On Friday, Oct. 3, finance student Hunter Pomella and computer science student Ryan Fronczak began packing their belongings to move out of their McBryde room. Pomella and Fronczak have lived together for the first two months of their first-year experience at the University of South Carolina, and they have enjoyed their time in McBryde. Now, they're moving to Bates West and won't be living together anymore.
McBryde is set to be demolished in the spring of 2026. McBryde’s residents will be moved into other residence halls beginning the week of fall break.
The Daily Gamecock spoke with 34 McBryde residents about the move. Some residents are excited about moving to a new residence, while others said they feel stressed or confused.
McBryde was built in 1955, making it one of USC’s oldest active first-year residence halls, according to USC’s list of named buildings. The USC Next master plan described McBryde as an “outdated” residence hall and recommended redevelopment.
The current McBryde has 260 beds in traditional dorm rooms, according to USC Housing’s site. The new residence hall is set to be completed in 2028 and will have 900 beds and stand at five to six stories tall, according to University Architect Derek Gruner.
Many of McBryde's residents will move to Thornwell residence hall. Thornwell was renovated to house McBryde’s displaced population, and the renovations were completed at the beginning of October. The dorm features suite-style rooms and is described as a "premier housing option" on USC Housing's site about Thornwell.
Where and when
Twenty of the 34 residents interviewed said they will be moving to Thornwell residence hall.
Seven of the remaining 14 said they will be moving to other residence halls including Bates House, Bates West, Campus Village and South Tower residence halls. The rest did not know where they would be moving. Others thought they were going to Thornwell before finding out otherwise.
“It was assumed that we were going to Thornwell, and then (USC housing) basically told us a month or two ago that we weren't going to Thornwell, that they didn't know where we were going," Fronczak said.
Pomella said he believed he would be moved to Thornwell but was later told he would move to Bates West. First-year art history student Henry Sease said he is moving to Patterson and experienced the same confusion as Pomella.
"They told me that I was moving to Thornwell, which is the only reason why I even accepted to live (at McBryde)," Sease said.
A majority of the 34 residents said they are moving between Friday, Oct. 3 and Thursday, Oct. 9. The rest said they will move out by the end of the semester or are unsure when.
According to a statement from university spokesperson Collyn Taylor, all residents will be moved out before the spring 2026 semester.
First-year psychology student Anna Eichholz said her move-out time coincides with her classes.
"I might have to skip one or two maybe to move in,” Eichholz said.
All 34 residents said they knew the move out of McBryde would be during or immediately after the fall semester. First-year accounting student Halina Gregory said she did not know when during the semester the move would happen until she received an email from USC housing.
According to that email, residents moving to Thornwell were given two time slots to move on Oct. 6, two on Oct. 7 and the option to have their items moved for them on Oct. 9. The time slots on both Oct. 6 and 7 range from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
McBryde residents who move to Thornwell or other residence halls will continue to pay the McBryde housing rate for the remainder of the fall semester and in spring 2026, according to Taylor's statement. Thornwell's per semester rate is $6,169 and McBryde's is $3,459, according to USC Housing's rates and fees site.
Residents’ thoughts
McBryde's residents shared a range of thoughts on the move-out. Some reported excitement about the move to Thornwell, while others felt stressed by the mid-semester move.
Sixteen of the 20 residents moving to Thornwell cited the move as a source of excitement.
“I’m very excited to move to Thornwell because it’s nicely renovated and brand new,” first-year student Sarah Cooper said.
First-year cardiovascular technology student Lila Rosencranz said she’s excited to have a suite-style room and her own bathroom in Thornwell.
Some residents reported concerns with stress, communication with USC Housing and being separated from their roommates.
“If I want to move somewhere, I pretty much have to be separated from my roommate,” first-year hospitality management student Nathaniel Maddox said.
Maddox said they have been friends since high school and planned to live together at USC. Difficulty with finding housing to accommodate both Maddox and his roommate led the pair to delay the move, Maddox said.
"Now we're staying in McBryde and we're just waiting for something to pop up," Maddox said.
First-year biomedical engineering student Gabrielle Schell said she was unhappy with the move.
"It's pretty stressful," Schell said. "It's pretty unfortunate that we got put in this situation."
Schell said the move from McBryde came earlier than she expected.
"We thought we had until second semester ... it caught us all very off guard."
First-year aerospace engineering student Daniel Wilson said he was frustrated with the communication from USC Housing.
“I emailed them,” Wilson said. “They don't respond to my emails. I called them. They don't respond to my calls.”
Sease also had issues getting in touch with USC Housing, he said.
"(They) put you on hold and don't do anything," Sease said. "And they don't help you, and they don't care."
The Daily Gamecock contacted Taylor about McBryde residents' claims of communication issues with USC Housing.
“Students who selected Thornwell during the room selection process this summer were placed into McBryde while the Thornwell project was completed," Taylor said in his statement. "Students being moved to Thornwell will keep their same roommate that were assigned to them at the start of the semester ... Those students living in McBryde to begin the year not moving to Thornwell were communicated with on multiple occasions and told they would be placed into beds in residence halls across campus as they became available."
The Daily Gamecock also asked Taylor if McBryde residents who will not move to Thornwell were informed they would not when they applied for housing.
"Yes, it was communicated," Taylor said in his statement. "It was also featured in the housing portal when selecting housing ahead of the semester."
First-year political science student JD Ellsworth said he's excited to move to Thornwell.
"I'm just kind of excited, but then also, it's kind of like a second move-in day ... You know you're gonna have to do some work," Ellsworth said.