poliscar

I honestly don't buy the 700 applications statistic from Columbia. For comparison, Stanford mentions that they get 300+ applications and admit 9, and Harvard lists a similar ratio of 300-350 applicants & 10-15 students admitted. The same goes for Brown, with stats of approximately 300 applications/18 admitted. Really, even if living in New York is a significant draw, I don't see how that would lead to a difference of 350-400 applicants, especially since the programs in question are all of comparative quality and reputation.

Part of me wonders whether Columbia is including MA applicants to inflate the overall number, but I can't say what the motives behind that could be. Something about their statistics seems pretty off though, regardless of motive. 

I think it's the language requirements that scare off a lot of applicants to comparative literature programs. Whether or not the students have a more "serious" interest in literature, there are certainly fewer students who are willing to acquire full proficiency in one foreign language and at least a solid reading ability in one or two more. So for that reason, the applicant pool is going to be naturally more self-selecting. 

I have to say, it's very, VERY american to read books like that  

Small note on BA-to-phd Applicants: Some programs *may* prefer to train candidates to their way of doing things. They might think it's easier to get them to learn how to do things under their style.
Small note on MA-to-phd Applicants: Some programs consider MA applicants to be more ready for the PHD since they have previous graduate work. They may consider them less likely to drop out.

Some programs are generous in the amount of coursework they allow you to "transfer" in for credit. Others accept little-to-no previous graduate coursework. Most programs do accept a mixture of MA and BA applicants into their phd program.
 
 

For MA, you should look something like this.

http://www.schools.com/articles/three-ways-strong-applicant-competitive-schools.html
 
And for PhD, you have to look stronger:

 
Edit: Dawww.... A downvote? Dang. I thought it was funny.

A lot of programs will have you declare a sub-speciality or second area for your qualifying exams. I don't think there's really a huge split at all between the two periods you mention. I mean, so many Victorianists end up writing about Henry James. 

Also to add, you could easily situate your work as Atlantic/hemispheric/oceanic (whatever is floating around at the time) and dip into 20th century American lit from a British base. 

Ha, sorry to keep you all in suspense! I've been doing my winter travel and don't check this site nearly enough as it is.
So, I applied to PhD programs in the 2012 and 2013 cycles, and in Spring 2012 (I had my math slightly off in the first post!) I applied to NYUs PhD and was instead accepted to their MA. Being the bright-eyed and ignorant college senior I was, I thought it sounded like a great opportunity, but the price made me want to check it out first. I visited on a day when the MA students would meet up in the department for chat and coffee, and some of the things that I found unsettling only make sense in serious hindsight. 
To be clear, I don't blame anyone who does go to the program. It can be really hard to get honest information about whether paying for an English MA from a top program is worth the money, but I think the answer is unequivocally no. I met students that day who were excited to be studying in a wonderful program, but were also deeply stressed by the two or three jobs they were working to live in Manhattan, or the long commute they were making to keep costs down. Most of them had dreams of going on to a PhD, and the woman who showed me around most of the day was hopeful about her waitlist position at Harvard.
I also noticed that there wasn't really any effort on the department's part to have me interact with any faculty, which I think speaks a lot to the value that they place on their MA students. Most of the students I spoke to would talk about their advisor and somehow intimate that the advisor was "just so busy". FYI, a busy advisor is good, but they should never be too busy for you if they care about your career. And nobody seemed willing to admit that $100,000 total in tuition over two years was an absurd amount of money. I didn't really understand the job market and the very real devaluation of the humanities, but I did know that that wasn't a deal I was willing to take.
I ended up getting an offer of a one year post-bac fellowship from UPitt, and it was, IMO, the perfect example of what academia should be doing. They paid me for the pleasure of taking graduate seminars for the first time, and I had a wonderful advisor who was also part of the WGS program that vetted all of my PhD app materials, and gave me excellent advice about how to tell if something is a good offer. If they don't want to invest their time or their money in you, then it's just not worth it. I'm now an ABD 4th year at UT Austin, and I can promise you that I never would have had anywhere near this success if people hadn't invested time and money into getting me here. A PhD is an uphill battle, and your program shouldn't make it worse.

