Pardee Tower

Pardee was about the most you could ask for in a freshman dorm. As you might expect, it really wasn’t about the facilities. It was about the people.
LOCATION
Very close to the quad. You can see (and hear.) stuff going on outside. This often includes concerts and the like, which you can either view as an annoyance or as an invitation to go join.
More importantly, Pardee is close to VKC. You’ll probably take tons of liberal arts and GE classes as a freshman, many of which are in VKC. I had a Korean class in VKC; I slipped out of bed as the class started and arrived just a few minutes late. Great if you like to stay up until 2 or 3.
FACILITIES
Pardee is fairly old. It was used in the 1984 Olympics. But it’s got a certain charm to it. Simply put, it feels like college. The communal bathrooms are a big part of this. Because you have to leave your room to go to the bathroom, there are tons of opportunities to interact with people. You’ll probably grumble about the shared bathrooms, but in short order you won’t mind walking around without a shirt, and no one will look at you funny when you do. (Trust me, personal boundaries go away.) Same-​gender floors have huge benefits, particularly male (or female) bonding.
SOCIAL LIFE
You’ll develop friends here if you try at all. People are welcoming, and a few will leave their doors open so you can congregate. If you don’t know people at USC, this is a good way to get started. If you haven’t been to parties or don’t know who to go with, start with your floormates at Pardee and you’ll have a great time. People don’t party here (the RAs do enforce loud music policies), which just gives you more of an excuse to get out.
Pardee is fairly tame by USC standards, and average by college standards. It has more serious folks, and fewer Greek members, than New /​North. And it’s more lively and social than Parkside. It’s on par with Birnkrant in terms of social life.
NOISE
My room — on the far end of the building, by the staircase — was thankfully far from the noise. If you’re in the middle of the hallway you’re likely to hear more noise, both from the rooms next to you and from people talking in the hallway. But I don’t think it’d be unbearable. Besides, part of college is adjusting to new experiences and. having fun. :)
The people in Pardee helped me have an amazing freshman year. For that I am quite thankful. May you have the best year of your life here.

Freshman year! Living here has so many good memories that’s for sure. It has a close vicinity to everything you would need as a freshman including EVK, PSX, McCarthy Quad, and a short walk to Campus Center and Tommy Trojan. It’s the perfect balance of social atmosphere and rambunctious culture as well as being renovated only last year. Live here if you can!

Lived here Freshman year and I have many fond and not so fond memories of Pardee Tower. Overall though I would say this gave me the traditional freshman collegiate experience, AND I met my best friend just across the hall so that’s pretty legit.
Pros:
1. You are close to EVERYTHING! Seriously you could not ask for a better location. You can wake up 10 minutes before class starts and still make it on time because you are right there.
2. It’s super easy to be social in this dorm. Just leave your door open and people will walk by and you can chat and hang out whenever! You can also go visit people on other floors really easily and there are lots of building outings and mixers that happen in the lounge. Your RA will usually tell you about events that are going on too so it’s great to get out there and make friends!
3. When there are events on the Quad it’s right outside your dorm. You can be involved in everything and experience everything with ease!
4. EVK is 2 seconds away. Better get some good use out of those dining swipes! Especially since they recently revamped the dining hall and have a WAFFLE maker i believe?!
5. Leavey and Doheny Library are extremely close so no excuses when you need to get your study on.
Cons:
1. It’s LOUD in this dorm. Seriously if you have early classes good luck trying to get a good night sleep… I had 8 AMs (worst decision ever!) and was never able to get a good amount of sleep at night. There were always people playing outside on the lawn or doing who knows what in the early hours of the morning.
2. Sometimes you just want your space… but these rooms are so small that you have barely any space to call your own.
3. You may not get along with the roommate they assign you. USC’s matching system is VERY faulty.
4. For girls: the closets are very small.
5. Communal bathrooms… EW! Who KNOWS what goes on in there =(
6. Really tiny mini fridge, can’t really keep food.
7. NO AC! This can be a killer during those hot LA nights… some people even moved their mattresses down to the lounge to get away from the heat since there’s AC there.