u/_just_a_random_guy__

Guys, which is better, The Hub Coliseum or The Standard? I literally can’t decide.

Guys, I’m honestly getting desperate trying to find housing 😭 I’m planning to move in around late December/early January and stay for both the spring and summer semesters. Ideally, I’d like a private bedroom in shared student housing near Marshall, with a lease I can renew or extend for like 2 years.

I wanted to live at Hub LA Coliseum, but their lease dates are so inconvenient that I’d have to move out and back in just a week later. I just want somewhere stable where I can stay year-round without having to move between semesters. Does anyone have any recommendations? I’m open to pretty much anything at this point!

Budget isn’t an issue.

Hey! Does anyone know of any student housing near Marshall where I could have my own private bedroom but share an apartment with other students? Ideally, I’m looking for either a place that offers a lease from late December until around mid-August, or somewhere I could move into in late December and stay for as long as I want, potentially even into the following academic year.

I’m planning to take classes at USC over the summer as well, so I’ll need housing throughout the summer and will probably only have about a week off in August. I originally wanted to live at Hub Coliseum, but they don’t seem to be very flexible with their lease terms, at least from what I can tell.

I’d really appreciate any recommendations if you know of places that might work for my situation. Thanks!

Hey, I’ll probably be staying at USC over the summer, so I might only have about one week off in August. Does anyone happen to know if it’s possible to stay at The Hub Los Angeles Coliseum until around August 11, leave for a week, and then come back? Or does anyone know of any housing options with flexible lease terms where I could just keep paying rent for the entire month of August, including the week I’d be away, and then return to my room afterward?

Hey, I’m starting at USC in January as a junior transfer, and I was wondering how common it is at USC for undergrad students to be friends with grad students. Most of my friends up until now have actually been older than me, so I honestly don’t really know how easy it’ll be for me to find friends my age. That’s why I’m curious what it’s typically like at USC.

How do you guys meet new people? Or what’s the dating scene like at USC? I’m starting there as a transfer student in January, and I’m pretty curious about this because I’ve been studying at the University of Washington until now. From my experience, it’s always been that you become really good friends with people within your classes, clubs, or other things like that, but outside of those settings, you’re kind of left on your own and don’t really hang out. Honestly, the only way to really get into a new social circle there seemed to be joining a club. But even then, those people are usually just your friends within that club, and outside of it you don’t really hang out, same with classmates. So I’m wondering, how do you guys get into new social circles at USC? Is the social life there so big that it’s actually normal to just approach people on campus and start talking to them? Thanks for the answers!

Hi, so am I understanding this correctly that all the emphases within Business Administration are STEM? Is that right? I’ve never really noticed other universities having Business Administration classified as STEM, so maybe I’m just completely out of the loop, but it honestly surprised me a lot. Is that actually true?

I really don’t mean this as hate or an insult toward American students. I’m genuinely curious about a cultural difference I’ve noticed.

I’m a junior at USC and an international student from Europe. After talking to other European students here and at other US universities, I’ve realized I’m definitely not the only one who sometimes feels that American students our age can seem a little more carefree or dependent on their parents than Europeans.

I think part of it may simply come from growing up differently. In many parts of Europe, it’s quite normal to leave home at 15–16 for boarding school or high school in another city. That was my experience too — I lived alone from 15, although my parents supported me financially. By 18–20, many Europeans are already used to handling most things themselves, partly because university is much cheaper in Europe.

Obviously, my situation is different now because studying in the US means I’m still financially supported by my parents. But I think growing up in that environment shaped how I view independence.

I first came to the US at 16, so I wasn’t unfamiliar with American culture. But when I started university, I really began noticing how different the expectations around independence can be. Sometimes I find that students my age seem to have had fewer experiences where they had to figure things out completely on their own.

I’ve met plenty of extremely mature American students, so I’m definitely not saying this applies to everyone. I’m just wondering whether other Europeans or international students have experienced something similar, or whether I’m simply viewing things through my own cultural lens.

Hey! USC is requiring me to take the ISE exam. I scored 135 overall on the Duolingo English Test, including 135 in both speaking and writing.

