I am a senior undergrad at USC now and will be starting grad school here in the Fall! My rent for the past three years has been around 600, not including utilities. Most places are around $550-650 (that price may or may not include utilities, etc). It has been possible to find places for $450-550 if you are lucky enough to find a house but if you want to live close to campus and the downtown area, places this cheap are not going to be very nice or safe. However all of the places my friends and I have lived are geared towards undergrads and there are several apartment and condo complexes that will house 1000 sophomores-seniors. I have lived in one of these places for three years now and I cannot imagine it being a good fit for a grad student. It is typical for students to start signing leases Feb-April, but again that is for places geared towards undergraduates. I just got accepted last week and am trying to find a place very quickly! Most of the places I have looked at are $900-1000 a month, these are places where a lot of graduate students and young professionals are living. The city itself is pretty cheap, but I cannot imagine 16k being enough to live comfortably while also paying rent if you consider paying for food, activities, etc. If you pay for your utilities you are looking at around $150 a month, and the standard internet and cable package is $120 a month. All apartment and homes in the area use the same utility company and most but not all use the same cable company. You can DM me if you want and I can give you a list of many of the apartment complexes I know graduate students live in!