Fair enough. In the future, just make sure not to check off the box that says you'd consider attending without funding. Occasionally, programs will get apps from the super rich (see James Franco) or from folks with national scholarships. That box is for them to check. 

I'm confused. Why would you go out of your way to change your answer on the question if you don't have outside funding? If you suggest you can go there without funding, you're absolutely signaling to them that you have the means to attend the program without them ponying up the funds for you. It's really the only thing you could say in order to get an unfunded offer.
If you don't have the money to fund your PhD, I'm not sure why you'd care if they extend you an unfunded offer or not, unless your goal is conciliatory affirmation. I'm not trying to be a jerk in saying that. I just really don't understand. 

Yeah, when I said "bloated" it was partially in reference to actual content, but also a lot to do with presentation. Yes, mention your teaching experience, your poetry, your comics, etc, but don't overload committees with excess information. You shouldn't be devoting a line/bullet-point to each section you've taught of a course. Present the concept—i.e. you have a lot of teaching experience—without drowning it in minutiae.

Yeah, when I said "bloated" it was partially in reference to actual content, but also a lot to do with presentation. Yes, mention your teaching experience, your poetry, your comics, etc, but don't overload committees with excess information. You shouldn't be devoting a line/bullet-point to each section you've taught of a course. Present the concept—i.e. you have a lot of teaching experience—without drowning it in minutiae.

Anyone else experience the sudden certainty that their materials are simply mediocre and there's absolutely nothing you can think of to do about it?
I am the left guinea pig: 
 

Yup. I could have reduced mine to one, but I thought it would be prudent to list my poetry publication history -- a tough decision, and one I'll be second-guessing if I have a bad cycle, but seemed germane, given that my SOP and WS are both focused on poetry.

 

I'm sure she is, Yanaka!

No, I don't think the C.V. is the place for course descriptions, especially considering that many programs insist that the C.V. is a maximum of two pages. It's not a bad idea to have research interests in there somewhere, but if you really feel your courses need explication, I would draft a supplemental document for that. Most applications will allow you to upload additional materials not covered elsewhere in the app.

So much of it is holistic, and is shown in broader strokes through all your application documents (writing sample, SOP, letters) rather than in a paragraph tacked on at the end of one of them. What sort of scholar are your materials suggesting you want to be? What critics and intellectual/theoretical traditions do you engage with? What's your methodological approach? What sort of texts do you see yourself working on? You have an identity as an applicant, and it should be visible as a thread running through your application.
But honestly, I also think the whole idea of "fit," at least as it's usually discussed on GradCafe as some magic and mysterious key that links singular applicants to singular programs through an alchemical configuration of shared interests and opportunities, is overrated. People who do well in a given application season tend to do well in a given application season. The fact is, strong applicants will tend to be picked up by multiple programs, irrespective of those programs' differences. If you've applied to programs sensibly, choosing ones with faculty that are more-or-less open to your interests, chances are you could do the work you want to do at any of those institutions.
The other, nasty, undiscussed part of the equation, though, is that "fit" includes all kinds of institutional things that really are opaque (or that can be) to applicants. The department's not taking a Victorianist this year, because two of last year's Romanticist admits shifted period. An Early Modern prof is going on sabbatical, or nearing retirement, and won't be taking on new students. There isn't a medievalist on the committee this year to argue forcefully for the relevance of a writing sample on 12th century Anglo-Norman diplomas to literary study. There are (this is always true) just too many twentieth century applicants, and while a great many are excellent on spec, there just aren't the spaces for them, even if they all "fit" the department. Prof A got an email from an old student of theirs, Prof B, who's now the undergrad advisor of an applicant to Prof A's school, saying to keep an eye out for that application. 
This is exactly it. The purpose of the research question articulated in the SOP isn't actually to outline a course of research, even though we all write/wrote as if it were, and even though when you go on visit weekends profs will nod their heads sagely as you all discuss it. It's there to show that you know what a long-term research question looks like in literary studies -- what sort of things are asked in the field, what aren't, how they're situated, etc.
As I said, it's usually a good idea to. My point was that it's not strictly speaking necessary, nor worth forcing or worrying about overly much. The SOPs I wrote for two of the programs that I got into didn't mention POIs (although it was clear because of my historical period who I'd work with), and I know students at my current institution (UC Berkeley) who didn't mention profs in their Berkeley SOPs. 