What I’m wondering is how difficult the ISE actually is. If I had chosen to take the IELTS or TOEFL instead of the DET and performed at roughly the same level, I would have scored high enough to be exempt from the ISE altogether. So I’m mainly trying to figure out whether the ISE is something I should actually be worried about given my DET scores.

I’d especially love to hear from people who have taken it. How difficult was it to get the score required to be completely exempt from additional English courses? What was the exam actually like, especially the speaking and writing sections? What kinds of speaking questions or writing prompts did you get? What do they focus on when scoring you, and what would you say is most important to prepare for?

Since it’s an internal USC exam, there’s barely any detailed information about it online, so I’d really appreciate any experiences, examples, or tips!

Hey, do you guys know of any nice housing near Marshall that has single rooms and, most importantly, a good 24/7 gym? Ideally, I’m looking for a lease just for the spring and summer semesters. I’m thinking about the Hub, but I have no idea what their gym is like. This might be a dumb question lol, but do you know of any housing close to Marshall with a well-equipped gym that’s open 24/7? Thanks!

Have any international students here actually benefited from the USC network?

I’m starting to lose hope in the whole idea of the famous USC alumni network. One of the biggest reasons people choose USC is because everyone says the Trojan Network opens doors and creates incredible career opportunities, especially in California. But as an international student, I’m starting to wonder how true that actually is for us.

Staying in the U.S. after graduation already feels incredibly difficult, especially these days. Unless we stay on OPT, we need an employer willing to sponsor a work visa, and that alone seems to eliminate a huge number of opportunities.

What I’m struggling to understand is how much being a USC graduate actually changes that. People often talk about the power of the Trojan Network, but I find it hard to imagine someone in an HR department saying, “This candidate needs visa sponsorship, but they graduated from USC, so let’s hire them instead of one of the many qualified U.S. applicants who don’t require sponsorship.” Even if the recruiter or hiring manager is a USC alumnus, it still feels like the sponsorship issue outweighs the USC connection.

So I’m curious to hear from international USC graduates. Did the USC network actually help you get interviews, land an OPT job, or eventually find an employer willing to sponsor your visa? Did being a Trojan genuinely give you an advantage, or do you think the value of the USC network is much more limited for international students than people often claim?

I mean, considering that USC, along with many other U.S. universities, is losing international applicants, I can’t help but think that the biggest reason is that the doors to building a future in the United States after graduation are rapidly closing for us. More and more, it feels like no matter how hard we work or how much we achieve, the opportunities simply aren’t there anymore.

I’d really appreciate hearing your experiences. Thanks!

Why is there such an extreme emphasis on appearance in the gay community?
Personally, I don’t really care that much about what other guys look like, and physical appearance isn’t something I usually focus on. Maybe that’s because I’m not exclusively into men. But from what I’ve seen, for a lot of gay guys, appearance seems to play an incredibly important role.

Just look at how many labels exist: twink, daddy, jock, bear, otter, masc, fem, and so on. I honestly find it a little ridiculous. On Grindr, people list exactly which label they fit into and then specify the exact types they’re looking for. Sometimes it feels less like meeting people and more like filtering products.

Ironically, while I don’t really judge other people based on how they look, I’m much harsher on myself. I constantly worry that if I stopped following such a strict diet or stopped training as much, people would simply be less interested in me because my body would no longer fit the beauty standards that seem so common in the gay community. I don’t personally believe someone is more valuable because they have visible abs or an extremely lean physique, but it often feels like those are the bodies that receive the most attention. I don’t want to feel like I’m somehow “not enough” simply because I no longer meet those standards.

Gay men experience body dysmorphia and eating disorders at significantly higher rates than the general population, and honestly, that doesn’t surprise me. It makes me wonder why appearance seems to carry so much weight in the first place.
In general, I think men tend to place more importance on physical attraction than women do. But it also feels like straight men often care much more about personality and don’t have such narrow or specific physical preferences.
And honestly, it isn’t even just about looks.

I can’t tell you how many messages I’ve received on Grindr asking whether I’m masc or fem. One guy even sent me a voice message before we had even met because he knew his voice sounded more feminine and wanted me to hear it first. He probably expected that it might be a dealbreaker for some people. I told him I genuinely couldn’t care less what his voice sounded like. If that’s really the reason some guys reject him, I honestly think that’s incredibly sad.

