Galahad

From my understanding each school has agreements with certain banks as far as their international students are concerned. Normally banks ask for social security numbers which foreigners don't have at the start (you can get one later on down the road which makes life MUCH easier) but until then, the banks which your university works with normally are lenient towards foreigners provided you have a student ID. This was the story w/me and PNC bank for my undergrad at UPenn. I think the TD option sounds good too but I'd check w/your bank in Canada. I'm guessing it would be more economical on the simple basis that I know somebody who has both a Canadian and a US TD account and they just transfer between them when necessary. And DEFINITELY ask about your credit history continuing, that would be a huge bonus worth taking!

Most welcome Yoshite! Also check out the New Deck Tavern on 34-35th St and Sansom. It's a LOVELY pub and take careful note of their 1/2 price appetizer night (don't know which night it is... whoops!). They have a minimum requirement for number of appetizers you need to order but those things are huge. Myself and two friends would usually grab a different appetizer each, split it up and still take leftovers home. Oh and their warm apple cider is addictive, haven't found a decent substitute since I finished up UPenn. They have it non-alcoholic too.

Yoshite, there are a few ways: 1) Befriend somebody (maybe online) who is just finishing their studies and buy their furniture at a fraction of the cost. 2) Buy the cheapest stuff and bare essentials at IKEA, Target, etc 3) Go to www.craigslist.com and look up your city. Go to the "For Sale" area and before you check the stuff actually for sale, look at the "free" section. Sometimes people give away vacuums, couches,beds, etc. If you spread it out over a month and aren't picky about things matching and/or clashing odds are you'll have most of your apartment furnished for free. Lots of my friends in college did this when they chose to live off campus and it worked out great!

Welcome. I wasn't asked by the IRS to show proof (read: receipts, bills, etc) of it but I've heard of cases where people were so remember to keep those in a safe place too.

I wrote to mine (email as I already did really nice cards over the holidays and included them) and personally thanked them for the letters as well as all the guidance they gave me in my undergrad career. Turns out they still want to keep in touch and as one of them did the same MA program I'm going to, he gave me class recommendations and told me to let him know if I have any sorts of questions at all. *super happy*

23. Finished college and took a gap year (in Disney's entertainment department...). Off to a MA which should be done by the time I'm 25. And PhD hoping I'll be 29 by the time that is said and done.

Film. Underneath it: - Directing - Producing - Cinema/Film Studies - Scriptwriting Etc. As a film studies person myself I'm seeing it half scattered across the arts and the humanities. Would be nice to find a place to put it even though I myself am quite unsure as to which is more appropriate. Media studies is, imho, humanities but film studies is halfway there and halfway w/the other film stuff. I guess I just want unity?

Think of it as being paid to do paperwork then. Oh and if you have to move from Canada to the US for your program, you can count the moving expense as a deductible so you get even more money. I'm guilty as charged of this one and yes, it did help out a tiny bit. But every bit counts.

I'm using DoorToDoor to get my stuff from Philadelphia to NYC and it's still pricy but much much better than other stuff I've found as well as still much cheaper than getting all my stuff bought again. Then again, I have a lot of crap largely because I have a furnished apartment and do costume design on the side (fabric hoarding when on sale so I can make pretty stuff to sell). Here, they have $500 off moving specials this month so if you ask now to keep your quote secure till [whenever you need to move] for a small deposit you can get it solved and save up while at it. http://www.doortodoor.com/ <--- They also do storage and proved the be the most affordable ones I could find while I was abroad. And their customer service is great! As for books, ship them w/Media Mail folks.

"Honorary Torontonian"... yup I'll take the title gladly as well. Don't mean to get all super-crazy-creepy but if you want to meet up to discuss NYU and whatnot in person I'm down for it!

By ranking yes, I know in 2010 it was rated as #1 not sure what the more recent rankings are.

I have a 15'' Dell but I don't take it with me to class. I'm old fashioned and have a love for paper and pen.

3 a semester for a total of 2 years (12 courses) for my program (Cinema Studies). Still leaves some time to do stuff on the side but this is considered a full-time course load.

Applied to 5, accepted to 2. One of the acceptances was my top choice by a mile so I'm happy.

This. It's tricky and complicated and best. If you travel while on OPT, please carry a leter from your employer or your employment contract or something. It can mean the world!