Follow these steps to make sure you are taking advantage of all your opportunities:

• Register in person or online at the Career Planning & Placement Center.
• Visit the Experiential Learning Office at the Interview Center in the Student Union, STU B-1. Walk-in hours are from noon to 3:00 p.m. daily.
• Inquire at your academic department for internship opportunities.
• Check the USC MonsterTrak listings available for all USC students registered with the CPPC. You can search the system by keyword(s) such as non-profit, media, banking, intern or internship, etc.
• Use the CPPC library and other locations to search books, newspapers, and magazines. The Experiential Learning Office houses additional internship newsletters for student use.
• Check out USC Career Fairs, and other job fairs, professional associations, student organizations, community service/volunteer groups, etc.
• Explore Internet job search sites. A list is available at the CPPC and at http://careers.usc.edu.
• Use of all your networking opportunities! Generate contacts through friends, family, current/former employers, classmates, faculty members, clubs, and other networking avenues.
• Other ways to find out about internship opportunities are through trade newsletters (The Experiential Learning Office contains some internship newsletters for student use). magazines, job fairs, hometown contacts, professional associations, student organizations, community service/volunteer groups, and many more.
• Searching the Trojan Network is an excellent source of advice for networking in your field. The Trojan Network is a resource of USC alumni who have volunteered to provide career-related advice and industry specific information to USC students (for advice only).
• After your search, make a priority list of approximately 8-12 internships at targeted organizations. Thoroughly research each opportunity, then contact your top 5 or 6 organizations.
• Have a plan that includes a professional resume and cover letter, appropriate follow-up, and good record keeping.
• Drop by the Career Planning and Placement Center any time from noon to 3 p.m. to have your materials reviewed during In-take Counseling.

An internship can be paid or non-paid (volunteer), involve academic credit or not, be structured as a full or part-time arrangement. It is possible to get paid as well as receive academic credit.

• Stipend - An amount of money paid to the student in a variety of ways, (i.e., one lump sum of money paid at the end of the internship or money to cover transportation or meal costs).
• Work Study Funds - If a student is eligible for federal work-study funds, it is possible to earn the allotment through the internship. The internship site becomes an off-campus work-study site. See a staff member in the Financial Aid Office for more information.
• The typical wage for paid internships is approximately $7 to $20 per hour.

• If you are looking for an internship in the United States, you may go online to view the USC internship listings. USC is a member of an Internship Consortium with Harvard, Yale, Stanford and Northwestern Universities. Our online listings contain internship opportunities that are shared by these universities. Therefore, opportunities exist for areas near these universities.
• Search the Trojan Network, an excellent source of advice for networking in your field. The Trojan Network is a resource of USC alumni who have volunteered to provide career-related advice and industry specific information to USC students, they are not internship providers.
• Visit your academic unit and talk to advisors and professors about finding internships.
• View online resource links to web sites dealing with internships.
• Check the International and Internship Indexes for overseas opportunities in the Experiential Learning Office at the Interview Center in STU B-1. For example, sample materials include Student's Guide to International Internships, Overseas Summer Jobs-Your Complete Guide to Thousands of Summer Employment Opportunities Abroad, and Work Your Way Around the World - the Authoritative Guide for the Working Traveler.

USC is truly residential and definitely not a "commuter school." Practically all freshmen live on campus, but are not required to do so. Housing is guaranteed to incoming freshmen and is readily available to continuing students, provided they meet all deadlines.

USC students live in singles, doubles, studios; they live with several of roommates, with one other roommate and with no roommates; They reside on campus and off, in quiet halls, not-so-quiet halls, academic and ethnic theme halls, residential colleges and with faculty in residence and Greek houses.

The university operates more than 40 different housing facilities, including residence halls, apartments, houses and residential colleges. Eleven facilities are on campus; the remainder are located in the local neighborhood.

Regardless of which option students choose, there are plenty of places to study, eat, do laundry and meet people.

You can learn more about all of USC's housing options by visiting the USC Housing Web site.

No. USC students are not required to live on campus or in campus-owned housing.

As a major research university located in the heart of one of the world's most exciting and dynamic cities, we are proud of our urban tradition and the opportunities that our location provides to our students. We are also aware of the challenges posed by our environment and our pleased to say that we take a proactive approach towards maintaining a safe and secure environment for our university community.

While our public safety department plays a major leadership role in ensuring that our campuses and surrounding neighborhoods remain as safe as possible, the primary responsibility for crime prevention and personal safety rests with each individual.

No community is immune to crime. On any college campus, the level of crime is affected by enrollment, geographic size, location and other factors. USC’s University Park and Health Sciences campuses are among the safest in the country. They are located in residential neighborhoods that include major museums, historic buildings, local schools, fraternity and sorority houses, and family homes (including a growing number owned by faculty and staff).

With this in mind, consider the following:

• USC is ranked among the safest of all U.S. universities and colleges, with one of the most comprehensive campus and community safety programs in the nation.
• Los Angeles is the second largest city in the U.S., but barely ranks in the top 50, in terms of overall crime rate.
• USC's Public Safety Officers patrol an area three times the size of campuses and provide law enforcement services not just on our campuses, but in the surrounding neighborhoods as well.
• The University Tram Service runs on a regular schedule in and around our campuses to provide students with transportation to on- or off-campus locations.
• Campus Cruisers is a program that provides students a trained staff member who will walk, bike or usually drive them to their residence hall or apartment, from any spot in the campus community, during evening and early morning hours.
• "Street Smarts" is USC's guide to safety and common sense on college campuses. "Street Smarts" contains a detailed description of USC's efforts to promote a safe campus environment. It lists both our annual campus safety statistics and our enforcement and public education programs. You may access this publication online or you can request a printed copy of the booklet from the USC Department of Public Safety by calling (213) 740-5662.

You contacted the Financial Aid Office and stated that you could not afford the $800 housing deposit and the Housing Office billed it to your USC account instead. Half of the deposit will be refunded to you toward the end of the fall and spring semesters if your room does not require repairs or cleaning If you have questions, please call Housing at (213) 740-2546.