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Just got an "acceptance" for NYU housing. No placement, just a conditional offer of housing. I'm concerned that it's going to be significantly more expensive than just finding a place in an outer borough and commuting on the subway - it says it's a minimum $20,000/academic year for graduate housing in a private room. Does "academic year" even include the summer months? I've been told that NYU housing is supposed to be a great deal for what you pay, yet this seems like a huge ripoff. I'm also worried they would take a $1000 deposit from me next week, then refuse to give it back if I get a poor assignment and decide to renege. Apparently I am most likely to be assigned a shared studio, and I am just too damn old to be sharing my bedroom with another guy. It says the acceptance is binding - does that really mean that I can't change my mind if they assign me something too expensive or cramped for my needs? Should I accept it? Will I get into a world of trouble if I'm not happy with my assignment and want out?

I'm applying to several MA programs in Middle East Studies, and in researching the programs I've noticed that most do not even expect you to have your thesis topic decided until your second year of school. As such, the idea of an "advisor" seems less critical in these programs. However, many friends of mine in graduate school have stressed that it is crucial to exchange e-mails with professors whose work interests you prior to applying to the program (but most of them are in hard sciences, not liberal arts). My statement indicates only a broad sub-field of interest (20th-century politics), but it should be enough to discern whether or not a particular program would be a fit for me. When I have tried contacting professors, most either do not reply or seemed mildly annoyed that I'm wasting their time by sending off niceties with a clear agenda in mind. I don't have any questions to ask that I can't easily find the answer to by digging through their school's websites. So my question is, do I really need to be blindly e-mailing professors just for the sake of having talked to them before my application came in? Is it expected like an :optional" cover letter for a job, or should I only e-mail them if I have something I need to discuss with them? How big of a difference can this make in my chances of being admitted? I already have extremely high grades and above-average test scores, plus a decent statement, while I'm not too sure about my recs and writing samples. In some cases I have already put in my application, so that window of opportunity may have already passed. Is it advisable to contact professors in these programs anyway?