carlstreator

I'm pretty sure I've already got a place lined up...met the guy looking for new roommates, saw the apartment, and have talked to the landlord over the phone. It's sooooo perfect...$550/month, heat included, and it's on the corner of Rosedale and Magnolia in Edgewater. Seriously, it's perfect location-wise for a grad student in journalism...it's 2 blocks from the Red Line, and about 35-40 mins either direction to Evanston or the Loop. I'm so pumped.

Anyone have any recommendation as to the best way to get in touch with other grad students for potential roommates? I'm already looking at apartments and think it might not be a terrible idea, and I've started looking through roommates.com, but obviously I'm not gonna pay for that site until perhaps I'd need to. Any suggestions?

Well, I'm officially headed to Evanston in September. When should I move? I was thinking about getting there some time around Labor Day. I really have nothing holding me here until I start school, so I see a few weeks early as a way to acclimated with my new city and finding a good place to live. Is that too soon, or should I start looking even sooner? I have a friend with whom I can crash in Chicago, so I think I might take a week before I move in to look for housing. Suggestions?

I applied to Columbia, Missouri, Northwestern, and NYU. I got in everywhere, except Columbia, where I'm waitlisted. Bleh. As it stands, I'm planning to go to Northwestern in the Fall, as NYU offered me nothing in terms of grants or scholarships. If I get off the waitlist at Columbia, say in June, I have no idea what I'm gonna do.

With traffic it'd definitely take longer, especially dependent on time of day. You'd have to take 270 to 670, then most likely get off at either Fourth or take 315 to the campus exit if you're in a campus parking lot. That mean's there's a good chance you'll have to take 3 freeways to get to campus. Any reason you're looking in Reynoldsburg? I mean, would the rent be that much cheaper, given how much more you might have to drive? OSU students get to ride the COTA buses as part of their fees.

Oh, and in my haste, I also forgot Grandview area for grad students. It's pretty close to campus as well. Also, I'll just weigh in with a few restaurants you have to go to at some point in your first year in Columbus: 1) The Blue Danube (my favorite restaurant, based on variety and uniqueness) 2) Hound Dog's Pizza/Ravari Room (great bar and better pizza) 3) Thurman Cafe (home of the Thurman Burger, best burger I've had) 4) Adriatico's Pizza (some say the best pizza in Columbus, I like Hound Dog's) 5) Schmidt's (German food) 6) Flying Pizza (2 slices and a drink for lunch for $4.50) 7) North Market (ethnic foods and great prices) I'm sure there are more, but seriously, these are fantastic restaurants.