Greetings fellow forum users,
I just found out that I've been accepted to the PhD program in political science at Washington University in St. Louis (beginning August 2017). Given that I am primarily interested in Cognitive Neuroscience and Gender Studies, I'm fairly certain that I'll end up attending WashU for graduate study. That said, I'd like to try and get in touch with other individuals that have also been accepted by WashU just so I might get a head start in getting to know my cohort. So, if you or anyone you know has also been accepted to the PhD program in Psychology at WashU, please contact me!
 

I have recently been accepted to both MSW programs at Washington University in St. Louis and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. I'm trying to make my decision between the two and am looking for any thoughts or suggestions on either program!
 

My PI's lab is on Danforth campus so it seems like it would be about a 15 minute bike through Forest Park and worse comes to worse, I can take an uber since the apartment is only 8 min away (according to google maps)
 
I'm just going to go ahead and post this here. It's the map I send to first year/prospective students who are looking for housing near the med campus (so it's highly med-campus focused). Hopefully it will help some people. If anyone is more familiar with the Danforth side, please feel free to update/save/repost a version of the map with more details on that side of Forest Park: 
 
Here's the map I refer to in this e-mail (let me know if you have trouble viewing it): https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=znSq18U6Bxo4.ka_fNS8CoCMQ   Just to orient you on the map: The medical campus is the green square to the right of forest park (large green rectangle). I've also labeled metrolink stops with red markers. There's a blue marker that marks the 4444 building, which is where many of the genomics labs are located (though many of them will be moving to the main campus in the next year or two).    I'm sure you've heard quite a bit about the Central West End (purple and red on map) during the interview process. It's a great place and I highly recommend looking there for apartments. Some of the older buildings have extremely reasonable prices, while some of the newer ones can get pretty pricey. The Del Coronado is (in my mind) the gold standard of what you will find in the CWE. It's new, super close to campus and has a parking garage...but its prices reflect those benefits. I do, however, think it serves as a good comparator when looking at other buildings. If you have a car I highly recommend putting affordable, provided parking high on your list; parking in the CWE without an assigned space or garage can be a bit crazy.    I live in the Debaliviere (DEB) area, which is north of forest park (Blue on map). It's right next to the metro link and I metro to work most days. If you live in either the CWE or DEB, there is a shuttle that runs every 30 mins from campus from 5pm-midnight:30 (M-F) that will take you directly to your door on your way home. I love living where I do. It's not as frequently-travelled as the CWE, parking is easier and I feel very comfortable walking around at night. The CWE is generally safe but it has a lot more foot traffic coming through.    There's an area between the CWE and DEB that is highlighted on the map in pink. A good number of students live there but it's not immediately adjacent to any metrolink stop so transportation may be a bit more difficult, though there are some beautiful buildings in that area.    Another place you might want to look is The Grove (brown pentagon on the map). There is lots of affordable housing in The Grove and it's an area that is getting nicer over the years...but it's not a place I feel 100% comfortable walking on my own at night. I do, however, know a lot of people who live there and have never had any problems. There are several apartments outside of the pentagon that are perfectly safe/nice but I can comfortably vouch for the brown-covered area being filled with happy graduate students.    Also highlighted in green is St. Louis University (in orange). There are tons of apartments in that area, but again, you have the commuting issue that isn't a problem in DEB or CWE. I also highlighted the Tower Grove area (in black) at the bottom right. This tends to be a place students move to in their second or third years. I wouldn't recommend it during your first year.   In yellow is the undergraduate (Danforth) campus and the Delmar Loop area. There are labs that some students may want to join on the Danforth campus and the Delmar loop is a great place to live. Unfortunately, I don't know much about the area. I recommend living close to the medical campus (green) for your first year at least since so many of your classes/journal clubs will be there.

