Housing has always been limited at USC, especially with over 30,000 students and just 6,098 available spaces.
Freshmen and other students who are lucky enough to get a spot on campus have to choose what kind of housing they want: apartment-style, suite-style, co-ed or same-sex, among others.
Only 38 of the 1,870 women who applied for housing in the fall listed same-sex housing as a top priority. USC students value the co-ed housing option for a variety of reasons.
“What we are finding is that same-sex housing might not be as large of an issue as we once thought it was. The general consensus is that many women prefer the same-sex option available to them (in Patterson Hall) simply because it is brand new,” said Joe Fortune, director of administration in Housing. “In fact, most of the women that do require same-sex housing often confess that it was their parents that ultimately made that decision on their application. Most of them would have preferred a co-ed option.”
Patterson Hall received 981 applications for the Fall 2013 semester, in part because it is a new on-campus living option. Kathryn Ginn, who lives in Capstone House, was one of them.
“When I first applied to Carolina I really wanted to be in Columbia Hall, because that’s where my mom lived when she attended Carolina,” said Ginn, a first-year education student. “I did consider living in same-sex housing, though. I had applied to Patterson Hall, not because … I really wanted to live in same-sex housing, but because it was a nice, new housing option.”
There are some students, however, who knew co-ed housing was their top choice.
“Honestly, I chose Patterson because boys are dirty. The only disadvantage I can see to living in same-sex housing is that it is harder to socialize,” said Murphy Cook, a first-year psychology student who listed Patterson Hall as her first choice. “While boys are generally dirty, they often bring out people’s social abilities. They help bring women out of their shells and make friends. Most girls don’t like to randomly hang out with one another. Boys bring it all together.”
Male students, on the other hand, typically don’t have as much of a preference. Only 27 men listed the McBryde Quadrangle as their first choice in housing.
“McBryde was actually my fourth choice. Advantages, for McBryde especially, would be the location,” said Michael Pallon, a second-year nursing student who used to live in McBryde. “These halls also get you very close with the other residents since there simply is no way to get away from them. I became friends with a few people and avoided a few people, but my experience overall was good.”
Housing will be able to accommodate 6,709 students for the Fall 2014 semester with the completion of the Women’s Quad; applications for current students closed in December.