hpa87

I also just received my housing assignment from Columbia and have 4 days to decide! It's at 526 West 112th Street, $1,092.98 per month (includes utilities), 1 roommate. Since I won't be able to see the place before saying yes/no, wanted to see if the rent sounds reasonable for the area, and if anyone is familiar with the building or knows anyone living there that can share what the place is like. Thanks!!

@moda I didn't realize students had such different packages--that is to say, it wasn't something that came up while I was on my visit, both from folks in the accepted cohort,or folks who are currently in the department. Where did you hear that the packages were so different? Either way, it didn't seem like this was a big issue or that students were competitive or jealous, since it wasn't something that came up or was a visible/obvious tension. The department and the grad school also seem to have a lot of pots of money that students can tap into, which is something that a lot of people highlighted as an important/attractive resource. There were some folks buying themselves out of work responsibilities by winning outside $$, but at the same time there were people who were purposely taking on teaching work so that they could get more experience, so that didn't seem to be an issue either. Of course you typically see the best sides of a department during their visit days but overall, it seemed students were happy/content and adequately supported, in this respect. I would contact UMich for their average time to completion and for a placement list so you have an idea of where grads are going. BTW, don't want to sound like I'm down on Northwestern. They were an awesome department too, as friendly/supportive as everyone says they are! And, if there is any part of you that thinks you'll want to do comparative historical, ethnography, or other qual research, then you should definitely strongly consider them because this is an undeniable strength of theirs.

I just visited both these programs. If you are SURE you want to do quant research, go to UMich. Both are excellent departments, but while Northwestern's qual training is very strong/recognized in the field, their quant training is just not as strong. This is something I heard from every student doing quant work at Northwestern. UMich on the other hand has known quality quant training and resources.

@Celukwazi What are the exact dates for Yale's visiting weekend? I haven't heard back from them yet, and I'm thinking I'm a potential wait list or a wait-and-see-based-on-funding person (since I seem to have missed the bullet on the rejections sent out Friday...). On the off chance I do get in I want to keep it in mind when I'm planning my travel schedule in April @alterman I think the Columbia decisions are done, unfortunately...I got a phone call on 2/7 with an offer, the GSAS sent out a letter on 2/11, and the department's already sent out logistics for the recruitment visits

Folks who heard back from Yale and NYU, any info on visit dates?