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Sabrosura

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  • Application Season
    2015 Fall
  • Program
    Epidemiology

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  1. Sabrosura

    New York, NY

    Columbia can probably serve as a guarantor, or assist in some other way, check with them. NYC school--and landlords--know the deal.
  2. Sabrosura

    New York, NY

    You're welcome! I'm trying to demystify NYC a little as I see a lot of people are apprehensive about moving there, but it really is not a difficult city to live in, and the cost of living can be manageable as well with a bit of due diligence. I have traveled extensively and NYC is still my favorite city in the world. The most important thing to know is that NYC can be *anything* you want it to be, and that's the best part about it. If you want to live a high-energy lifestyle in which you are out and about every night, you can get that, if you want peace and quiet, you can get that too. Not to mention all the amazing authentic food from all over the world you can get in NYC, and as a bonus you will spend less too if you get your food and groceries at ethnic stores and restaurants.
  3. Sabrosura

    New York, NY

    July for a September lease is too early. Start looking in August. Because the market in NYC is so competitive, most places are rented within days of being posted (especially no-fee/no-broker ones). For this reason, do not start looking for a place more than a month in advance because most places in NYC are only posted a month before the prior owner's lease is up. If you see a place that is posted two or more months ahead of the move-in date, something is probably wrong with it, or the price is too high. I've lived in NYC for 6 years and moved twice during that time (plus had to find housing when I first moved there). I found great places every time (only reason I decided to move at the end of each 2-year lease is because NYC has so many great neighborhoods and I wanted to experience living in different locations). My first place was a large 1-bedroom in Jackson Heights (Queens--20 minutes subway ride to Manhattan, and said to be the most diverse neighborhood in the US) for $1,300, my second place was a 1-bedroom on Roosevelt Island (unique place where you might find a good deal since not many people know about it--my boyfriend and I got a 12 months + 3 months free deal, the rent came to about $1,500 for a very large 1-bedroom 5 minutes from the subway), and my third place was a studio in one of the most coveted areas in Brooklyn Heights, which is one of the nicest neighborhoods in Brooklyn (one stop to Manhattan) where it is next to impossible to find anything under $2,000 (my studio was $1,600 in a fantastic location, townhouse tree-lined street, 5 minutes from the subway and with access to all subway lines). Here is the strategy I used. Never had to hire a broker either. Start looking for a place as late as possible, ideally no more than 4 weeks before you want to move. Check the Craigslist no-fee section a few times a day, you will quickly get a feel for things. Look at posts with pictures, but do not ignore posts without pictures either (since many people filter them out, you might find a great deal--I found my studio in Brooklyn Heights this way). When you see a place you like, immediately set up a time to visit. Some places will have open houses and will not allow you to visit separately. As you select places you like, be aware of the NYC trade-off factors that rent price is a function of: space vs. location/subway access (these two go together). Keep in mind that until you become a millionaire, you CANNOT get both a great location/subway access AND a decently large space. The better the location/subway access, the higher the price. The bigger the space, the higher the price. Also, keep in mind that qualifies as "big" in NYC would qualify as "medium/small" in many other places, so adjust your expectations accordingly. In conclusion: decide what your absolute limit is for location and space, keeping in mind you will have to trade one off for the other if you want a decent price. Personally I prefer proximity to the subway (no more than a 10-minute walk and preferably access to more than one line because in NYC there is always subway construction work going on) and can make do with a smaller space. Proximity to the subway means the whole city is my living room (or library), hence I am okay with a smaller space. And in the winter you will hate your life if you have to walk more than 10 minutes to the subway. In my view, your quality of life in NYC will be a lot higher if you are close to the subway vs. having a larger space but being far from the subway. The other thing is actual distance from Manhattan/your school--I don't really think this matters as much, as long as you are close to the subway it doesn't really matter if your subway ride is 15 minutes or 20. Get the Kindle app and use the time to read, the subway ride can be your personal time to think/read/meditate. Or, as many NYers do, you can take a quick nap and catch up on sleep--for some reason I never fall asleep as fast as I do on the subway! It's much better than living in a city where you have to drive everywhere. Now for the most important part: when you visit a place that you like and that is in line with your location/space trade-off, i.e. the big factors match up with what you want, put in an application right away, i.e. be ready to sign the dotted line right then and there if they want you to (most places will want to review your credit score first though). Bring whatever paperwork you need such as employment or University co-signing paperwork. Do not assume the apartment will be available the next day or even a few hours later. Following this strategy, I had to view fewer than 3 places to get a lease each time I moved. So it only took me 1-2 days to find a place, and I started searching about 3-4 weeks before my move-in date, as described above. And for the Brooklyn Heights place, it was literally the first place I checked out. So remember, if you are prepared and follow this strategy NYC moving does not need to be as stressful as it is made out to be. Frankly I am much more apprehensive about finding a place in Boston since I hear there is no way to get around the broker fee there... Good luck!
  4. Since no one has replied, I'll give my two-cents about Columbia's culture though unfortunately it is not much. I went to Columbia's open house and went to speak with the professor who was representing the SMS department, as I was interested in applying there. I did not personally find him very approachable. Given that they were supposed to be "selling" their department since it was an open house, it makes me wonder what just how approachable he is under "normal" circumstances.
  5. NYC is awesome (better than Boston in my opinion -- sorry ) and the cost of living is pretty similar to Boston. So you should really decide based on the program, not the location. Columbia is ranked very highlyl, the brand name is better than BU, so that could be an argument to choose Columbia. I know it's hard to choose between two good programs. I'm trying to decide between Harvard and JHU in case you have any pointers
  6. I would reach out to them. I got my letter from them two weeks ago.
  7. Which department? I think some have been faster than others.
  8. I am in the same situation, I have left a very well-paid job to 'follow my passion'. To say I will be paid less is an understatement. At least I saved up these past few years..! I am not interested in a doctorate as I don't want to go into academia or research (though you never know). I love learning but can't really entertain the thought of being in school for another 5 years, subsisting on a stipend and putting up with academia politics (I have several close PhD friends and the stories are pretty bad). In any case I commend Emory on publishing this information, most schools don't. I think that if more schools did (especially for PhDs), there wouldn't be such a wealth of unemployed/underemployed PhD and MA grads around, especially in non STEM areas (one look at thechronicle.com is enough to make one understand how bleak the outlook for PhDs is). Of course, the schools don't really want their applicant pools to decrease.
  9. You applied for the 1-year MPH? Have you checked the SOPHAS website? According to the results page it looks like MPH admission letters have been sent out: http://www.thegradcafe.com/survey/index.php?q=hopkins For the MSPH, letters started being sent out two weeks ago.
  10. Thanks! This is very useful information, albeit somewhat sobering. I see that the range of starting salaries for many concentrations (the break-out by concentration is really useful) is around $40,000-50,000 -- it is rather depressing that the after-tax salary for an MPH grad (for a gross salary of $45,000, the after-tax would be about $35,000) is actually less than one year of MPH tuition (at the top schools). I know we don't go into public health for the big bucks, but man... You can get a lot more than $40,000 without any sort of advanced degree in many fields. When you add the cost of tuition to the forgone income for those two years of MPH, it makes me really question my intended course of action even though I have been passionate about public health all my life. As expected, Biostats grads have the best salaries. Note to self to take plenty of biostats classes. The two schools I got admitted to and am considering are Harvard (Epi) and JHU (International Health). I have not yet made up my mind, but am leaning towards Harvard.
  11. Any chance you could share a summary/highlights for #4 and #5? (I'm especially interested in salaries and sectors for the Epi and International Health concentrations, and as those two are among the most popular concentrations I assume many others are interested.) It would be really, really helpful for those of us who are trying to get an idea of what to expect after we graduate. Now that I have been admitted but with no scholarships (to top programs though), I'm doing some serious life questioning as to whether an MPH is worth the cost and forgone income for two years.
  12. Sabrosura

