Allegra

Typical weekend for a non-Greek student:

Thursday: Happy Hour Margaritas at La Barca on Vermont with friends from work or a campus organization like the radio station or SCOutfitters. Then Tommy's Place, an on-campus concert venue to hear a friend's band play a gig. If you're lucky, you won't have any classes on Friday to worry about.

Friday: Check out a film screening and Q&A in the early evening at the School of Cinematic Arts. After that, head to Menlo Ave., a street filled with students' houses, where sketch comedy troupe Commedus Interruptus is holding a "fundrager" for their next show.

Saturday: Sleep in. Grab brunch at Jacks & Joe, where they serve the most outrageous pancakes you've ever had. Get some work done. Head downtown for a concert at the Wiltern, and hopefully make it back in time for the tail end of a DJ set at a Delta Kappa Alpha party (USC's coed cinema fraternity).

Sunday: Kick it into high gear and get the work you've been putting off all weekend done. Warning: This may turn into an all-nighter; thank god for a 1 p.m. start time on Monday.

Typical weekend for a Greek student:

Thursday: House party at a fraternity, complete with a DJ and a sweaty dancefloor.

Friday: A registered party at a fraternity - these are the most enormous parties at USC. Frats go all out with themes, decor, and entertainment. Each house has one per semester, so it's go big or go home.

Saturday: Sorority philanthropy event to raise money for the house's charity of choice. May take the night off. Then again, probably won't.

Sunday: Can't get any work done on the row, so bike over to Leavey Library for the day. Turn on Self Control, get off Facebook, and bury yourself in textbooks.

The Great Room in Doheny Library makes you feel like you're studying at Hogwarts, but when it's time to really get to business, Doheny's bookstacks are where it's at. Once you get past how creepy it is, you'll get loads of work done.

If you're just looking to get some reading done, try the Philosophy Library. It lacks much technology, but this beautifully maintained old mediterranean library, complete with tiled images of history's greatest philosophers makes for a really lovely study environment.

And if you need a jolt while hitting the books, Ground Zero is the spot - best milkshakes in town.

Savor every minute of freshman year. Living on campus makes your first year different than any other year on campus, and while being an upperclassmen has its perks, there's nothing like being a freshman. USC focuses on giving first year students the best experience. Meet everyone, attend everything (school sponsored and otherwise). Take an interesting class pass/fail; you'll have time to floor it academically in the next three years. For now, just focus on having a great time.

At USC, dorms are typically reserved for freshmen. Each dorm has a distinct vibe based on its set-up and the students that tend to pick it. Here's the lowdown on some of USC's most popular residential colleges:

Birnkrant: With the motto, "Eight floors of open doors," Birnkrant is known for its tight-knit community. As of 2011-2012, students must be on an academic scholarship or enrolled in the Thematic Option Honors Program to reside here. Rooms are "cozy" and predominantly doubles, with a few singles and triples thrown in. (These triples are a well-kept secret -- they have a living room of sorts, a luxury very few freshmen have.) Gender-specific bathrooms are communal and floors are coed. Located on McCarthy Quad. A 24-hour convenience store, Trojan Grounds (TroGro) is located on the first floor.

New-North: Widely regarded as the most social (read: party dorm) residential college at USC, New-North is a popular choice with students who are looking to go greek. It's often loud, so many residents make use of Leavey library when they need to hit the books, just a couple hundred feet away. Features a cinema floor, and some rooms have sinks. Also located on McCarthy Quad.

Parkside Arts & Humanities/International Res. Colleges: These recently constructed suite-style dorms are fresh and air-conditioned. They feature the best dining hall on campus, but are isolated from any other freshman housing. There are study rooms, TV lounges, billiards, and a gym. Popular with GDIs, as anti-greeks often call themselves.

Fluor Tower: Fluor rooms are a cross between a suite and an apartment - a small kitchenette in each unit lessens the blow that dining halls are a trek away. Features many special interest floors and is quite popular with athletes because of its proximity to the Lyon Center Gym.

Pardee: Pardee is kind of like Birnkrant Light. Rooms are similar, but are located on single sex floors. Also on McCarthy Quad, Pardee is close to the beautiful Doheny Library and student-run coffeehouse Ground Zero, a great locale for studying, board games, open mic nights, and the best milkshakes in LA.