Columbus is all over the place as far as rents go. Since I don't come from money and had to pay my own rent as an undergrad, I lived in some cheap-ass places, but neither was bad by student standards. The first house I lived in was at 2067 N 4th Street, just on the fringe of what's still considered the campus district. I paid $190/month for rent. The second place I lived as at 1835 N 4th Street, and I paid $235/month. I thought the houses were about equal. My landlord was very fair, and I thought it was a good deal for what I paid. People who lived in the campus district (east of campus, from High to 4th) paid at least $350/month for similar spaces. The only difference was that I had about 5 more minutes to my walk every day. I thought it was worthwhile. The houses have typical banged up woodwork, squeaky stairs and older bathrooms, but everything functions, and it's no more than a phone call to get it fixed. My landlord was My First Place, at http://my1stplace.com/ and I honestly don't work for them. I never had problems; I've heard other people complain about them, but my landlord, Bryan Dulles, was always good to me. He rented me both properties I lived in. Stay away from Buckeye Real Estate. They gouge people, IMO. To give an example of costs, I had a close friend living on Chittenden, part of the Gateway area that's been revamped in the last 5 years. Chittenden was really ghetto my first year (there were execution-style murders there in 2003) but has since been spruced up with new condos, apts, restaurants, and shopping. Gentrification in the maximum way possible. You'd never know it was so ghetto there before. That said, my friend paid $550/month for his rent. I didn't think it was worth it. Sure, the house was nice, and he had a 10 min walk to class...but I had a 15 min walk to class for $300 less per month. Additionally, people talk smack about 4th being ghetto. If you live on the west side of the street, between 15 and Oakland, you shouldn't have any problems. North Fourth is a 4 lane street, and the eastern side has a set of railroad tracks about 200-300 yards behind the houses. I'd stay away from that side of the street; somehow, the tracks bring in more riff-raff. In 3 years of living on North Fourth, I had only one incident--and it was a drunk guy stumbling home at 4 a.m. on a Tuesday. He fell off my porch after trying to get in and I called a cab--aka the Columbus Police, who gave him a place to sleep for the night. Honestly, there are more break-ins closer to campus and further South. Not to be racist, but the housing projects are on Summit and 4th Street from 5th Avenue to 10th Avenue. You don't want to be close to those areas, and don't think about walking around there at night. I know people who got jumped down there walking to the liquor store. If you're looking for cheaper rents, I suggest looking on 4th, in the middle-to-north section, like where I lived. Very cheap, and while they're not top-notch places, they're a lot better than some of the scum places undergrads live. There's far more townies on 4th where I lived. Not to mention, if you have a bike, it's all downhill to class--I could get to class through the Iuka Ravine in 5-10 mins. If not, the Campus Bus system goes all the way up North Fourth and you should be able to catch a bus to campus without much problem. Mine came at 11, 26, 41, and 56 on the hour. It ain't great living, by any means, but you could do a lot worse. Otherwise, look into other areas of Columbus for better housing. I highly suggest getting roommates to save costs. Utilities in Ohio are cheap--I paid about $100 every month, with digital cable, internet, gas, electric, and water, split 4 ways. Places like German Village and Victorian Village have beautiful homes with reasonable rents; they also boast great corner bars and restaurants. People often graduate from OSU and move on to these places; they are the 23-40 crowd, closer to the Short North arts district and the Arena District. The Clintonville area is also fantastic for students, especially grad students--my friend lived in a beautiful house on Clinton St, and paid $225/month...remodeled kitchen, fenced in yard, washer and dryer...the works. These three areas are the best balance of housing, affordability, social life, and safety. For a student, I'd rank them 1) Clintonville 2) Victorian Village and 3) German Village. German Village is further south off of High Street, so that's the knock I'd have on that area. You can take the #2 Bus either north or south to get to campus. For a student, though, I'd say Clintonville is where you should look. Any questions at all, and I'd be happy to answer questions. Columbus is a great city to live in...it's cheap, and there's plenty of stuff to do.

I'm not really thinking about doing a PhD or getting into academia. I plan to be a journalist. I thought I made that clear, but I guess I didn't. Sorry.

I didn't include Sciences Po because of the language situation. My French isn't up to snuff now for me to consider doing an MA in French. And as far as Oxbridge...well, I guess I was just being an idiot. I was reading up on Oxford the other day, and it appears their programs are 2 years. I'll have to read up on Cambridge. Really, though, I appreciate any input I can get. I've been reading up on which schools are best, but I'm a laymen on the subject.

Hello all-- I'm well aware that U.S. schools are the best choice for IR, particularly for those wishing to go into the public sector or academia. I also know that LSE is well-respected, even in the U.S. That said, I am applying for a scholarship to study outside the U.S. to attain a Master's in one year. I have to choose 5 schools in 3 different countries; no two schools can be in the same city, and I cannot apply to any schools in the U.S. or Madrid, Spain, where I have previously lived. My goal is to report internationally; I will be attending the Medill School at Northwestern this fall and will get an MSJ. I think an MA in IR will really help my career prospects--my interest is specifically on the EU, and I've previous work experience in Spain and studied Spanish literature and culture for my B.A. I'm open to just about anything, with one caveat; the language has to be English, Spanish, or French. I don't speak anything else and have to prove my proficiency to study at these places. The schools on my initial list: 1. IBEI in Barcelona 2. LSE 3. Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona 4. Universitat de Valencia in Valencia, Spain 5. College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium 6. Universidad Aut

