Columbia University

[tamirat]

I am a grad student in railway engineering. I would like to ask if a laptop is really necessary. I dont have one now. Please tell me the way how to deal with this situation.

[neuroendocrinology]

Reviving this thread - anyone else going to Columbia this Fall? I am entering their Neurobiology & Behavior Ph.D. Program. 

[CreamTea]

I am attending SIPA. Any news on International House? Who is living there right now? Is it clean? I've heard horror stories but I really want to consider living in the South building rooms

[Kadisha]

I think there's more than one thread of these going on which is an issue. Either I'm attending SIPA as well.

 

ASEANdumpling, I can ask a friend that is currently attending Columbia and lives in the housing what he's heard about it. 

[soaps]

People need to adjust their expectations for NYC housing in general. You can probably expect to have at least a few things wrong with the room or apartment even with a $1000/mo price tag. Most of the buildings up here are pre-war and therefore not as luxurious on the inside as they are on the outside. It looks like International House is directly aligning Riverside Park, and while it's a bit north, it's a beautiful area.

I'd be curious to know what some of the horror stories are, though, to see if they're consistent with NYC living in general. 

[Kadisha]

People need to adjust their expectations for NYC housing in general. You can probably expect to have at least a few things wrong with the room or apartment even with a $1000/mo price tag. Most of the buildings up here are pre-war and therefore not as luxurious on the inside as they are on the outside. It looks like International House is directly aligning Riverside Park, and while it's a bit north, it's a beautiful area.

I'd be curious to know what some of the horror stories are, though, to see if they're consistent with NYC living in general. 

 

I'm curious as well.

 

I'm also curious to see what the "horror" witnessed truly was. Let's be honest. A lot of people can be fussy over the silliest things, especially if they've been accustomed to luxury living. 

[CreamTea]

Cockroaches- lots of them

and horrible smelling hallways

 

read the yelp and yahoo reviews for international house

[Kadisha]

Cockroaches- lots of them

and horrible smelling hallways

 

read the yelp and yahoo reviews for international house

 

I find it difficult to believe that:

 

A. An institution such as Columbia would allow such conditions to exist.

B. That the NYC Health and Sanitation would allow such conditions to exist.

 

Let's be serious here. 

 

While I wouldn't doubt that such conditions might have existed at one point it would be ridiculous to assume that they are still there and have not be handled. 

 

PS: If you go to Yelp for serious reviews about anything other than food then I feel bad for you.

Edited April 7, 2013 by Kadisha

[soaps]

I can believe people having cockroaches if they're isolated incidents but the city/university would take that very seriously. Some of the Yelp reviewers are complaining about stupid things, though, like fees for having an AC, for locking themselves out of their rooms, etc. People expect free AC? And to have it installed for free? It is also a luxury to have staff available to let you back into your apartment... would they prefer paying $300 for a locksmith to let them back in?

 

As for smelly hallways, I don't think I've lived anywhere in NYC that didn't have a smelly lobby/interior. These are old buildings. If that bothers anyone, you won't survive a summer here when the entire city starts to reek.

 

Anyway, if you're used to clinical, perfect suburban housing, adjust your expectations for NYC.

Edited April 7, 2013 by soaps

[Kadisha]

Anyway, if you're used to clinical, perfect suburban housing, adjust your expectations for NYC.

 

Summarized right there.

[Denisse]

Living in NYC seems to perfectly reasonable if you are moving with roommates. I was going kind of crazy looking at price tags for 1 bedroom or trying to find subletting, etc. until my bf and I decided to move in together. Now, looking at prices for a 1 bedroom that will be shared between two people brings down the costs to totally reasonable levels for housing. Of course, if you're not sharing a bedroom, it might still be crazy!

[CreamTea]

actually, I don't find the fees onerous so that's why i didn't mention them. i think the poster was whining too much

 

I asked a SIPA grad and she said Columbia housing (apartments) had roaches too. yes, there is a university service that treats for roaches- I think you sign up your dorm room on some board and they will come. 

 

uh, I lived in places where roaches are huge and can fly but i just prefer to avoid them if I can. i am from a humid developing country and baygon is very popular on tv commercials. however, it has a lot to do with the setting/construction of the house and you can avoid them if lucky

 

 

I'm an international student but I lived in NY (Chelsea) and there were mice all the time. I've seen them- they don't seem to be afraid of people. People were putting door guards in their dorm rooms. City never did anything about it- not when I was there or before. Never saw roaches but I figured if mice were common in that building maybe some other buildings have roaches. 

 

these are old but it's from a columbia site: http://goaskalice.columbia.edu/do-cockroaches-carry-contagion

http://goaskalice.columbia.edu/safe-non-toxic-way-get-rid-roaches

 

Roaches are not that easy to get rid of especially in old houses/humid conditions. i-house can try to get garbage out asap

 

no worries, it's the first time I've used yelp for anything since I am not familiar with it but yahoo mentions it too. 

 

Now, the upside is that I think some (maybe a third) of the dorm rooms were renovated recently. i think that people who lived there post renovation have found it to be much cleaner. someone specifically told me that her floor was clean and i found it interesting that she wouldn't vouch for the whole building  but just said that her floor's RAs do a really good job keeping it clean. 

[soaps]

I've been here a few years and I've never dealt with mice/roaches. I had a cockroach fall on me in the stairway once, but that was it. If you take care of your trash and don't let food stay out, you'll be fine. Most people who deal with roaches do not keep clean apartments.

If you do get roaches, it's your landlord's responsibility to get rid of them. If they don't, you contact the city. That goes for bed bugs and most apartment problems.

 

Anyway, no one should be scared away by these isolated incidents. They're rare.

Edited April 12, 2013 by soaps

[Arcanen]

I visited I-House while I was in New York a while back, it was incredible. The rooms may not be the fanciest ever, but other factors more than make up for it. The facilities (fitness center, auditorium, gymnasium, dining hall, bar, computer rooms, fancy as all heck study rooms etc) were stunning. More than that, there was a real sense of community. The random night I visited I saw people studying together, chilling together, eating together, watching movies together, playing volleyball together etc. I was taken around by random students  (who normally don't take people on tours) who I met through a friend, and they knew practically everyone we ran into while walking through the buildings. Pretty remarkable in a community of like 800 grad students. If you read their website, they also seem to run an absurd number of events.

 

Considering all the other options for Columbia students are pretty isolated apartment buildings, I-House is a must for anyone who's interested in the community aspect and residential college life thing. Spots are limited though, so don't take up a spot if you're not interested in participating in what is on offer there.

[rockbender]

Wow this thread is kind of depressing with all the talk about roaches and mice and other critters... 

 

How about... what are you most looking forward to at Columbia this fall?

[soaps]

Wow this thread is kind of depressing with all the talk about roaches and mice and other critters... 

 

How about... what are you most looking forward to at Columbia this fall?

 

It's really nothing to worry about... that's what happens when people read Yelp reviews. If we went by that, every restaurant/building in the city would be shut down.  

I'm looking forward to engaging everything about Columbia's intellectual culture/environment, whether it's the World Leaders Forum or just sitting at the Hungarian cafe on Amsterdam chatting with other grad. students...

 

Edited April 25, 2013 by soaps

[jjackstraw]

Hi all! I'll be joining Columbia SEAS this fall. Is there a Facebook group (or anything of that sort) where I can meet/speak with other people who are going?