I also can’t imagine a straight guy and a straight girl—or even two lesbians—sending each other voice notes just so they can judge how masculine or feminine the other person’s voice sounds before deciding whether they’re interested.

And then there’s the obsession with penis size. Most women I’ve talked to—or at least what I often hear from women—is that penis size isn’t nearly as important as people make it out to be, and some even say that bigger isn’t necessarily better. Yet in many gay spaces, it often feels like the attitude is simply “the bigger, the better.” Again, it makes me wonder why so much value is placed on physical traits that people often can’t even control.

I love people who aren’t afraid to be themselves. I love people who are different. I love diversity. But I have to admit that when a guy tells me he’s very openly and stereotypically involved in the gay scene, I sometimes become skeptical—not because he’s gay, but because of the experiences I’ve had in certain gay spaces.

The same goes for nudity and sex. I genuinely don’t care how much sex other people have. If that’s what makes them happy, good for them. But why does there seem to be so much exhibitionism in some gay spaces? Why do some gay parties end up with so many people walking around half naked or completely naked? I understand it to a certain extent, and everyone should absolutely be free to do whatever they want with their own body. I’m not judging that.

What I do find myself wondering is whether some gay men ever stop and think about their own self-worth beyond their appearance or sexuality.
Ironically, people often tell me that I fit many of the beauty standards that are considered attractive in the gay community. But despite that, I absolutely hate the feeling that I’m valued mainly for my body or my genitals. It’s an awful feeling. Sometimes I feel less like a person and more like a walking sex toy that people want to use for a while before moving on to someone else.

After spending time in certain gay spaces, I realized how uncomfortable I personally feel in them and how negatively they affect me. That’s honestly one of the reasons I probably wouldn’t go to a gay club again. Not because I think people shouldn’t enjoy themselves, but because I realized that environment simply isn’t for me.
I really don’t want this to come across as hateful or judgmental. I know this doesn’t apply to everyone, and I’ve met plenty of amazing gay men who aren’t like this at all. These are simply my own observations and experiences.

I’m genuinely curious whether anyone else has felt the same way, or whether there’s a psychological, evolutionary, or sociological explanation for why some parts of gay culture seem to place so much emphasis on appearance, body type, masculinity, femininity, penis size, sex, and physical attraction. Sometimes it feels like every little physical detail has to fit a very specific ideal, and I honestly find that both fascinating and deeply sad.

Why is there such an extreme emphasis on appearance in the gay community?
Personally, I don’t really care that much about what other guys look like, and physical appearance isn’t something I usually focus on. Maybe that’s because I’m not exclusively into men. But from what I’ve seen, for a lot of gay guys, appearance seems to play an incredibly important role.

Just look at how many labels exist: twink, daddy, jock, bear, otter, masc, fem, and so on. I honestly find it a little ridiculous. On Grindr, people list exactly which label they fit into and then specify the exact types they’re looking for. Sometimes it feels less like meeting people and more like filtering products.

Ironically, while I don’t really judge other people based on how they look, I’m much harsher on myself. I constantly worry that if I stopped following such a strict diet or stopped training as much, people would simply be less interested in me because my body would no longer fit the beauty standards that seem so common in the gay community. I don’t personally believe someone is more valuable because they have visible abs or an extremely lean physique, but it often feels like those are the bodies that receive the most attention. I don’t want to feel like I’m somehow “not enough” simply because I no longer meet those standards.

Gay men experience body dysmorphia and eating disorders at significantly higher rates than the general population, and honestly, that doesn’t surprise me. It makes me wonder why appearance seems to carry so much weight in the first place.
In general, I think men tend to place more importance on physical attraction than women do. But it also feels like straight men often care much more about personality and don’t have such narrow or specific physical preferences.
And honestly, it isn’t even just about looks.

I can’t tell you how many messages I’ve received on Grindr asking whether I’m masc or fem. One guy even sent me a voice message before we had even met because he knew his voice sounded more feminine and wanted me to hear it first. He probably expected that it might be a dealbreaker for some people. I told him I genuinely couldn’t care less what his voice sounded like. If that’s really the reason some guys reject him, I honestly think that’s incredibly sad.

I also can’t imagine a straight guy and a straight girl—or even two lesbians—sending each other voice notes just so they can judge how masculine or feminine the other person’s voice sounds before deciding whether they’re interested.