Howdy all-- I've finally gotten my acceptance from NYU's News and Documentary program. That now puts me in a conundrum. My end goal is to be a foreign correspondent; with that in mind, I've gotten into Missouri, NYU and Northwestern and was waitlisted at Columbia. I've already turned down Mizzou, since their program lasts 2 years. Medill's program is 4 quarters, 12 months, and NYU's program is 3 semesters, or about 18 months. As it stands right now, I'll be receiving $10,000 in aid from Medill, and nothing from NYU. My question is: weighing reputation, cost of living, and potential internships/contacts, would I be better served going to Northwestern or NYU? Personally, I think I'd prefer to live in New York for school, based on the my visits to both and knowing that Northwestern isn't exactly in Chicago, but it probably isn't a great idea to be over $100,000 in debt when I graduate. I'm not sure what to do. In addition, there's the outside chance I could get off the waitlist at Columbia--but I will not be holding my breath over that one. Reaaaallllly not gonna hold my breath over that. After I finish my MS/MA in journalism, I'm strongly considering getting a degree in IR. I'm currently putting together scholarship applications to do so the following year and will be applying to schools for 2010-2011 for and MA in IR, most likely doing so at a foreign institute. So that may factor into my plans as well. Anyone who wants to weigh in on things would be greatly appreciated. I'm trying to figure things out. Thanks so much.

Howdy all-- I've finally gotten my acceptance from NYU's News and Documentary program. That now puts me in a conundrum. My end goal is to be a foreign correspondent; with that in mind, I've gotten into Missouri, NYU and Northwestern and was waitlisted at Columbia. I've already turned down Mizzou, since their program lasts 2 years. Medill's program is 4 quarters, 12 months, and NYU's program is 3 semesters, or about 18 months. As it stands right now, I'll be receiving $10,000 in aid from Medill, and nothing from NYU. My question is: weighing reputation, cost of living, and potential internships/contacts, would I be better served going to Northwestern or NYU? Personally, I think I'd prefer to live in New York for school, based on the my visits to both and knowing that Northwestern isn't exactly in Chicago, but it probably isn't a great idea to be over $100,000 in debt when I graduate. I'm not sure what to do. In addition, there's the outside chance I could get off the waitlist at Columbia--but I will not be holding my breath over that one. Reaaaallllly not gonna hold my breath over that. Anyone who wants to weigh in on things would be greatly appreciated. I'm trying to figure things out. Thanks so much.

I'm not going to Mizzou for an MS. I got into Medill, and their program is only one year, as opposed to two at Mizzou. 1 year in Chicago > 2 years in Missouri

Hey all-- I apologize if this seems like self-promotion; I'm just trying to get the word out because I think I will be helping people like me in the future. Anyway, I've started a blog detailing the process of applying to, getting into, and life during graduate school in journalism. It's still in very early stages, as far as appearance goes, and I plan to add more user interactivity in the future (i.e. answering questions) but the address is: www.broadcastoutcast.com I hope to make it a place where people who are thinking about grad school in journalism can go to get a glimpse of life on the inside...that almost sounds like jail. Well, you get the idea. I surely have my own biases and stupid ideas, but hopefully prospective students can glean something from my experience. Thanks, and I hope everyone gets to the schools they want!

Got word from NU yesterday...I got accepted, but turned down for the Knight Fellowship. No big. Hopefully other acceptances start rolling in.

Has anyone heard from Medill? I received an email last week saying I would hear back on Mar. 1 at midnight, and didn't get anything today. Call me disappointed upon coming home from the bar last night and not having any status update. Bleh.

