gentlechaos
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Posts posted by gentlechaos
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12 applications
1 acceptance
1 implied rejection
3 in the air
I'm so jittery I can't even focus on my thesis... HELLLPPP
Same problem here. But I am just so determined to GET IT DONE and focus on my visits and decisions. You have one acceptance so relax and just... well, "let it flow"
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Hi. I'm a Columbia grad student. I've been here for 6 years.
-Campus housing: I will grudingly admit that the campus housing prices are a pretty decent deal for what you get and especially for the neighborhood you're in. They say they range from $840 to $1425. The high end is mostly for law student housing, I think; most of my PhD student friends in the shares are paying around $900-1000 a month and they usually have two roommates, occasionally three. The apartments are average-sized by NYC standards but small by the standards of anyone coming from a place where a box is not the standard. You can fit a full-sized bed, a dresser, and maybe a desk in most of the shares' bedrooms, and they have living rooms and full kitchens. The apartment buildings are like regular NYC apartment buildings.
Studios are reserved for couples and one-bedrooms for couples with children. My husband I have a junior one-bedroom/two-room studio thing. We have a bedroom (big enough for a queen-sized bed and our three dressers, with a little room to move around) and then another room that has the kitchen against one wall and is big enough for our kitchen table and my desk, some storage bins and some room to walk. Oh, and a bathroom. We pay $1385 a month for it, which is right in line with what they say their average is. That includes Internet but no utilities. Our electric and gas usually runs $100/month. I'm from Atlanta so I am appalled and I actually wanted to move to Harlem or Wash Heights (where I lived my first 3 years here) but my husband wanted to live close to campus (he goes to Columbia too).
Quality is great. We have a doorman in our building which is great for getting packages, and an elevator. I have seen one bug (not a roach) since we moved here in September 2012. We had a brand new tub and toilet, and a brand new fridge, when we moved in. Quick maintenance service, very nice super and staff. There's laundry in the basement ($2/load to wash and dry apiece). I live right behind the building with my lab in it, so it's excellent as far as travel time is concerned.
-In the case that you are a CUMC student, you're not eligible for the Morningside Heights UAH housing. CUMC has its own housing in Washington Heights. It is crappy and overpriced compared to what you can get in the same neighborhood, so my advice is to skip it and just go on the open market.
If you're looking for your own housing...
-Look into upper Manhattan. Harlem is the neighborhood du jour for Columbia students because it's within easy commuting distance and relatively cheap. There are parts of Harlem that are actually getting pretty expensive all things considered, as Columbia builds north. Still, I have some friends who were living in VERY nice renovated apartments in the 130s, 140s and 150s who weren't paying much (I'm talking stainless steel appliances, exposed brick, and decent-sized rooms. Two of my friends even had dishwashers, which is like the holy grail around here). One of my friends lived in a very nice 2-bedroom in a brownstone on 135th and she and her roommate were paying like $2,000 together. Another friend lives in a very spacious and pretty and modern 3-bedroom with 2 other roommates; I'm not sure how much she was paying abut I don't think it was more than $3,000 altogether.
I lived in Washington Heights (starts at about 155th-160th St and goes to ~190th-200th St) my first 3 years and I liked it a lot; I was ready to return there when I quit my student affairs job, but my husband insisted on living in campus housing. I lived at 172nd St. and it was a 20 minute commute to the Morningside Heights campus on the 1 train; there is also a somewhat unpredictable shuttle that goes from the CUMC campus on 168th St to the main campus. I hate this shuttle for a variety of reasons, so I never take it, but other students like it. I could also get to midtown Manhattan in about 30-40 minutes, so that was nice for hanging out. The neighborhood itself is cheaper than Morningside Heights, but there are fewer choices of restaurants and pretty much zero lounges and bars - it's more residential - so if you wanted to hang out you had to go at least to Harlem.
Inwood is even further up, above the 200s. It's really pretty and leafy and you can get apartments super cheap up there, but of course you're talking perhaps a 20-40 minute commute to the Morningside campus depending on how far up you live.