And then there’s the obsession with penis size. Most women I’ve talked to—or at least what I often hear from women—is that penis size isn’t nearly as important as people make it out to be, and some even say that bigger isn’t necessarily better. Yet in many gay spaces, it often feels like the attitude is simply “the bigger, the better.” Again, it makes me wonder why so much value is placed on physical traits that people often can’t even control.

I love people who aren’t afraid to be themselves. I love people who are different. I love diversity. But I have to admit that when a guy tells me he’s very openly and stereotypically involved in the gay scene, I sometimes become skeptical—not because he’s gay, but because of the experiences I’ve had in certain gay spaces.

The same goes for nudity and sex. I genuinely don’t care how much sex other people have. If that’s what makes them happy, good for them. But why does there seem to be so much exhibitionism in some gay spaces? Why do some gay parties end up with so many people walking around half naked or completely naked? I understand it to a certain extent, and everyone should absolutely be free to do whatever they want with their own body. I’m not judging that.

What I do find myself wondering is whether some gay men ever stop and think about their own self-worth beyond their appearance or sexuality.
Ironically, people often tell me that I fit many of the beauty standards that are considered attractive in the gay community. But despite that, I absolutely hate the feeling that I’m valued mainly for my body or my genitals. It’s an awful feeling. Sometimes I feel less like a person and more like a walking sex toy that people want to use for a while before moving on to someone else.

After spending time in certain gay spaces, I realized how uncomfortable I personally feel in them and how negatively they affect me. That’s honestly one of the reasons I probably wouldn’t go to a gay club again. Not because I think people shouldn’t enjoy themselves, but because I realized that environment simply isn’t for me.
I really don’t want this to come across as hateful or judgmental. I know this doesn’t apply to everyone, and I’ve met plenty of amazing gay men who aren’t like this at all. These are simply my own observations and experiences.

I’m genuinely curious whether anyone else has felt the same way, or whether there’s a psychological, evolutionary, or sociological explanation for why some parts of gay culture seem to place so much emphasis on appearance, body type, masculinity, femininity, penis size, sex, and physical attraction. Sometimes it feels like every little physical detail has to fit a very specific ideal, and I honestly find that both fascinating and deeply sad.

Hey everyone! I wanted to ask if anyone knows of any housing near Marshall that offers leases starting around the spring semester or is flexible with move-in dates around that time.

I’m transferring to USC in January, so I’d ideally like to move in sometime in December. My first choice is Hub Coliseum, but they told me to reach out closer to my move-in date because they’ll only know then whether any rooms become available. I’ll definitely do that, but it feels pretty uncertain.

So if anyone knows of a place, preferably a private bedroom in a shared apartment or even a studio/one-bedroom, I’d really appreciate it. I’m mainly looking for a nice student-oriented building close to Marshall, in a relatively safe area, where it’s possible to move in around the start of the spring semester rather than only at the beginning of the academic year.

Budget isn’t an issue. Thank you so much! 🙏🏼

Hi,

I’m flying with British Airways tomorrow and wanted to upgrade my ticket from Economy to Business during online check-in. However, in my booking I see the message “Upgrade your cabin – upgrades not available.”

Is it still possible that I could upgrade at the airport, or does this generally mean that Business Class is sold out and no upgrades are available at all?

Thanks!

Hi,

I’ll be joining USC as a spring transfer in a few months and will be majoring in Business Administration. Right now, I’m wrapping up my second year at the University of Washington.

Before I get to LA, I’ll be spending the summer and fall doing two back-to-back internships in Europe. One at an investment firm in Prague and another at a Czech bank.

I was wondering if there are any business clubs or organizations that take new members during the school year, since I won’t be starting in the fall. I think I have a pretty competitive background: I’ve maintained a strong GPA, and at UW I’ve been involved in clubs like the Student United Nations Association and the Supply Chain Club.

I’m especially interested in management, so if there are any management-focused business clubs you’d recommend, I’d love to hear about them. I’d also be curious if there are any organizations that might be a good fit for someone with my background or that tend to recruit spring transfers.

I’m also an international student from Europe, so if there are any clubs that value an international perspective or happen to be looking for students with that kind of background, I’d love to know about those as well.

