GoBears80

Similar to belevitt above, my position is in academia and definitely a temporary one - I was hired on for a year, with the expectation that I would be going back to grad school in a year. And similar to Stories, my boss threw me a party with a cake (no CUNY logo, though - damn!) when I got the much-awaited acceptance. Nevertheless, I've worked for the same professor for over 3 years (2 as her grad. research assistant and now as her full-time research coordinator), and lately I've been interviewing people to replace me. Last week, we found "the one," and it's so odd to see her interacting with my boss and to know that I won't be here in two months! I think this is all amplified my anxiety about moving and starting an intense new program. Part of me just wants to stay here and hide (and not be broke :wink: )

For the future Temple and Penn students out there, my room in the Fairmount/Art Museum/Brewerytown area will be available in August! It's super-convenient to Temple (~10' bike ride), and it only takes me about 20' to get to Penn. The room is a spacious 10 x 13, with an unusual amount of storage space for a Philly house, and a lot of natural light. The apartment is a 3 bedroom; you'll be sharing a bathroom and kitchen with one Temple grad student and one art school student, both exceedingly awesome. $400, heat included. PM me if you're interested... bonus points if you have a 2 bedroom apartment in NYC to swap! (Totally kidding... kind of.)

I can't advise about University-sponsored grad student housing, as I went to Cal for undergrad. However, I also grew up in the area so I can suggest some neighborhoods. In my opinion, North Berkeley is where it's at - a fantastic mix of quiet neighborhoods with big houses (convenient for those of you interested in finding a share/renting out a room), convenient to several bus lines and outdoorsy things like Tilden Park, not to mention the "gourmet ghetto" of Shattuck Ave. and the also-decent restaurants/shops along Solano. I'd advise grad students against living too close to the university, especially near the Greek houses on the south and east borders of campus, for obvious reasons. The north side of campus is generally quieter than the south. If you're on a very tight budget, there are some good deals to be found near the North Oakland/Berkeley border, particularly off of Telegraph/MLK/Shattuck Aves near Ashby. College Avenue in North Oakland (Rockridge/Claremont) is also nice, but might be a bit pricier. All of those would be a short bike or bus commute to campus. I have some friends who have also lived successfully in Emeryville, but that's a bit of a hike. If you're into communal living, definitely check out the university's co-op system. The vegetarian house, Lothlorien, is awesome. Good luck to all, and GO BEARS!

Eget, I'm in a similar situation - moving from Philly to most likely Brooklyn. The only source I know of for affordable shares is Craigslist, so I'm all over that. Good luck to both of us!

I'm happy. I'm scared. More coffee!

I lived in LA for a couple of years, and will be moving to NYC at the end of the summer for school, so I am only half-informed on this. I would guess, however, that if you lived comfortably in LA on $27k, then you'll be fine in NYC on $32k. Of course, the main difference between the two cities that I'm assuming you'll have working in your favor is that you will no longer have the major costs associated with having to drive everywhere (LA), and will therefore be spending considerably less for transportation (hooray, NYC subways!). The rest depends on where you want/need to live, and what rent will be. I think general costs-of-living in the two cities are pretty similar, depending on where you are in LA.

I am right there with you, abluedude. I'm so excited to start school again, and to finally study EXACTLY what I'm interested in! But simultaneously, I am terrified. I'm moving from one of the least-expensive cities on the east coast, to what I've gathered is the most expensive (NYC). I have a panic attack every time I go on Craigslist to look at apartments, because the stipend I'll be getting from my program will - if I'm lucky - be just barely enough to live on. For now, I am working two jobs, saving every penny I can, and hoping for the best...

Congrats to everyone on this thread! It's such a relief to know that you are going somewhere! When my first acceptance came in the mail, my roommate IM'd me at work: "Uhh, I don't want to alarm you, but you just got a big envelope here from Rutgers... can I open it?" So he ended up "reading" it to me over IM. Good times.

In response to OP: Call me overly-thorough, but I've found it's best to send that thank you email, or email to acknowledge receipt of information. With our rapidly-growing technological capabilities, I think we often forget about the impact that a simple thank-you note can have, especially on a prospective advisor or admissions staff person! When I'm wondering whether I should email a VIP, I always think, " would I rather Professor X think that I am overly-thorough and considerate in my communication style, or wonder whether I even received his/her email." I err on the former, and I think it's worked out pretty well for me. In response to ElusiveMuse's question: I spend a large part of my work days following up with and/or tracking down overly-busy faculty members and other professionals, as I am a research coordinator. I tend to email once, then if I get no response, I email again in a very nice tone, responding to my original email (so they can see that I've emailed twice now). WIth prospective faculty people, I'd leave it at that if they don't respond, or leave just one voicemail (some faculty are "old-fashioned" and don't really "do" email, so you might get a response this way). If still nothing, move on to someone else for your needs. That's just my standard operation procedure. Good luck!

Hello, has anyone heard from CUNY/John Jay about their PhD program? I am in at Temple and Rutgers, but waiting on CUNY and Penn. Thanks, and good luck to everyone!