I know some people who lived in Queens and Brooklyn and commuted to campus. I checked out an apartment in Flatbush and it took me an hour and 15 minutes to get back to campus, so I vetoed that. Some closer neighborhoods of Queens like Astoria might be commutable to Columbia in like 40 minutes, but Astoria in particular is getting pretty popular these days and more expensive - not as bad as most of Manhattan but not necessarily that much cheaper than Harlem and Wash Heights to make it worth it.
Columbia has an off-campus housing office that has listings from landlords and great recommendations for what's safe, what's good, etc. That's how I found my first apartment here.
HUNTING:
It is very difficult to find an apartment from afar in NYC. Landlords and companies stretch the truth or even outright lie on Craiglist (the apartment usually exists, but they use coded language to try to make it sound better than it is or do the bait and switch with the price). On the other hand, though, as a grad student I was pretty loath to pay someone else (aka a broker) a fee to do something I felt I could do myself. If I were rich or living here permanently I think I might pay a broker to find my new apartment for me, though, just because the process is stressful.
Landlords in NYC need to see a ridiculous amount of personal information before you can move in. You usually need to apply and pay an app fee, around $40. They want proof of income; your award letter will suffice. Most landlords will say that you need to make 40x the rent in order to move in. You will never be able to find an apartment that is your stipend/40 - for me that was an $800/month apartment, which is a epic myth. Therefore, you will probably need a gurantor. I felt silly as a grown person, but I asked my father if he would serve as a guarantor for me. The guarantor usually needs to make 80x the rent. I'm pretty sure my dad did not make 80x the rent but landlords can do what they want, so my dad provided some extra documentation (like the equity in his house) and they made it work. SOMETIMES you can get around the guarantor requirement by paying more rent up front, if you have it, or giving a larger security deposit. There's also a renters insurance company called Insurent that will act as your guarantor for a fee.
You also need to have the equivalent of three months' rent up front. You usually need to pay them a security deposit equivalent to 1 month's rent (you will get this back when you move out unless you tras the place); the first month's rent and the last month's rent.
For a hope spot...I came to New York on a Monday with zero prospects and by Friday me and my roommate had rented an apartment. The process moves very quickly.
What I usually recommend:
-When you are budgeting for your apartment rent, remember that your stipend amount is pre-tax and you'll need to pay taxes on it. Total taxes (federal + state) are usually about 20% of your income. That means that if your stipend is $25,000, your after-tax stipend is really $20,000, which is about $1700/month.
-Don't try to look more than 2 weeks out, as someone said above. Landlords don't want to deal with you; they'd rather rent to someone else who will rent it right now. If you see a great apartment in June, it will be gone by the time you are ready to lease it in August.
-Don't try to live on your own, unless you have a lot of money saved from a previous job, your parents are willing to supplement your income, or you're willing to go into debt just to live by yourself. Seriously. A *cheap* studio apartment is $1200 and more realistically you'll pay around $1500-2000 a month trying to live in a one-bedroom. Even in Harlem. Even in Brooklyn. If you see a studio or one-bedroom advertised for less than $1100, it is probably a scam ("sorry, we rented that one, but we have this beautiful one for $1300") or has major issues with it. Some people really, really can't stand to share their space with anyone else, and that's fine. But even if your stipend is $30,000, that means after-tax it's really $24,000, or $2,000/month. It will be VERY hard to afford a one-bedroom apartment in NYC without outside assistance - either an additional job, savings, parents.
-Most Craigslist listings with reasonable rental rates seem to be legit. Always visit an apartment before you sign any papers. A reasonable rate, IMO, is at least $1100 (but really at least $1200) for a one-bedroom or studio and at least $700 for a share.
-If you don't have good credit or don't want to deal with a guarantor, use either the Columbia off-campus listing or Craigslist to look to sublet a room in an apartment. There are many normal, friendly students and young professionals who use CL in NYC to rent out their second or third or fourth room because they have a sweet deal they don't want to lose just because their third friend went to London for a year. I found my second roommate using CL, and we're still close friends (she actually was a student at my school, too). I didn't have to put her on the lease.