Thanks so much! I’m really excited to join USC, and I’d appreciate any advice or recommendations you have.

I’m curious what you all think about this. This year I applied to 14 universities as a transfer student and my two top choices were USC and NYU. Somehow I got accepted to both.

I had already seen NYU’s campus but not USC’s, so because I genuinely could not decide, I literally bought tickets to LA on Thursday and flew there on Friday just to see USC for myself. Even after that I still did not know what to do. Part of me still felt more drawn toward NYU.

But I’m an international student currently studying at University of Washington, and when I was 14 and first started dreaming about studying in the US, USC was the school that made me fall in love with the idea of getting my education in America in the first place. Back then USC basically represented the entire dream to me.

Then two years ago, when I was actually applying to universities, I stopped believing it was realistic and completely forgot about that dream.

So now I’m in this weird position where NYU probably fits the person I am today slightly more, but I think I’m choosing USC Marshall because I cannot ignore what USC meant to a younger version of me. Realizing that I got accepted to the university that originally made me want to study in the US and pushed me to start working so hard on myself hit me really hard.

I know this sounds emotional, but it genuinely feels like I’m finally giving something to my younger self that he thought he would never have.

Do you think that’s a valid reason to choose a university?

I just know that my younger self would be unbelievably proud of me today and probably would not even believe it.

Honestly guys, I’m completely fucked. My top choices were NYU and USC, and I got accepted to both and I genuinely have no idea what to do. I’ve already seen NYU’s campus, but I hadn’t seen USC yet, so I literally flew to LA this weekend just to see it. I basically bought plane tickets on Thursday and flew from Seattle to LA on Friday, and I still have no fucking idea.

NYU accepted me for Economics, which was my alternate major, while USC accepted me for Business, but only starting in the spring semester, which honestly doesn’t really bother me because at least I could extend my internship and also study at USC next summer.

But seriously, I have no idea. I prefer NYC and the campus location there and honestly just the whole atmosphere around it. But at the same time NYU basically has no social life and I think it’s literally ranked like the 12th most depressing university in the US. LA is nice, but to me the city just doesn’t really have character. The weather is amazing, sure, but things like Halloween or Christmas are just on a completely different level in NYC because of the atmosphere and weather.

USC has an absolutely perfect campus and there’s constantly something happening there. It has one the best social life of any university in the US, which sounds incredible. And while LA also has things NYC doesn’t, USC’s location itself honestly isn’t great.

NYU is also offering me the option to spend my first semester abroad, which sounds really tempting, but I’m already an international student and also transferring, so it’s not that huge of a deal for me.

Like…
Campus: USC
Student life: USC
Location inside the city: NYU
Major: USC
Weather: USC
Overall city: NYU

I genuinely love both unis so much. I have until Wednesday to confirm NYU and then like the following week for USC, and I seriously have no fucking clue what to do. Why the fuck did they have to accept me to both. 😭 What the fuck am I supposed to do guys. Money isn’t a problem.

Hi, I was accepted to USC as a transfer student and I’m an international student. Since I took the Duolingo English Test and met the required score, USC is still asking me to take the ISE Exam. I’m wondering what would happen if I didn’t perform the way USC expects on it.

I understand that I could retake it, and from what USC mentioned in the letter, if I don’t meet the expected level I would just have to take some required English courses during my studies. But I’m still wondering whether it could actually create any obstacles for me academically, like not being able to register for certain classes or something similar.

I also emailed USC saying that I could still take IELTS or TOEFL over the summer and send them the results, but they told me that at this point I’m required to take the ISE Exam. The exam itself seems pretty short to me since it’s only a few minutes of speaking and around 50 minutes of writing.

So for those of you who have already taken it, how difficult would you say it is compared to Duolingo or IELTS? And what’s the best way to prepare for it? 🙏🏼 Thank u.

Hey, I was recently admitted to USC Marshall as a transfer student for Business Administration, and I’m currently considering accepting the offer.

I had a quick question about concentrations like Business Analytics, Finance, Risk Management, etc. Once a student is already admitted into Business Administration at Marshall, do they have to go through another admissions or selection process for those concentrations later on?

I’m mainly asking because I honestly would not want to go through another competitive admission process again after already being admitted to Marshall.

Thank you. 🙏🏼