They specify "evidence of first-class (A) work in English," not an A average. So no, you don't need to have an A average, in English courses or otherwise. What they're looking for when they mention the minimum English course requirement is just broad disciplinary coverage. Basically, to translate it into something that makes a bit more sense, they're saying "if you don't have a Bachelors in English you need to have completed this many courses in English for us to consider your application." 

As a Canadian, I'll say that this is typical of our MA programs. Most American PhD programs are far less concerned about the disciplinary backgrounds of applicants, so long as they seem capable of completing the program. That's why you see movement from History to English, or from Anthropology to History—even from the Sciences to the Humanities. In contrast, Canadian MA programs typically have significant course requirements (or even degree requirements) in the field in question. I've seen cases in which they expect about half of your degree (60/120 credit) to have been in the area of the MA program. 

So long as you have the required number of credits in English, I wouldn't worry. They're not going to reject you based on your first year grades. That's not to say that it's not a competitive program—it is—but that they're going to look at your SoP and references to make decisions, once they've confirmed that you are capable of the aforementioned "first-class work." 

One other thing to keep in mind is that Canadian schools have to accept a certain number of Canadian applicants, so Toronto may end up being more competitive for you than it would be for domestic students. That being said, everything I've said still stands. 

I'm not sure if it's that clear-cut. Columbia's endowment is large, but spending at the university has been/is somewhat controversial. They've come under fire for throwing money at massive building projects, while tenure-track positions in the Humanities haven't been filled, or have been replaced by sessionals. Likewise, there's a lot of money going towards the business and law schools, while the Core Curriculum is being comparatively underfunded. I guess it suffices to say that there's really a stranger political landscape beneath the overall wealth of the school. 

I think it's also worth pointing out that Columbia is one of the few schools of its calibre to offer standalone, unfunded MA programs in a number of Humanities disciplines, like English and Art History. Ironically, the other school that comes to mind here is Chicago, whose MAPH program is probably the best comparison. In both cases—and I've heard this from students in the PhD programs—the MA students are seen as subsidizing PhD candidate funding. Moreover, rejected PhD applicants are often funnelled into the MA programs. As cynical as it seems I don't think it's out of line to believe that Columbia and Chicago are fairly intent on maximizing the number of applicants to their PhD programs, so as to likewise maximize the $$$ coming in from their masters programs. 

My PI's lab is on Danforth campus so it seems like it would be about a 15 minute bike through Forest Park and worse comes to worse, I can take an uber since the apartment is only 8 min away (according to google maps)
 
I'm just going to go ahead and post this here. It's the map I send to first year/prospective students who are looking for housing near the med campus (so it's highly med-campus focused). Hopefully it will help some people. If anyone is more familiar with the Danforth side, please feel free to update/save/repost a version of the map with more details on that side of Forest Park: 
 