-If you can afford it, I recommend subletting a room in early August and using ~3-4 weeks to look for apartments. Use ~1-2 week to get to know the housing market and get a feel for prices and what you get for the price; then use the following ~1-2 weeks to actually find a place and rent it. I even know people who subletting an apartment for the first semester and then moved over the winter break. You can often get an apartment for cheaper in December because there are fewer people moving, although there are fewer vacancies.
If you have residential life experience (like you were an RA) or if you have any student affairs experience from college or life, consider applying to be a graduate hall director at either Columbia or Barnard. It's a 20-hour-a-week live-in position that provides free housing, a small stipend (around $500/month) and some meals in the dining hall (75 meals for the year). In return, you supervise a group of resident assistants (usually between 8 and 13), do some administrative work like manage an area budget and fill out paperwork, and serve on crisis call duty between 5 pm and 9 am about 10 weekdays and 2 weekends a semester. I did it for two years and it was a total blast; I only quit because I got married and needed to focus on my dissertation, plus Columbia didn't have good married housing for GHDs. Barnard's GHD housing is better than Columbia's. Columbia's deadline for GHD applications is March 7; Barnard's application isn't up yet but should be soon (app deadline is usually in March).
ok, this helped, but it makes me so so sad. I'm not a fan of sharing rooms/appt-s.
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Ok, another Columbia question. I'm trying to figure out whether it would be possible to financially survive if you don't take the official housing.
Are there really $800 studios in Astoria? All I've seen on the internet starts from 1500...
And what about the living costs (for an ok like?). Ah, I'm quite lost!
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PS: the main point this guide make - which I realized is very true- is about having a system of taking notes DURING the test. a system that would both allow you to think fast AND be able to review the unanswered questions without actually re-doing/rereading them (by marking answers as yes/no/possible etc).
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I recommend the Princeton Review book/method. It worked for me and I did not spend more than -in total- a few weeks (though I knew most of the maths from school). Or get any guide, for that matter. It helps you get organized. Good luck
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Ok, this IS quite hard to bear. The waiting I mean. I emailed and they just said that they will e-mail when they have "final decisions". Did anyone else hear anything from them?
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This totally depends on what country you are from. I'd start here: http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/english.html and use the "Visa wizard" to determine this. At the same time, I would ask your department to put you in touch with the school's International office, because they would know exactly what you need. They might also need to provide some documentation for you to get your visa as well. I would begin right away in case this takes some time.
Many countries are on a Visa waiver program with the US so fill out the wizard (asks you where you are from and why you are visiting). If you need a visa, it will likely be a B-1 or B-2 class visa (http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/english/visit/visitor.html). The Visa Waiver program countries for the B class visa is listed here: http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/english/visit/visa-waiver-program.html. Note that some countries (e.g. Canada and Mexico) have other agreements with the US and these citizens also do not need a visa, but they are not listed on this program!
Note: I'm not an immigration expert and even these US government websites might not cover whatever special cases you might have. I would strongly encourage you to ask whoever invited you to visit about visa requirements and get them to put you in touch with the school's international office because they are the experts!
Once you don't qualify with the Visa waiver program, its going to be the B1 for business/pleasure. Use the letter you got from the school inviting you as the basis of your application and the department info as destination etc. Just got mine, missing the welcome weekend but going soon after. Hope this helps.
Thanks a lot - this is really helpful. I was suspecting it's B, but somehow got confused. Will ask I. Office still.
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So - PhD accepted, need to attend Campus Visit.
Could anyone help? Thanks
Princeton, NJ
in City Guide
Posted
I'll put it bluntly: is it suffocating to live on campus? Or, in the town, for that matter - do you just bump into the same people, who are also from the university? I mean it's quite a few years I would have to spend there and I do not want to become a hermit (more than I am already, ha ha).