Graduate Institute Geneva (IHEID) - Fall 2016

[taeyeon]

Yep, this makes zero sense... really does make you wonder if there was an allocation process at all. Or perhaps we're understanding the scholarship criteria wrong and they're allocating the rolms to people without scholarships?  I hope we can get back an answer within March from wherever we'll be staying. If only renting on your own wasn't such a hassle, I'd almost suggest some of us get together and rent a flat rather than rely on student housing. Is anyone else put off by how Swiss student housing insists on cleaning your rooms and changing your linens? I'd be fine just doing that myself without worrying about someone poking around in my room.

Edited February 13, 2016 by taeyeon

[RoyaleGVA]

12 hours ago, taeyeon said:

Same here, @kotsa. I'm kind of surprised honestly, cause I'm assuming that I can't apply for the same option next time so I'm already searching up other housing options now.

Also, they still haven't replied to the email I sent 11 days ago... wonder what's going on over there 

@RoyaleGVa Welcome! By 'long back' do you mean back in January?  It's been barely a month but seems a lot longer.

 

 

9 hours ago, Kate_rina said:

Hi guys! Seems that everybody's had bad news today, me not being an exception. I wonder if anybody at all here among us has succeeded? 

To be honest, I am quite upset as I was hoping to get at least "the third option" in the list, but eventually got nothing. It appears finally that these places are indeed very hard to obtain, if at all possible. It is written that they consider: geographical distance (I assume that Russia is far enough=)), scholarship (I have a full one as most of us here) and academic profile (ok, maybe they didn't consider me strong enough on this criteria, but then they've offered me a full scholarship, was it only due to social conditions??). So, that's a very-very sad surprise. 

I have a friend at the Institute who is currently on a programme and lives at the Student House. She explained me today that though the process was not problematic for her (as she is on some special one-year law programme, and there are places reserved for them exclusively), for others it was. But interestingly, some of the students obtained a room for the second semester. So, such a chance also exists. 

Off-topic: my status has after all changed to "confirmed" only today! More than two weeks after the payment... 

And welcome @RoyaleGVa! Yeah, I understand, it's a bit weird that only a month has passed since our admission=))) feels like ages=) 

@taeyeon @Kate_rina First of all Thank you for such a warm welcome ^__^ Yes, long back meant in January! hahaha  Even I was denied accommodation ( as of now - still hoping for some good result)  and I was really surprised as I was thinking the same like you guys. I have applied for RUI and I think we should not take a risk, let us just skip thinking about this, maybe they will allot the rooms after results are out for regular admission guys too. 
By the way I opted for medium floor, maybe they did not like my demands!!*fingers crossed for the next round*

[RoyaleGVA]

38 minutes ago, taeyeon said:

Yep, this makes zero sense... really does make you wonder if there was an allocation process at all. Or perhaps we're understanding the scholarship criteria wrong and they're allocating the rolms to people without scholarships?  I hope we can get back an answer within March from wherever we'll be staying. If only renting on your own wasn't such a hassle, I'd almost suggest some of us get together and rent a flat rather than rely on student housing. Is anyone else put off by how Swiss student housing insists on cleaning your rooms and changing your linens? I'd be fine just doing that myself without worrying about someone poking around in my room.

I do not think so that they will allot rooms to people "without scholarship"  first, I think they are just waiting for all the admitted students to enrol first so that they allot rooms collectively, it will be easier for them too. And, I was in touch with an alumnus and he said that it is very normal, they will might reject  your offer even if you come from mars and have a full scholarship, just do not lose hope, apply for some other accommodation options meanwhile and relax! 
And as far as "changing linens"  is concerned, I got to know that they will regularly change it for us ( like once a week or once in 15 days ) and this is very normal thing, In all other hostels they also provide this service.And, once you get admitted, I suppose you can ask them to remove this service from your application/package!

[ARadiata]

Congratulations @RoyaleGVa!

I have a question about the application to the other accommodations available. Most of these places are asking for an 'immatriculation request' date or certificate of registration, by this do they mean our 'Admission Attestation' letter that we have received? Just wanted to confirm. The terminology used is a little confusing. 

Thanks guys! 

 

[RoyaleGVA]

5 hours ago, ARadiata said:

Congratulations @RoyaleGVa!