A few emails I got yesterday and today: Dear XXXX: If you have been checking your online application account, you will see that your file is currently "in review." I wanted to take a moment to explain the next steps in the process. If your application was complete by the priority deadline date, January 15, a decision will be available in your secure online application account by midnight, Central Time, on March 1. After you log in, look at the first screen to see if a decision is available (you may need to scroll down a bit); if so, click on the link provided to receive your decision. If we contacted you after January 15 because we were missing items from your file, a decision will be available a few days to a few weeks after March 1, depending on when your file was completed. If you don't see a decision by the time you think you should, please call me and we'll look into it for you. We post decisions electronically for the convenience of applicants who wish to receive their decisions as soon as possible. Please be assured that you will also receive a hard copy decision letter in the mail, about a week to 10 days after your decision is posted online. The Graduate Admissions staff at Medill takes great pride in the personal service we provide to applicants, answering questions and explaining requirements. While we don't provide admissions decisions to callers, you are welcome to contact us for general information and assistance. Whatever the outcome, we genuinely thank you for your interest in Medill, and we hope that your experience interacting with our Office throughout the application process has been a pleasant one. Sincerely, Anne Penway Director, Graduate Admissions and Financial Aid Medill School at Northwestern University 1845 Sheridan Road Evanston, IL 60208 847-467-1238 ---------- Dear Applicant, Thank you for applying to the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. We are in the process of reviewing your application. Here are some updates regarding the application and financial aid process. Admissions Notification: Please check your online profile to make sure your application is complete. Only complete applications will be sent to the admissions committee. We will begin notifying all applicants of their admissions and financial aid decisions via email between March 23 and April 1. We appreciate your patience during this time. For applicants admitted to the School, we will host an Open House event in New York City on April 17-18. More details to come. Scholarship Aid Form: If you are interested in financial aid but have not submitted a Scholarship Aid Form, please do so immediately. The Scholarship Aid Form can be accessed by signing into your online application: https://app.applyyourself.com/?id=col-jour. The "Scholarship Aid Form" is located underneath the "Application for Admission." The deadline to submit this form and the FAFSA (http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/) is Friday, March 6. Please feel free to contact us with further questions. Thank you, The Office of Admissions and Financial Aid Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism 2950 Broadway, 203 Journalism MC 3800 New York, NY 10027 T: 212-854-8608 F: 212-854-2352 Anyway, so things are progressing. Here's to checking my accounts every 2 hours for the next month.

What's up all. After going through a slew of interviews and class-sit ins, along with talking to students and advisors...I was thinking strongly of documenting the process of getting into J-school and also what life is like during that time. I think it would be beneficial for people who are in the same position as I am now and was in planning this whole ordeal out. I can cover my admissions/rejections, decision making, financial aid leveraging...and then I was thinking of a twitter perhaps to give a glimpse into the busy life of a J-schooler. So...does this seem like something that would have interested you before you got into your respective schools? I feel like I would really have wanted to see something like this, if only to know better what things are like at various J-schools. Let me know what you think, as well as any suggestions of what you'd want to see/hear about.

hey paperweight: i'm actually in nyc right now visiting columbia and nyu...the admissions officer at columbia told me yesterday that word is going out earlier this year than normal; i was expecting to not hear back from them until mid- to late april, but she told me they're trying to let everyone know by march 22. that's a positive for us. but otherwise...nope, i've not heard a thing yet. i expect to hear from northwestern first, even though it was the last app i turned in. strange. that should be around march 1, from all i gather. good luck to you.

I've applied to Columbia, Northwestern, NYU, and Missouri for an MS or MA (depending on school) in Journalism. I guess I'm shooting high, but I figured I'd be alright...I had a 3.77 at OSU and scored 1400+ on my GRE. I've felt pretty confident all along, but I'm doubting there's much chance for me to get funding. With the number of applicants going up this year, I have a feeling it's going to be more competitive than even a year or two ago. Yuck. No words yet, though. I expect first word to start rolling in around Mar. 1. Here's hoping.