Here's the map I refer to in this e-mail (let me know if you have trouble viewing it): https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=znSq18U6Bxo4.ka_fNS8CoCMQ   Just to orient you on the map: The medical campus is the green square to the right of forest park (large green rectangle). I've also labeled metrolink stops with red markers. There's a blue marker that marks the 4444 building, which is where many of the genomics labs are located (though many of them will be moving to the main campus in the next year or two).    I'm sure you've heard quite a bit about the Central West End (purple and red on map) during the interview process. It's a great place and I highly recommend looking there for apartments. Some of the older buildings have extremely reasonable prices, while some of the newer ones can get pretty pricey. The Del Coronado is (in my mind) the gold standard of what you will find in the CWE. It's new, super close to campus and has a parking garage...but its prices reflect those benefits. I do, however, think it serves as a good comparator when looking at other buildings. If you have a car I highly recommend putting affordable, provided parking high on your list; parking in the CWE without an assigned space or garage can be a bit crazy.    I live in the Debaliviere (DEB) area, which is north of forest park (Blue on map). It's right next to the metro link and I metro to work most days. If you live in either the CWE or DEB, there is a shuttle that runs every 30 mins from campus from 5pm-midnight:30 (M-F) that will take you directly to your door on your way home. I love living where I do. It's not as frequently-travelled as the CWE, parking is easier and I feel very comfortable walking around at night. The CWE is generally safe but it has a lot more foot traffic coming through.    There's an area between the CWE and DEB that is highlighted on the map in pink. A good number of students live there but it's not immediately adjacent to any metrolink stop so transportation may be a bit more difficult, though there are some beautiful buildings in that area.    Another place you might want to look is The Grove (brown pentagon on the map). There is lots of affordable housing in The Grove and it's an area that is getting nicer over the years...but it's not a place I feel 100% comfortable walking on my own at night. I do, however, know a lot of people who live there and have never had any problems. There are several apartments outside of the pentagon that are perfectly safe/nice but I can comfortably vouch for the brown-covered area being filled with happy graduate students.    Also highlighted in green is St. Louis University (in orange). There are tons of apartments in that area, but again, you have the commuting issue that isn't a problem in DEB or CWE. I also highlighted the Tower Grove area (in black) at the bottom right. This tends to be a place students move to in their second or third years. I wouldn't recommend it during your first year.   In yellow is the undergraduate (Danforth) campus and the Delmar Loop area. There are labs that some students may want to join on the Danforth campus and the Delmar loop is a great place to live. Unfortunately, I don't know much about the area. I recommend living close to the medical campus (green) for your first year at least since so many of your classes/journal clubs will be there.

My PI's lab is on Danforth campus so it seems like it would be about a 15 minute bike through Forest Park and worse comes to worse, I can take an uber since the apartment is only 8 min away (according to google maps)
 
I'm just going to go ahead and post this here. It's the map I send to first year/prospective students who are looking for housing near the med campus (so it's highly med-campus focused). Hopefully it will help some people. If anyone is more familiar with the Danforth side, please feel free to update/save/repost a version of the map with more details on that side of Forest Park: 
 
