Uh...now what?

[orphic_mel528]

For those of us who have accepted offers: Is anyone else wondering what happens now? I'm not afraid to look clueless.

When do I sign up for classes? If I want to submit a proposal syllabi for independent study, when do I do that? How do I do that? Who do I give it to? 

I assume once the April 15 deadline passes, we're all going to be getting a lot of info, so maybe a better question to any of you lurking "already in the midst of my PhD" people is: what should we all expect in the first month?

 

[Dr. Old Bill]

I'm glad you asked this, PruneDaughter, because I've been wondering about all of this stuff as well. There are only so many emails you can send to a DGS, after all... 

Even though I haven't officially accepted an offer yet, I'm still very much interested in getting everything squared away as soon as humanly possible...including registering for classes, sussing out parking, and all of the other minutia...

Hopefully some of the old-timers (in position, not age, of course) can help!

Edited April 4, 2017 by Old Bill
egregious typo

[jrockford27]

I'd highly recommend getting living space pinned down early - very soon.  Especially if you're departing for a "college town", the good, affordable places become quite scarce if you wait until summer to rent and it becomes a complete landlord's market.  Figure out your moving expenses as well and set up a plan for getting out of town.  

Independent study syllabi should go to whomever the DGS is I imagine.  In the department I'm in they're usually evaluated and approved by a committee chaired by the DGS.

Recommendation, get in touch with your cohort early, or make contact with current students in the program.  Especially if you're arriving a few weeks before classes start.  I arrived in town around August 1 and felt pretty isolated for a few weeks before things started happening.

Edited April 4, 2017 by jrockford27

[loganondorf]

Where I'm headed, class registration happens sometime during the week-long orientation right before the start of the semester. PhD classes don't max out, so we've been told not to worry about not finding a spot in the course, which is encouraging. About a week after I officially accepted the offer, I received information about locating housing, setting up my new e-mail address, figuring out healthcare, etc. I'd assume that if your programs haven't sent you much information in that vein yet, surely they won't wait very long after April 15 to get that out.

Regarding independent studies: one of my potential programs mentioned that we would be able to propose independent studies to the specific professor we hoped to work with, and then approach the DGS with our ideas. They seemed to think it would be better to propose early rather than later, but my instinct is that it would probably be best to wait until after the official course lists have been posted and emailed out -- that feels like it would be a natural time to respond with enquiries about independent studies.

Of course, I'm sure it's all very program-specific, so perhaps what I've been told/given isn't particularly helpful in other instances. I hope you can start getting all that figured out soon! It's so exciting to start making it a reality.

[Yanaka]

1 hour ago, jrockford27 said:

I'd highly recommend getting living space pinned down early - very soon.  Especially if you're departing for a "college town", the good, affordable places become quite scarce if you wait until summer to rent and it becomes a complete landlord's market.  Figure out your moving expenses as well and set up a plan for getting out of town.  

Hey, about looking for a place early. I agree that summer might leave behind only the expensive places. So how do I go about contacting people about a place that I'll only be able to inhabit end of June/beginning of July earliest? Any advice?

[ThousandsHardships]

13 minutes ago, Yanaka said:

Hey, about looking for a place early. I agree that summer might leave behind only the expensive places. So how do I go about contacting people about a place that I'll only be able to inhabit end of June/beginning of July earliest? Any advice?

If you're in a college town, this is rarely an issue. There are so many apartments that function by the academic year that it's pretty normal for students to pay the deposit in March/April and don't move in until August or September. Most current residents also won't be leaving until May/June or in August. If it's a college town, everything functions according to the academic schedule.

[jrockford27]

30 minutes ago, Yanaka said:

Hey, about looking for a place early. I agree that summer might leave behind only the expensive places. So how do I go about contacting people about a place that I'll only be able to inhabit end of June/beginning of July earliest? Any advice?

This was probably the most stressful aspect of "the summer before" for me, trying to rent a place I thought I could afford, sight unseen.  It is not easy, and will always entail some anxiety and uncertainty.  I'll try to wrack my brain for advice..

1.  Don't always believe the hype on Yelp etc. about landlords/rental management companies.  My unscientific opinion is that usually the only people who are inclined to review their landlord are terribly aggrieved and disgruntled outliers.  You're unlikely to find a rental company you can afford on a stipend that has better than 2 stars, and tales of roaches and other vermin and collapsing ceilings, mold, and trespassing employees will abound!  This will only serve to stress you out.  Frankly, I rent from one of those 2 star companies with a litany of horror stories on their yelp page, and while it hasn't been perfect, it's been fine.  Ditto other grads I know who rent from allegedly "shady" rental companies (if Yelp is to be believed).  On the money we make, nothing is going to be perfect, so don't get lured in by the horror stories, it will stifle your search.

