sorairo

SEAS has been telling me that my app won't be reviewed until June and decisions won't be sent until July, so I assume schools must have at least something to do with it...?

You probably know better than I do if you've already applied, but I was told by current grad students that they ask you to rate how tidy you are and essentially use that to match you to another student. I don't know if maybe our standards for spaciousness are different (I used to live in downtown Toronto), but for the apartments I saw, I might guess 500-600 square feet for two bedrooms + living room + kitchen + bathroom? Hope that helps!

Canadian here, still trying to wrap my head around all the paperwork D: My department visit included a tour of some Columbia-owned apartments near campus -- I thought they seemed decent, mostly 2 bedrooms, nothing fancy, and pretty spacious? I hear the roommate matching system is not so good though, essentially just a "messiness level" thing. (I know that's a pretty vague description, feel free to message me if you have specific questions though!)

Well, we'd have one person in the living room (MSM tuition is pretty ridiculous). I also doubt that either school would be willing to accommodate that, but actually I haven't even asked so I'll probably do that soon. Thanks for the off-campus housing suggestions though! That's what we'll likely be going with so it's great to have a starting point

1. Professor/scientist: Working on this one with great hopes. 2. University lecturer: I dunno how hard/easy this one is, but I like the idea of teaching (to people who care about learning). 3. Graphic designer: My first dream job from age 5! Crushed immediately by Asian parents, of course. 4. Paramedic: I was a lifeguard in high school. Pretty sure that's the closest I'll ever come to this one. ^ Although this wouldn't be a bad option, either!

Got mine two days ago, but it might be department-dependent too. Anyway I'm turning it down, so hopefully that's good news to someone else!

Not a PhD student (finishing up my undergrad), but I have friends who pay as little as $400/month for a room in a shared house far out west (Lansdowne/Bloor). They bike most of the time and take the subway in the winter, and the neighbourhood is obviously not great, but if you want cheap that's an option.

Hi guys, I'll be starting at Columbia in the fall and I have a(nother) question about housing! A good friend of mine will be headed to MSM and we'd really like to live together, but it seems like this isn't really possible with either school's housing. What options do we have? I'd like to stay close to campus because I worry about not meeting other people (how much of a concern is that?), and we'd be happy to share a one-bedroom apartment. We looked at International House, but I'm not sure if they would let us share a place (seems like as a student, you can bring your spouse into a one-bedroom apartment, but nothing about two students) and they've yet to reply to my email. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

I think ideally, I'd like to date people in a related-but-not-the-same field (e.g. a different STEM subject for me), so they can have some idea of what I do in the lab all day / be interested in a lot of the same things as me, but also have new things to tell me about. My current SO is in the same program and year as me (we met at frosh week) and having 80% of our classes together was definitely a bit much, but now that I'm leaving for engineering I'm sure it'll be better

Ah, sorry for not being clear -- I was asking about time counting towards permanent residency (wasn't sure if it was just a time thing), but you definitely answered it. Thanks!

I think it's pretty normal, yeah. I'm turning down a group with an amazing PI who spent a good two hours showing me his lab on visiting weekend / has never failed to send me detailed and thoughtful replies to my emails within the hour... it was a close second choice entirely because of him, but my first choice is at a way more prestigious school and I really worry that he'll feel like I wasted his time. :/ I'm sure (well, I keep telling myself) that they understand that good candidates will be seen as good candidates anywhere, though, and ultimately you can only accept one. Congrats on knowing that your choice is the right one EDIT: Wow, not even sure how I ended up in "Literature, Rhetoric and Composition"... ignore everything about the labs, haa. I was just so glad to find people who were feeling the same...

Thanks for the detailed explanations, guys! TakeruK, thanks especially for the distinction between visa/status, I was definitely confused on that point. By the way, do you know if OPT does anything towards immigration at all? (I guess I wouldn't have to worry about that for years and years, but still.)

You can, but you'd have to pay a membership fee and I don't know how much that is. It'll probably be on harthouse.ca though!

I'm a Canadian student who will be starting grad school in the US this fall, and I've been really confused by all the logistics of it. I've been able to find a lot of resources for general international students, but I understand that there are some differences for Canadians and I've had a hard time pinpointing those. Specifically, I'm confused about the status I would have in the US (is it like a J1/F1?) and whether I would be able to stay in the US to work after graduation (I'm under the impression that you can stay for one year with an F1 visa, but you need to return to your home country for some time with a J1, except it doesn't apply to Canadians...?). Help please! Thanks in advance

^ move to the centre of mass frame Seriously though, I'm glad I found this thread! My SO and I are headed for grad school in Boston/NY in the fall (after dating for pretty much our entire undergrads), and we've been talking a lot about the possibility of an LDR. We think the most important thing is that both parties be totally intent on making it work, or there's no point to trying it at all. Other than that, setting guidelines for frequency of contact so it doesn't just fall off as we get busier. It's scary and we both know it'll be hard, but reading all your posts gives me a lot of hope

I grew up in Toronto and am now finishing up my undergrad at U of T! Hopefully I can be helpful: 1. I live in the Annex (sharing a house with 4 others), and I personally really like it (very residential area, lots of families). A lot of my friends live in Koreatown (late night food/entertainment), Chinatown/Kensington (cheap groceries, coffee shops), and Little Portugal. If your funding situation is good, you can also rent a nice apartment at Bay/College. If not, you can get a bike and look along the Bloor subway line (maybe as far west as Dufferin and as far east as Sherbourne, but essentially it gets sketchier the further you go out). There's also the Grad House on campus if you're thinking of something more short-term. As for neighbourhoods, I feel pretty safe everywhere within walking distance of campus (Queen's Park used to be sketchy, but it's better now). Can't comment as much outside that though. 2. I've met a lot of people joining clubs/events on campus (although I agree with Kaitri, most of my closest friends are from high school...). I don't know how tricky/expensive that might be if you aren't officially a U of T student, though. I like hanging out at Hart House (kind of a student community centre?) because there's a lot to do there (artsy events, pool/gym, library, classes). Feel free to PM me as well! I'm moving away at the end of April, but I can at least answer any other questions you might have. Good luck with your move!

Biomedical engineering, MS/PhD track! Pretty excited for New York too.