    Baltimore, MD

    Hi, You seem to be familiar with Baltimore, could you please give me your honest opinion as to the chances of getting mugged/assaulted. I am trying to decide between JHU and Harvard (for MPH) and since both are excellent programs, I am taking the location into consideration as well even though I would normally not care too much since I will only live there for 1-2 years. I consider myself very street smart and have made solo international trips to places that are considered not very safe (I am also female), but I also want to live in a place where I can walk around freely, and not just during the day, without fearing for my life. I have lived in NYC for the past 6 years and am used to being able to walk around, including alone, at all hours (I dance salsa so I was often out at very late hours). I understand this will not be possible in Baltimore and I am willing to concede not going out alone at night and--of course--avoiding the dangerous areas as much as possible, but I also don't want to live in a city where I will be constantly looking over my shoulder. I would not have a car so I would have to rely on public transportation. Even though I have traveled a lot internationally, I have never been "robbed at gunpoint" and would rather not spend my grad time in a place where this is likely to happen, despite my best efforts at being careful and street-smart. Thanks very much!
  13. You can get a shared place in NYC for about $1,000 (even less if you're willing to live farther). In Michigan your rent is what, $500 or so? So you're saving about $4,500 in rent per year, doesn't seem like that much compared to the yearly MPH tuition...unless you are getting in-state tuition from UM. I've lived in NY for 6 years and I think a lot of people get turned off by the perceived high cost of living, but you can live cheaply if you shop for groceries and eat at the many ethnic stores and (delicious) ethnic restaurants, and spend a good 2-3 weeks on Craigslist to find a cheap place to rent. Sure you'll be living in a closet, but that's the beauty of NYC, with so many great public spaces and libraries the entire city is your living room
  14. Thanks Nabualh1. However I see (from the Harvard thread) that you have applied for a PhD at Harvard? I've been digging up information on other sites and other pros for Harvard seem to be the ability to cross-register at the other graduate schools (Business School, Law School etc.) and the fact that they are the best at quantitative areas (Epi, Biostats), which are where the most job demand is (my Harvard offer is in the Epi department). I am really torn about what to do. I think next step is to contact the respective departments and let them try to convince me
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