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!

This is correct. I'd also suggest using TurboTax.com (it's free!) for your taxes. I used them when I had a paying internship under OPT and their calculations were right and I got my return on time and everything. I've tried a few other programs and this one turned out to be the most idiot-proof one. And while you WILL get money back for taxes most likely (I was told by my school's ISSS that 90% of foreign students do) do NOT budget on it. I find a lot of people over calculate and it's better to budget wisely and then have extra money for a rainy day then count your chickens before they hatch.

Oh, about the good places being gone in August. That's a risk but there's not toooo much that cna be done to have it averted. Obviously NO place will let you rent in August if it's vacant in April. That means that the landlord is losing money as nobody is living there April - July and he'd rather rent it out to somebody now instead of later. Business is business. HOWEVER, what you can do is browse agencies that have places you like (budget-wise and whatnot) thus far and email the landlord and/or agent and let them know that THIS is what you are after and for them to let you know what they will have vacant in August as soon as possible. That way if there is a waitlist or some other trick, you'll have first dibs. Most agents will contact you in the beginning of July in that case as only then they'll know what's free in August (in most cases). So yes, start looking but don't expect you'll get exactly apartment 2B on street 24 with the park view. Telll the agent that this size/price/neighboorhood/etc is what you want and in July you'll get a good pick of whatever may be available. And let them know IN ADVANCE you are an international student. That way you aren't disappointed later on down the road. Personally I found a few great buildings w/cheap studios in safe neighborhoods in Brookllyn that I like. I like one of them more than the other 3 but I contacted all 4 just to be on the safe side. Might not be enough and I'm still hunting but get in touch with the leasing folks as soon as you can so they can help you out. It's great when you'll know stuff in July before they'll put it on their websites. Sneak peek much?

Your best bet are the food trucks. I lived off those and quit the meal plan becuase it was too expensive in my undergraduate years. Some of the best ones are: * Hemo's @ 38th + Locust * Yu Kee's Chinese (their lunch specials are a fabulous value!) @ 38th + Locust * Kim's Korean @ 37th + Walnut...close to the Pottruck Fitness Center There are also places like Greek Lady on 40th + Locust that my roommate and I were obsessed with as the portions were so big they could last for dinner 2 days in a row, especially their salads! And Smokey's (a bar on 40th + Locust) had days where hotdogs were $1 (I forgot which day of the week, sorry!!!) so that was a good place to "hang out" when broke. There is a Chinese take-out place on 42nd + Walnut I'd order from at times on campusfood.com (learn to love that site!!!) and had the bestest General Tso's chicken. Copa Bananas on 38th + Spruce isn't the cheapest... but on Wednesday's at lunch all their burgers were half price so I usually did that. And their burgers are AMAZING, plus you gotta try their spanish fries. Finally, Allegro's pizza on 37th (or 38th... can't remember) and Spruce had WONDERFUL slices of pizza that were huge and cost $3. They also have loads of drinks. I LOVED going to City Tap House too although that one's pricier. What I did was go to www.restaurant.com and get a coupon for the place for cheaper (and I used www.mrrebates.com to find the coupon). Basically would pay $8 for a nice restaurant meal every so often just because I could wing it. The most expensive places were the ones located around the Inn at Penn, notably the Italian Restaurant Penne and the Pod sushi bar. I only went to Penne for my graduation dinner as my parents treated me and to the Pod when I was lucky enough for my program to treat us to a free dinner there. And finally... Chinatown. Mong Kok's Bakery (I think it was called that) had fabulous Bubble tea and pastries while the regular restaurant a block before the bakery (can't remember street name... arrgggh!!!) was fabulous too. Fresh produce in Chinatown was cheaper than elsewhere so I'd went there every once in a while when I wanted an outing, to save money, and a change of scenery. Okay, so that's where I mostly ate in my undergrad yrs at UPenn.

First of all, CONGRATULATIONS to everybody. You've taken a first step into a larger world and should be proud of yourselves. I'm first-generation but I'm not low-income. My parents managed to have a LOAD of luck in their lives (we're Croatian and moved to Dubai back in the 80s) without going on to higher education but as nobody's gone ahead through grad school and I'm also international there is a LOT of "figure it out on your own" I get to deal with. As my brother's struggling with his academics sometimes I feel like I get to parent him on that end too.

Hi there! I managed to live off campus in my sophomore-senior yr of my undergrad and I didn't have any credit rating at all. What I suggest you do is first of all, mention that you're an international student. Then bring your I-20 (and passport as ID proof AND student ID) to the leasing office of your landlord to show them that by US law, you needed X amount of money to enter the country in the first place. Given the amount of money X is, a fraction of that is allocated to housing expenses (it will say on the I-20 how much it is). Within that budget you are allowed to have a house off-campus. Now I'm talking about renting. As for buying, I'm not sure as I've never been there. But I got fed up of dorm life and one day walked around town and when I found something within budget that was decent I just went for it. Hope I made sense, ask away if I don't!

Glad to hear I could help, and the 60 days great period is lovely I will agree. I actually once did ask an advisor at ISSS about how was I expected to move out and leave the country the very same day I graduated. o.O Thank goodness this is not the case!

-hermes- and omigoshlolz... I'm glad I'm not alone! Technically I'm not a Canadian but my mom and brother live in Mississauga, I'm originally from Croatia and went to UPenn for my undergrad. But yes, the world suddenly seems like a much smaller place! Anyways, I'm accepted to Tisch for a MA in cinema studies and hoping that I'll be able to extend it on to a PhD.

After having some HORRIBLE roommate situations in the past I'm well over living with roommates again in my life if I can avoid it. I have lots of friends in Brooklyn who I met through my hobbies and they are helping me find a studio of my own for roughly $1000 a month. While it may be about $150 a month more than sharing and I'm not in a hip part of town, I really don't mind. I know how to live on a budget in other aspects and as a person who enjoys her "me" time, I'd rather spend the money on my own space than going to bars and whatnot.

Greetings Vijay! Your son should contact the ISSS (International Student and Scholar Services) about this particular situation. From what I know about OPT, it can begin up to 60 days following the graduation date. Personally, I'd take those sixty days so if he doesn't finish on time and still needs 3 credits, he can have summer courses. The other case is that he cannot even begin OPT until those 3 credits are complete but this depends on the disgression of the advisors at ISSS. Have your son contact them, they'l give the best advice.

It happens. I applied to NYU Steinhardt and heard from them only this morning, eleven days AFTER the national reply date by email that I was rejected. >.< Still got into my 1st choice so all was cool but still... it's not unusual, unfortunately.