UIUC Fall 2016

[deborah_caf]

Hi everyone

I thought I would start a UIUC Fall 2016 thread. You can post here if you are looking for roommates, or share any information about the place or anything of the sort.

Personally, I am looking for housing options. I have officially accepted the offer for PhD in Chemical Eng. and I am looking for one or two roommates to rent an affordable apartment. I look forward to hearing replies.

 

[Sura]

Hey @deborah_caf,

ECE PhD accept here, I have not accepted my offer yet, still thinking between 2 schools apart from UIUC. About the apartments, it should not even be a concern, what is the fellowship stipend that you are receiving? The grad housing is like 700$ for a fully furnished SINGLE bedroom, which is damn cheap. You can live there peacefully, explore for the first semester and then decide on your roommate.

[deborah_caf]

Hi @Sura  I have a ChBE acceptance with roughly 28K stipend. I was also thinking about the grad housing but talking to a few grad students there, I realized that the grad houses like orchard down are mostly full of post-docs and most of the grad students don't live there. But still I think its a good deal. I personally don't prefer single room life its nice to have a couple of people around. . Hopefully I will see you at UIUC. best of luck with your decisions on choosing among ur accepted programs

Edited February 26, 2016 by deborah_caf

[compscian]

Hi @deborah_caf I'm assuming you are also from IIT. Hostel life in IIT is a lot of fun, but for grad student life, it's probably better to live alone. I think it would actually be beneficial to live in places where post-docs live and get into the adult world. I was accepted to UIUC last year. Funding and housing are basically non-issues. You'll have very comfortable living standards, so congratulations and best wishes for a great PhD experience.

[deborah_caf]

@compscian Thanks.. I will keep those info in mind and yeah I am from IIT  and good luck with your this season admits.. you have got some great admits in ML  

[Kathleen517]

I was accepted last month in the MA in Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies program.  I have a fellowship there, so that is likely where I will be going next year.  Not looking for a roommate (at least not yet), but hoping to meet some new people in this thread and possibly learn a little more about the school.

[eggfish]

Accepted my offer here and am trying to figure out housing.  It seems like the grad apartments don't have kitchens, so I think I'll be living off campus.

[Pankul]

Hi @deborah_caf @eggfish... I have a MatSE PhD acceptance from UIUC. I have not yet accepted the offer officially but will (most probably) accept the offer. I am also confused between residence on campus or off campus. I have heard that off-campus residence is cheaper but how do you plan to find a suitable location and apartment?

[eggfish]

10 hours ago, Pankul said:

Hi @deborah_caf @eggfish... I have a MatSE PhD acceptance from UIUC. I have not yet accepted the offer officially but will (most probably) accept the offer. I am also confused between residence on campus or off campus. I have heard that off-campus residence is cheaper but how do you plan to find a suitable location and apartment?

I live in Illinois already, so I drove up and visited apartments and signed a lease already.  That's not much help for you, though.  You might find this website useful:

https://tenantunion.illinois.edu/

[deborah_caf]

On 3/26/2016 at 0:53 AM, Pankul said:

Hi @deborah_caf @eggfish... I have a MatSE PhD acceptance from UIUC. I have not yet accepted the offer officially but will (most probably) accept the offer. I am also confused between residence on campus or off campus. I have heard that off-campus residence is cheaper but how do you plan to find a suitable location and apartment?

As an international student, its not possible to visit the place before signing a lease. The best place to start is to look at tenant union as pointed out by @eggfish. After u accept ur offer and activate ur NetId stuff, you can get information from tenant union regarding different apartment's feedback over the year with a complete list. I would recommend you to talk to a few current grad students whom you might know and ask them regarding particular apartments before signing the lease. Most of them suggested me not to take the university housing due to the fact that better options are available off-campus and closer to the engineering buildings. Hope it helps!!   

[beefgallo]

On 3/22/2016 at 2:18 PM, eggfish said:

Accepted my offer here and am trying to figure out housing.  It seems like the grad apartments don't have kitchens, so I think I'll be living off campus.

There are grad apartments with kitchens. I actually think all of them have kitchens, but I wouldn't over-generalize because I haven't been to all apartments.

All Ashton-woods apartments have kitchens and I believe that all/most Orchard Downs apartments do too.

[eggfish]

21 hours ago, beefgallo said:

There are grad apartments with kitchens. I actually think all of them have kitchens, but I wouldn't over-generalize because I haven't been to all apartments.

All Ashton-woods apartments have kitchens and I believe that all/most Orchard Downs apartments do too.

Oh, I didn't know that.  I don't think Daniels does.  

[jzhan118]

I'm starting this fall pursuing PhD in MCB, and I also did my undergrad here at UIUC. 

So... you guys can ask me questions if you want

[Romanhatter]

Hi guys, I'm starting this fall for a PhD in PoliSci. I heard that everything (shops, bars etc) are all around the engineering quad. I was wondering if it would be more convenient to look for housing there or near my dept area? Not sure if that is a walkable distance. Thanks in advance!