I have a question about the application to the other accommodations available. Most of these places are asking for an 'immatriculation request' date or certificate of registration, by this do they mean our 'Admission Attestation' letter that we have received? Just wanted to confirm. The terminology used is a little confusing. 

Thanks guys! 

 

Thank you @ARadiata So, you are right as far as I know they are asking for the same because that is the latest and the most aunthentic letter we have got from our institute,Even I have uploaded that document.

[Mangrovia]

Hey guys! Haven't checked the forum for a while, but here I am. First off, congrats to @Kate_rina, @ARadiata and @RoyaleGVa on your admissions! It'll be my pleasure to meet you all in Geneva in a few months!

As far as the Student House application goes, as most of you, I did not get any room (plus, I haven't gotten any scholarship either, so their selection process makes even less sense now). I was waiting to get their answer before starting to look for and apply to other housing solutions, but apparently you are all way ahead of me and I have to catch you up! Which accommodations have you guys applied to so far?

 And @taeyeon, yes, I believe that sharing a flat would be a pretty smart move of us, but I am afraid you should be on site to do so, as many landlords want to meet you in person before agreeing on renting you their place! As I told you a couple of weeks ago, I'll be probably going to the Admitted Students Day on April 5th, have a look around and let you guys know.

Edited February 13, 2016 by Mangrovia

[Chaska]

I'm so disappointed... I also didn't get a room.

Looking around at where we all come from, it would seem that we would get selected... 

There must be a lot of demand I guess. I've applied to two other university residences and am awaiting results... Though IHEID's accommodation would be ideal. Don't like the idea of a sharing a kitchen with so many people... Sigh. 

Edited February 14, 2016 by Chaska

[ARadiata]

Thanks @RoyaleGVa and @Mangrovia. ?

The Geneva forums weren't kidding when they discussed the shortage of accommodation in the city. I doubt the institute has any free rooms at all, especially seeing not one of us got in. 

@Mangrovia I have applied to the accommodations offered by University of Geneva so far. Will apply to the rest in the next few days. 

[RoyaleGVA]

1 hour ago, ARadiata said:

Thanks @RoyaleGVa and @Mangrovia. ?

The Geneva forums weren't kidding when they discussed the shortage of accommodation in the city. I doubt the institute has any free rooms at all, especially seeing not one of us got in. 

@Mangrovia I have applied to the accommodations offered by University of Geneva so far. Will apply to the rest in the next few days. 

@Mangrovia Thank you for your wishes  Even I am excited to meet everybody this fall  @ARadiataI could not find the link to university of geneva hostel , can you forward me its link , if possible  

[ARadiata]

@RoyaleGVa, here you go: http://cite-uni.unige.ch/en/nos-hebergements/resident/

[RoyaleGVA]

Oh so this is the one !!! I have submitted my application here as well ! Thanks a lot @ARadiata  

[ARadiata]

Welcome @RoyaleGVa! You're from New Delhi!? 

[taeyeon]

@Mangrovia If it's a challenge to find housing by April, we might just need to rely on your in-person presence! 

So far I've applied to RUI, which was actually my first choice, and Cité Universitaire. Now I regret not applying to either of these places first alongside Picciotto... Cité Universitaire's registration process confused me at first because I couldn't see IHEID in the list. Then I realized it's available in the Faculty section after selecting master's level, haha. UniGE's own residences (here) seem great and affordable to boot, but it says IHEID students will be given least priority since we've got Picciotto

[ARadiata]

@taeyeon Yes I was thinking the same, that I should have applied to these places earlier. Somehow I am not too optimistic about these places. We might just have to rent flats or rooms in the city. @Mangrovia Hope you will be able to get more information on this and fill us in as and when you visit IHEID.  

[Mangrovia]

Sure thing, @taeyeon and @ARadiata. I'll be your eyes and ears in Geneva

Quick question for those of you who have already applied to other residencies: how does the selection process properly work? Specifically, imagine that I apply today, and get a positive response in a month or something, do I have any deadline to confirm the room I've been assigned to? 

[RoyaleGVA]

10 hours ago, ARadiata said:

Welcome @RoyaleGVa! You're from New Delhi!? 