Here's the map I refer to in this e-mail (let me know if you have trouble viewing it): https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=znSq18U6Bxo4.ka_fNS8CoCMQ   Just to orient you on the map: The medical campus is the green square to the right of forest park (large green rectangle). I've also labeled metrolink stops with red markers. There's a blue marker that marks the 4444 building, which is where many of the genomics labs are located (though many of them will be moving to the main campus in the next year or two).    I'm sure you've heard quite a bit about the Central West End (purple and red on map) during the interview process. It's a great place and I highly recommend looking there for apartments. Some of the older buildings have extremely reasonable prices, while some of the newer ones can get pretty pricey. The Del Coronado is (in my mind) the gold standard of what you will find in the CWE. It's new, super close to campus and has a parking garage...but its prices reflect those benefits. I do, however, think it serves as a good comparator when looking at other buildings. If you have a car I highly recommend putting affordable, provided parking high on your list; parking in the CWE without an assigned space or garage can be a bit crazy.    I live in the Debaliviere (DEB) area, which is north of forest park (Blue on map). It's right next to the metro link and I metro to work most days. If you live in either the CWE or DEB, there is a shuttle that runs every 30 mins from campus from 5pm-midnight:30 (M-F) that will take you directly to your door on your way home. I love living where I do. It's not as frequently-travelled as the CWE, parking is easier and I feel very comfortable walking around at night. The CWE is generally safe but it has a lot more foot traffic coming through.    There's an area between the CWE and DEB that is highlighted on the map in pink. A good number of students live there but it's not immediately adjacent to any metrolink stop so transportation may be a bit more difficult, though there are some beautiful buildings in that area.    Another place you might want to look is The Grove (brown pentagon on the map). There is lots of affordable housing in The Grove and it's an area that is getting nicer over the years...but it's not a place I feel 100% comfortable walking on my own at night. I do, however, know a lot of people who live there and have never had any problems. There are several apartments outside of the pentagon that are perfectly safe/nice but I can comfortably vouch for the brown-covered area being filled with happy graduate students.    Also highlighted in green is St. Louis University (in orange). There are tons of apartments in that area, but again, you have the commuting issue that isn't a problem in DEB or CWE. I also highlighted the Tower Grove area (in black) at the bottom right. This tends to be a place students move to in their second or third years. I wouldn't recommend it during your first year.   In yellow is the undergraduate (Danforth) campus and the Delmar Loop area. There are labs that some students may want to join on the Danforth campus and the Delmar loop is a great place to live. Unfortunately, I don't know much about the area. I recommend living close to the medical campus (green) for your first year at least since so many of your classes/journal clubs will be there.

Forest Park is reasonably bike friendly most of the year. STL is kind of weird to bike in the winter though, as roads aren't really plowed if there's snow and it's mess. The Metro is getting much more reliable though and public transportation is improving!

My PI's lab is on Danforth campus so it seems like it would be about a 15 minute bike through Forest Park and worse comes to worse, I can take an uber since the apartment is only 8 min away (according to google maps)
 
I'm just going to go ahead and post this here. It's the map I send to first year/prospective students who are looking for housing near the med campus (so it's highly med-campus focused). Hopefully it will help some people. If anyone is more familiar with the Danforth side, please feel free to update/save/repost a version of the map with more details on that side of Forest Park: 
 
Here's the map I refer to in this e-mail (let me know if you have trouble viewing it): https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=znSq18U6Bxo4.ka_fNS8CoCMQ   Just to orient you on the map: The medical campus is the green square to the right of forest park (large green rectangle). I've also labeled metrolink stops with red markers. There's a blue marker that marks the 4444 building, which is where many of the genomics labs are located (though many of them will be moving to the main campus in the next year or two).    I'm sure you've heard quite a bit about the Central West End (purple and red on map) during the interview process. It's a great place and I highly recommend looking there for apartments. Some of the older buildings have extremely reasonable prices, while some of the newer ones can get pretty pricey. The Del Coronado is (in my mind) the gold standard of what you will find in the CWE. It's new, super close to campus and has a parking garage...but its prices reflect those benefits. I do, however, think it serves as a good comparator when looking at other buildings. If you have a car I highly recommend putting affordable, provided parking high on your list; parking in the CWE without an assigned space or garage can be a bit crazy.    I live in the Debaliviere (DEB) area, which is north of forest park (Blue on map). It's right next to the metro link and I metro to work most days. If you live in either the CWE or DEB, there is a shuttle that runs every 30 mins from campus from 5pm-midnight:30 (M-F) that will take you directly to your door on your way home. I love living where I do. It's not as frequently-travelled as the CWE, parking is easier and I feel very comfortable walking around at night. The CWE is generally safe but it has a lot more foot traffic coming through.    There's an area between the CWE and DEB that is highlighted on the map in pink. A good number of students live there but it's not immediately adjacent to any metrolink stop so transportation may be a bit more difficult, though there are some beautiful buildings in that area.    Another place you might want to look is The Grove (brown pentagon on the map). There is lots of affordable housing in The Grove and it's an area that is getting nicer over the years...but it's not a place I feel 100% comfortable walking on my own at night. I do, however, know a lot of people who live there and have never had any problems. There are several apartments outside of the pentagon that are perfectly safe/nice but I can comfortably vouch for the brown-covered area being filled with happy graduate students.    Also highlighted in green is St. Louis University (in orange). There are tons of apartments in that area, but again, you have the commuting issue that isn't a problem in DEB or CWE. I also highlighted the Tower Grove area (in black) at the bottom right. This tends to be a place students move to in their second or third years. I wouldn't recommend it during your first year.   In yellow is the undergraduate (Danforth) campus and the Delmar Loop area. There are labs that some students may want to join on the Danforth campus and the Delmar loop is a great place to live. Unfortunately, I don't know much about the area. I recommend living close to the medical campus (green) for your first year at least since so many of your classes/journal clubs will be there.