2.  If you're so-inclined you could ask a current grad student if they'd be willing to check out a place for you, or at least vouch for it.  See who is on your department's Grad Student Organization (or equivalent group) board - these people are usually inclined to be helpful.  Bear in mind these are also people who have probably been in this situation and understand how stressful it is.  Always ask a current graduate student or two about the neighborhoods - how convenient they are to campus, how affordable and practical they are on a stipend, and anything else that matters to you.  Oftentimes GSOs have Facebook groups where available rooms, or people switching apartments let others in the program know.  Which brings me to my next advice...

3.  Consider renting a room/attic or a sublet your first year.  At the very least, if you end up in a bad situation it shouldn't cost you as much as renting a place on your own.  My guess is that other programs, like mine, have a few "houses" that are generally rented by multiple students in the program.  I personally lucked into renting a very nice attic apartment from an older couple my first year.

4.  You may need to live further from campus than you originally dreamed.  Housing near campuses is usually high demand and expensive (catering to faculty, administration, full time employees) or low quality undergrad oriented housing.  Look for things that are close to public transit or bike lanes.  That said, do not be lured out to the sticks by cheap rents, you'll hate yourself for it later.

That's what I can think of now.

 

 

Edited April 4, 2017 by jrockford27

[Yanaka]

Thanks for the advice. I was asking more about renting out a place months before actually arriving in town: is it possible to "reserve" a place before it's empty or with a sublet in the meantime?

[brontebitch]

While we seem to be a bit on the topic of housing, does anyone recommend or not recommend living on campus? CU has really affordable studio apartments for graduate students near campus and so far they are a lot cheaper than any of the apartments or even rooms I have seen on craigslist (Boulder is a super expensive area). I know on-campus housing is usually not cheaper, but this seems to be a good option. Are there any major down sides to living on campus? It's for sure graduate/post-doc housing, so it isn't with undergraduates.

[jrockford27]

3 hours ago, Yanaka said:

Thanks for the advice. I was asking more about renting out a place months before actually arriving in town: is it possible to "reserve" a place before it's empty or with a sublet in the meantime?

If I understand your meaning, I don't think should be a problem.  Many landlords in college towns are probably already renting their August 1 move-in spaces and so if you simply put the deposit down now you should be good to go.  

[NoirFemme]

Where I'm going, the graduate school website is full of information about the time line, paperwork, etc for incoming grad students. They also helpfully uploaded the PowerPoint presentations from previous years' orientation sessions.

As for housing, I use HotPads, and rentals for the coming months are available to browse. Also, I second the advice to look at sublets. There are various Facebook groups for people listing rentals and sublets. Sometimes they are specific to a university, other times it's specific to a city. 

[orphic_mel528]

8 hours ago, jrockford27 said:

I'd highly recommend getting living space pinned down early - very soon.  Especially if you're departing for a "college town", the good, affordable places become quite scarce if you wait until summer to rent and it becomes a complete landlord's market.  Figure out your moving expenses as well and set up a plan for getting out of town.  

Independent study syllabi should go to whomever the DGS is I imagine.  In the department I'm in they're usually evaluated and approved by a committee chaired by the DGS.

Recommendation, get in touch with your cohort early, or make contact with current students in the program.  Especially if you're arriving a few weeks before classes start.  I arrived in town around August 1 and felt pretty isolated for a few weeks before things started happening.

I'm an old married lady, so my considerations about living arrangements are a bit different. Thank you for the info on independent study and the rest, though!

@Old Bill: I think Stephen King overlooked the inherent horror of my father, Prune Man, when he wrote "It." 

"Georgie looked down into the sewer drain, desperately hoping for a glimpse of his lost boat, and was surprised to find a man grinning up at him with a soulless but not unkind expression.

"HIYA, Georgie! Do ya like prunes?!"

"Do they taste good?!"

"Of course they taste good, Georgie! There's a lot of flavor in that glass! There's a lot of flavor in ALL THE GLASSES DOWN HERE!"

 

[Yanaka]

8 hours ago, NoirFemme said:

Where I'm going, the graduate school website is full of information about the time line, paperwork, etc for incoming grad students. They also helpfully uploaded the PowerPoint presentations from previous years' orientation sessions.

As for housing, I use HotPads, and rentals for the coming months are available to browse. Also, I second the advice to look at sublets. There are various Facebook groups for people listing rentals and sublets. Sometimes they are specific to a university, other times it's specific to a city. 

How do you do see that on HousePads? I use that website a lot, too!

[Warelin]

2 hours ago, Yanaka said:

How do you do see that on HousePads? I use that website a lot, too!

After searching the city, click "more" which is to the right of "Pets". "Sublets" should be under "Listing Types".

[Yanaka]

7 minutes ago, Warelin said:

After searching the city, click "more" which is to the right of "Pets". "Sublets" should be under "Listing Types".

Haha! No I was specifically interested in the "rentals or the coming months" section of NoirFemme's answer   Should have been more specific.

[Warelin]

1 minute ago, Yanaka said:

Haha! No I was specifically interested in the "rentals or the coming months" section of NoirFemme's answer   Should have been more specific.