Yes, I am from New Delhi  what about you? @ARadiata

[moni]

hey guys! i've been admitted to the MDEV program and am coming from the US. So excited to meet you all

 

As for housing, I also applied but didn't get accepted. I was going to wait till the results of the the next application round before looking for outside housing... but it seems like most of you guys have already applied to other residences? Do they take applications this early? Wouldn't there be a cancellation fee if we get it and cancel?

[kotsa]

Welcome @moni I think you should also apply to other availabile rooms and not pin all your hopes on Piccioto. And you should do it now cos "the early bird always gets the worm" and I think an ample time will be given to accept and confirm the room offer. 

Whatever happens I think it'll be the best to have more offers and choose one than to have nothing. We excited to meet you too.

Safe.

[taeyeon]

@moni Congrats and welcome! I agree with @kotsa, it seems applying to several residences at once will be our best bet. I kind of regret not listening to the IHEID student I met with last month, he urged me to apply to all housing but I really thought Picciotto would work out since we're just on the first round of admissions - and look how that turned out! If you wait until the March application round, you'll have to race against all newly admitted students to obtain housing, not just the current smaller group. It seems that it's never too early to apply for housing. For instance, I think on RUI's site it said they received applications in February-March for the fall semester.

Also @Mangrovia, I have no idea about when they give responses or when you'll have to confirm by... I imagine you'll have a very short deadline to confirm as in this case, demand greatly surpasses supply. However, it seems that a delayed response is better than a quick one. I already got rejected from UniGE's own housing (not the Cite one) yesterday - though admittedly, that was to be expected.

A question to the girls on this forum - is anyone considering the female-only residences? I'm kinda concerned they would have stricter regulations than a regular residence.

And for the non-religious, are you considering residences that are affiliated with certain faiths? As an agnostic, I'm afraid I would feel like a fish out of water 

Edited February 17, 2016 by taeyeon

[ARadiata]

4 hours ago, taeyeon said:

@moni Congrats and welcome! I agree with @kotsa, it seems applying to several residences at once will be our best bet. I kind of regret not listening to the IHEID student I met with last month, he urged me to apply to all housing but I really thought Picciotto would work out since we're just on the first round of admissions - and look how that turned out! If you wait until the March application round, you'll have to race against all newly admitted students to obtain housing, not just the current smaller group. It seems that it's never too early to apply for housing. For instance, I think on RUI's site it said they received applications in February-March for the fall semester.

Also @Mangrovia, I have no idea about when they give responses or when you'll have to confirm by... I imagine you'll have a very short deadline to confirm as in this case, demand greatly surpasses supply. However, it seems that a delayed response is better than a quick one. I already got rejected from UniGE's own housing (not the Cite one) yesterday - though admittedly, that was to be expected.

A question to the girls on this forum - is anyone considering the female-only residences? I'm kinda concerned they would have stricter regulations than a regular residence.

And for the non-religious, are you considering residences that are affiliated with certain faiths? As an agnostic, I'm afraid I would feel like a fish out of water 

I did check out a few of the 'female-only' residences but the religious bend of some of these places and the regulations are a little off-putting. But considering that we don't have many options I will apply to them nevertheless.  

[ARadiata]

On 2/15/2016 at 10:21 PM, RoyaleGVa said:

Yes, I am from New Delhi  what about you? @ARadiata

Yes, me too! Great to meet someone from the same city.

 

[moni]

Thanks guys, I guess I need to get on top of it soon. Anyone consider subletting? It's what I did when I studied abroad and I preferred it to living in dorms, but it seems like the situation in Geneva is different. I glanced on Craigslist and only a few postings... maybe the swiss use another website?

[taeyeon]

@moni I've seen several ads on glocals! You should try that. Also, Airbnb seems like a decent option as well for temporary housing, if you can find a reasonable offer... also feels a bit more reliable than Craigslist ads.

@ARadiata My sentiments exactly. But here I go, already applying to a few of these residences... some of them do look very nice though! And I guess abiding with regulations is a good way to restrain yourself from bad habits 

[pubpol101]

It's been a while since I've checked on this thread, but for your information, I'm an MDev admit without a scholarship and I was given a room on campus (one of the 700 CHF/month rooms). I'm from the US though, so considering how many others here are EU applicants, that was probably the determining factor.

[Mangrovia]

Heads-up for you all guys:  just noticed that GISA's website is currently under construction, and they might come up with a brand new site in a couple of days!