Weill Cornell Housing Concerns??

[jordy_protein]

So I just recently found out that I was invited to interview for the Physiology, Biophysics, and Systems Biology (PBSB) Ph.D. program (Jan 20-22). Of course I'll find out more when I visit but does anyone have insight into housing here? I read that most of the apartments are shared or you can live in a dorm-style building. I'll be moving with my long-term boyfriend and we definitely want a one bedroom or a studio to ourselves. Is this possible if we're not married? 

[juilletmercredi]

The requirements for family housing at Weill Cornell are available on their website. Their studios, 1- and 2-bedroom apartments are limited, so they have instituted an eligibility policy. If you're not married, you have to be domestic partners, which means you have to have registered for a domestic partnership in NYC. You also have to show joint management of household expenses for at least one year prior to moving in, which could mean a joint bank account, joint mortgage or lease, designation of your boyfriend as an insurance beneficiary or registration as domestic partners in some other jurisdiction.

So if you have been living together for some time and you have one of those above, and are willing to get registered as domestic partners in New York City within 30 days of moving, then yes, you can probably get a one-bedroom or studio to yourselves if they have any left when you apply.

I'd advise you to take a two-pronged approach. Apply for housing with Weill Cornell, but also look for housing on the open market. Familiarize yourself with neighborhoods in the area and be prepared to launch a search over the summer of 2016 if you don't get housing. (The Washington Heights neighborhood, where New York Presbyterian Hospital and a lot of the laboratories and clinical facilities for Weill Cornell are housed, is pretty inexpensive relative to the rest of Manhattan. However, if most of your classes and your lab are going to be on the UES where the residence halls are, it's a pain in the butt to get from the west side to the east side. However, I'd also look in Queens, like Astoria and Long Island City. Those neighborhoods are nice and a straight shot to the UES.)

Edited December 21, 2015 by juilletmercredi

[jordy_protein]

Thanks so much! I'll look into that!

[Immunolog]

I'm in the same boat with the same school. From what I could gather, the domestic partnership, along with some evidence of commitment, must be in place one year before applying for housing. The students told me couples get priority on the studios and one bedrooms, and that people are constantly leaving. I hope that you can get into the student housing by second year. 

Please post if you find some more concrete information.