My PI's lab is on Danforth campus so it seems like it would be about a 15 minute bike through Forest Park and worse comes to worse, I can take an uber since the apartment is only 8 min away (according to google maps)
 
I'm just going to go ahead and post this here. It's the map I send to first year/prospective students who are looking for housing near the med campus (so it's highly med-campus focused). Hopefully it will help some people. If anyone is more familiar with the Danforth side, please feel free to update/save/repost a version of the map with more details on that side of Forest Park: 
 
Here's the map I refer to in this e-mail (let me know if you have trouble viewing it): https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=znSq18U6Bxo4.ka_fNS8CoCMQ   Just to orient you on the map: The medical campus is the green square to the right of forest park (large green rectangle). I've also labeled metrolink stops with red markers. There's a blue marker that marks the 4444 building, which is where many of the genomics labs are located (though many of them will be moving to the main campus in the next year or two).    I'm sure you've heard quite a bit about the Central West End (purple and red on map) during the interview process. It's a great place and I highly recommend looking there for apartments. Some of the older buildings have extremely reasonable prices, while some of the newer ones can get pretty pricey. The Del Coronado is (in my mind) the gold standard of what you will find in the CWE. It's new, super close to campus and has a parking garage...but its prices reflect those benefits. I do, however, think it serves as a good comparator when looking at other buildings. If you have a car I highly recommend putting affordable, provided parking high on your list; parking in the CWE without an assigned space or garage can be a bit crazy.    I live in the Debaliviere (DEB) area, which is north of forest park (Blue on map). It's right next to the metro link and I metro to work most days. If you live in either the CWE or DEB, there is a shuttle that runs every 30 mins from campus from 5pm-midnight:30 (M-F) that will take you directly to your door on your way home. I love living where I do. It's not as frequently-travelled as the CWE, parking is easier and I feel very comfortable walking around at night. The CWE is generally safe but it has a lot more foot traffic coming through.    There's an area between the CWE and DEB that is highlighted on the map in pink. A good number of students live there but it's not immediately adjacent to any metrolink stop so transportation may be a bit more difficult, though there are some beautiful buildings in that area.    Another place you might want to look is The Grove (brown pentagon on the map). There is lots of affordable housing in The Grove and it's an area that is getting nicer over the years...but it's not a place I feel 100% comfortable walking on my own at night. I do, however, know a lot of people who live there and have never had any problems. There are several apartments outside of the pentagon that are perfectly safe/nice but I can comfortably vouch for the brown-covered area being filled with happy graduate students.    Also highlighted in green is St. Louis University (in orange). There are tons of apartments in that area, but again, you have the commuting issue that isn't a problem in DEB or CWE. I also highlighted the Tower Grove area (in black) at the bottom right. This tends to be a place students move to in their second or third years. I wouldn't recommend it during your first year.   In yellow is the undergraduate (Danforth) campus and the Delmar Loop area. There are labs that some students may want to join on the Danforth campus and the Delmar loop is a great place to live. Unfortunately, I don't know much about the area. I recommend living close to the medical campus (green) for your first year at least since so many of your classes/journal clubs will be there.