ReadingLisa

THANK YOU! I've been stressing out so much about this.

So I am effectively freaking out. I don't have a place to live in Philly yet. I've looked through my school's Off-Campus Housing site, and have "favorited" a few listings that look promising. This Saturday I'll be going to take a look, but that's about all I've done. Have I fallen behind? I've been so concerned with getting some much-needed rest from school, that I might have ignored the problem of housing for too long....

Hello all, so I am currently in the process of relocating from NY to Philadelphia (of course, I don't really have a place yet...) but I'm wondering, once I find a place what sort of furniture and other home goods should i get? I'm looking at one-bedroom apartments, so should I bother getting a couch or not for the living room? Should is fully-stock the kitchen or just get necessities? I currently don't have much that I would be bringing with me, so I'm looking at purchasing everything (even my bed). Thanks in advance.

^Definitely can relate.

Hi proflorax! Thank you so much for sharing your story. I am so glad that your mother learned to support your decision. I definitely want to take my mother out to Penn, but if I do it will have to be in the summer when I'm done with school (I'm too busy now). I believe eventually my mom will cave in too.

Well I know Center City is not a slum and that it's the expensive part of town, but it didn't look all that great when I was there. Yes there are some lovely new buildings and condominiums, which are definitely out of my price range, but the regular buildings don't look all that great.

Thank you all so much for sharing your stories and for your great advise!! You've really made me feel better, and like I'm not the only one going through this. I officially accepted my first choice (UPenn) today, but have yet to tell my mother about it... I am definitely sure that I've made the right choice, but I still can't help feeling guilty and a bit down about my decision. Guess this is what someone on another thread referred to as "post-decision blues." It does suck though, because this should be a truly exciting time but it's kind of bittersweet now.

...into selecting a school that's close to home rather than one in a city 2 hours away. This is really stressing me out and it's the main reason why I haven't officially chosen a school, even though I know I want to go to the one 2 hours away. In their eyes it's all the same, and they're much more familiar with the school nearby and think it's more prestigious than the other one. So they can't understand why I'm being difficult. I feel terrible because I have a small family (just my sister and my single mother) and I don't want to leave them alone here or "abandon" them... This is the only place where I can really bent.

Thanks for all of this great advise! I'll definitely keep it in mind. So, I actually only plan on using the Capital One card to pay my monthly cell phone bill ($75), and then I'm hoping to pay the balance before the end of the month. So I don't think I need a card with a larger spending limit for now. I will apply for a bank issued credit card in a few months though, as you suggested. Haha! Right back at ya!

So based on my searching (mainly using google maps) the area west of Penn's campus (42-47th street and Chestnut, Walnut, or Spruce) look A LOT better and are much cheaper than places in Center City. Most grads I met at Penn lived in, and advised me to live in, Center City, but honestly I don't know why. The place looks like a true slum, yet rent is not really cheap... Meanwhile, the areas I mentioned west of campus are just lovely. Many of them are converted Victorian-style homes, with nice porches and lots of trees.. So I don't know, does anyone know if there's a reason to live in Center City as opposed to 42-47th streets??

Thank you guys for the suggestions. Right before I started thus topic I had applied for the Discover It card but was declined. Today I actually checked my credit score and as I suspected, I have no credit history. However, the website (creditkarma) recommended the Capital One Journey Student card. I was just approved for it with a $300 spending limit. It's far from much, but I'm still happy!

Thank you! That's actually a problem for me right now as I don't actually have credit. I've been too paranoid to get a credit card, thinking I'd spoil my credit, but now that I need credit (to rent an apartment in another city) it might be too late.

Any opinions about Columbia or UPenn for English lit? I'm torn between both schools. Both are fully funded, though Columbia guarantees 6 years of funding, and Penn only 5 (6th funding is competitive). They're pretty comparable offers financially. Also, I like the faculty members at both, though Penn has more in my field. I really don't know what to do apart from flipping a coin.

Do they?

Just turned down NYU's fully-funded offer.