Get Your Money’s Worth!

July 22, 2024
by Dana

Getting Involved Life Hacks

After spending a GOOD amount for tuition, you should make your money worth it! Here’s my guide on what and how to claim free/discounted benefits at USC:

Lyft Rides Program: As USC students, we are provided with free Lyft rides after 5PM at the HSC campus (after 6PM for UPC) until 2AM seven days a week within specific boundaries of the area. This is so useful when you have late night food runs with friends or going home from studying at the library. After filling out a request form, the transportation team will email you an activation code, in which you will need to be signed in with your USC email on the Lyft app. After that, all your rides after 5PM will be free of charge! Here’s the website for more info: https://transnet.usc.edu/index.php/how-to-use-lyft/

LA Metro U-Pass: If you’re new to LA or don’t have access to a car, USC offers free public transportation around LA with the U-Pass! The U-Pass allows USC students unlimited rides on LA Metro’s rail and bus lines for any given semester using a tap card. The card can also be used around other LA cities such as Culver City, Norwalk, Torrance, Gardena, Long Beach, and Foothill. Because of this card, I went from my place in Monterey Park to the KIA Forum for a K-Pop concert without the stress of driving and parking fees. It is also great for exploring the city, such as taking the rails to Hollywood or Santa Monica Pier. You can purchase the card (free of charge) through the Transportation Purchase Portal, complete a Metro survey, and then the USC transportation survey. Once you’ve completed all the steps, you will be able to pick up your tap card at the transportation office and tap at any metro station for your next ride! Here’s the website for more in-depth info and steps: https://transnet.usc.edu/index.php/student-u-pass/

Discounts to Theme Parks and Zoos: USC offers various discounts to the following theme parks and zoos across SoCal: Six Flags Magic Mountain, Knott’s Berry Farm, Universal Studios Hollywood, Legoland, Aquarium of the Pacific, Los Angeles Zoo, San Diego Zoo. Some tickets can only be purchased online or in person at the USC Ticket Office on the University Park Campus at Galen Center or the One Stop at HSC on the Health Sciences Campus. I was able to use my USC email to get discounts for Universal Studios and the Aquarium of the Pacific, and it was much more enjoyable knowing that I didn’t pay full prices on those tickets. Here’s the website to check prices and activate your discounts: https://ticketoffice.usc.edu/for-the-usc-community/attractions-and-entertainment/theme-parks-and-zoos/

USC Visions and Voices: One of my biggest flexes while attending USC was that I got to watch Saweetie, Quavo, and the Migos perform LIVE over at the UPC campus. With USC Visions and Voices, they have events such as free concerts and performances throughout the school year for students to attend and enjoy. At the beginning of the school year, they host a huge event with performances to welcome students back from the summer and kick off the school year with fun activities! To keep up with their events, follow them on Instagram @uscvandv or watch out for updates in your email!

On-Campus Gyms: As part of USC Student Life, we have free membership to the gyms on the UPC (Lyon Recreation Center and USC Village Fitness Center) and HSC (HSC Fitness Center) campuses. As long as you are enrolled in at least 1 unit during the school year, you have access to any of the centers. When you enter any one of the centers for the first time, you can let them know you want to activate your membership and they will guide you through filling out a short form to access the gym. You only need to do that once and then can enter any of the centers through the swipe of your USC ID card.

Microsoft Office 365: If you’re more of a Microsoft person rather than Google Docs, you have access to all Microsoft apps when you sign into your USC account! I personally use Microsoft to organize all my files for classes and complete assignments through there. Go to the Microsoft website and sign in using your USC email, and then it will automatically redirect to the USC NetID login screen. Log in using your USC NetID username and password. And that’s it! You have exclusive access to Microsoft!

Subscriptions to LA and NY Times: USC offers a whole year of subscription to the LA and NY Times for USC graduate students! To claim the NY Times subscription you need to fill out a form (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdrnNNe9ysQmLo0KW856zvcT-vNsAk2aR-aHP0oqrRS00xqXA/viewform) with your USC email and ID to get a code. For LA Times, you just need to sign up with your USC email after clicking the link in your MyUSC login (https://my.usc.edu/los-angeles-times/) . 

Random Events on Campus! READ YOUR EMAILS! I can’t preface that enough because the amount of times my friends and I were able to get free food and goodies from the events around HSC/UPC were crazy! Some random events I went to were free food trucks on Election Day hosted by Graduate Student Government, destressing with therapy dogs on campus with complimentary donuts and coffee, free agua frescas and flower planting with Norris Medical Library, and so much more!! So please read all your emails as the student support team sends weekly emails about events around HSC, as well as in our division!

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