campus but if you're going to be taking classes five days at Health Science campus there's really no point commuting via tram back and forth everyday. Majority of the students though, choose to live in Alhambra or South Pas and take either Huntington or Main Street to campus and that takes about 10 to 15 minutes. You can also take 10 Freeway and the time spent is about the same.
I believe you can sign up for a housing listing with Christina Arteaga and she will send out lists of available housing/rooms throughout the summer. Also it would be a good idea to just come visit the area a couple of months ahead of time and see for yourself.
As for the reception, you'll get a tour of the campus but mainly just the library and also the PSC building where the lectures take place. You'll also be able to enjoy a nice dinner reception at the faculty lounge and have a chance to get to know your fellow classmates and faculty as well as L2-L4 students. Oh and Minghoo I'm also c/o 2003 from Berkeley and O Chem was not my absolute favorite either 🙂.
