Semester Billing
Starting in Fall semester 2008 USC Housing began billing rent for all residents of undergraduate university housing buildings by semester rather than monthly. Students living in our residence halls and suites already had their rent charged once per semester. After this change, the residents of our undergraduate apartment buildings also have their rent billed twice a year. The change in billing does not apply to buildings housing graduate students or families at this time.
USC Housing believe the switch to billing by semester offers residents several advantages:
• Since most freshmen live in buildings where the rent is billed once per semester, the change brings continuity to how housing costs are billed and paid throughout their stay in university housing.
• Students and their parents will have to deal with rental charges only twice each year rather than on a monthly basis.
• It will be substantially easier to apply Financial Aid awards and loans toward housing fees.
• Total housing costs for the semester and year are much simpler to understand and, since all USC-Housing buildings are presented by semester, it will be easier to compare rents between buildings.
• Prorated, partial-month rents at the beginning (August) and end (May) of apartment contracts have been eliminated, as a single charge will cover the entirety of each semester.
We hope that our residents will find the new billing schedule both simpler and more convenient.
Why is this being done?
The University Bursar’s Office has requested the change to better coordinate Housing billing with financial aid and tuition calendars.
Is this different than the way rent is already billed for suites and residence halls?
No – it is exactly the same. If you currently live in a building for which rents are billed on a semester basis, you will find that billing for undergraduate apartments will work in the same way.
When will semester rents be billed?
Rents for all USC Housing undergraduate locations will be charged at the beginning of each semester, in late July for the Fall semester and late December for the Spring semester.
Where can I find the new rents?
The new semester rents for USC Housing’s apartment buildings can be found on our
web site as well as in the
Living at USC brochure for upperclassmen.
How were the semester rents calculated?
The two semester billings will cover the entire nine months of the academic year, and will reflect an amount equivalent to the total monthly charges for that time period, with rents rounded down in the residents’ favor. In converting the monthly rent rates to a semester schedule the need to prorate partial months is eliminated.
What if I prefer to pay my rent on a monthly basis? Is there anything I can do?
The option to pay by month is still available through USC’s Tuition Payment Plan. This plan allows students to settle all or just part of their fee bill obligation (not just Housing rent payments), one semester/term at a time, through a series of monthly payments established with the USC Student Financial Services Office.
Residents can set a payment schedule that will essentially mirror monthly rent billing. For information on how to apply for the Payment Plan please visit the Student Financial Services
web site.
Will this apply to apartment buildings used for graduate student and family housing?
Rent billing for students assigned to graduate and family housing buildings will not change, and will continue to be charged on a monthly basis until further notice.
Will residents of undergraduate apartments have to move out during Winter Break?
No - the switch will not affect the ability of apartment residents to stay in their housing assignments over the Winter Break.