Usually, the sublets tell you when things are available. Right now, I'm seeing sublets that are available on 05/2017, 06/2017, 06/2017, 07/2017. If the sublet or apartment isn't available right now, it tells you when it will become available under the "share" button right after you click on the property.

[Dr. Old Bill]

Thanks, @NoirFemme (et al.) for pointing out HotPads! I hadn't come across it before, and have been using Craigslist, Zillow, ForRent and other sites instead. I really like the interface and customization on Hotpads, so I'll definitely be using it for my housing search...

[Hartley]

Anybody else thinking about buying a home? My wife and I are moving together, to South Bend (she got a job working in student affairs at Notre Dame), and are finding it much more affordable and longterm economically smart to buy a home near campus.  I know Indiana is much cheaper than many places y'all are going, but I thought I'd throw it out there.  Depending on your situation a modest home could be better than six years of rent in price inflated areas.

 

Edited April 5, 2017 by Hartley

[Tybalt]

15 minutes ago, Hartley said:

Anybody else thinking about buying a home? My wife and I are moving together, to South Bend (she got a job working in student affairs at Notre Dame), and are finding it much more affordable and longterm economically smart to buy a home near campus.  I know Indiana is much cheaper than many places y'all are going, but I thought I'd throw it out there.  Depending on your situation a modest home could be better than six years of rent in price inflated areas.

 

I did (a condo/townhome) for many of the reasons you mentioned above (I live in Rochester, NY).  I don't regret it at all, but there are reasons to/not to do this.  I'm on the way out the door at the moment (headed to Atlanta for SAA), but feel free to PM me with any questions.

[lyonessrampant]

2 hours ago, Hartley said:

Anybody else thinking about buying a home? My wife and I are moving together, to South Bend (she got a job working in student affairs at Notre Dame), and are finding it much more affordable and longterm economically smart to buy a home near campus.  I know Indiana is much cheaper than many places y'all are going, but I thought I'd throw it out there.  Depending on your situation a modest home could be better than six years of rent in price inflated areas.

 

My husband and I bought a home. Like Tybalt says, there can be down sides (we've replaced the furnace, hot water heater, and will be doing a new roof soon), but we've saved a lot of money overall compared to renting. 

[orphic_mel528]

4 hours ago, Hartley said:

Anybody else thinking about buying a home? My wife and I are moving together, to South Bend (she got a job working in student affairs at Notre Dame), and are finding it much more affordable and longterm economically smart to buy a home near campus.  I know Indiana is much cheaper than many places y'all are going, but I thought I'd throw it out there.  Depending on your situation a modest home could be better than six years of rent in price inflated areas.

 

My husband and I are buying a home. Having lived in a lot of apartments and having owned a home prior, if you have a stable income, I would recommend buying a home over a rental for a lot of reasons. For one, with the right choice of home, you will have a line of equity available to you that can help you in emergencies, help you make repairs to the home, or even be used for investments, if you know how to do that wisely. Rent doesn't really earn you anything, although it can help your credit; it's just money going into someone else's pocket. Depending on the area you're relocating to, it might be impossible for a young student, or two young students, or people just starting out to afford a home. Having assets is always a good thing, and while real estate value can vacillate wildly, property is pretty much always a stable investment. 

Important thing to note about condos: They are considered a more "high risk" property and are not as easy to sell when you want to unless you're in a high-demand market, like Seattle, San Francisco, etc. If you're in a smaller college town where the demand for rental/real estate is not as critically high, you should aim for a modest single-family home if you possibly can. Trulia is my favorite resource for finding homes to buy.

[NoirFemme]

10 hours ago, Yanaka said:

How do you do see that on HousePads? I use that website a lot, too!

It's usually the listings that have no pictures. But when you click on any of the houses, there will be a date that says "available now" or "available XX-XX-XXXX"

[bhr]

On 4/4/2017 at 4:44 PM, ThousandsHardships said:

If you're in a college town, this is rarely an issue. There are so many apartments that function by the academic year that it's pretty normal for students to pay the deposit in March/April and don't move in until August or September. Most current residents also won't be leaving until May/June or in August. If it's a college town, everything functions according to the academic schedule.

This is WAY off base stateside. Most leases start in August, but the best places tend to start disappearing in February. Hell, the big rental company in my college town had a line outside for their new building back in November when they first opened the rentals for it for next year. If you don't have a place lucked down by the end of the school year you are going to be hurting for options in a "college town".

These are the things you ask people in the program. Many places will have a buddy or group of students who will help in the process. I just randomly started FB messenging one of the current students who friended me when I first accepted, and she helped me (and has gone on to become one of my best friends and a mentor).

[ThousandsHardships]

35 minutes ago, bhr said:

This is WAY off base stateside. Most leases start in August, but the best places tend to start disappearing in February. Hell, the big rental company in my college town had a line outside for their new building back in November when they first opened the rentals for it for next year. If you don't have a place lucked down by the end of the school year you are going to be hurting for options in a "college town".

These are the things you ask people in the program. Many places will have a buddy or group of students who will help in the process. I just randomly started FB messenging one of the current students who friended me when I first accepted, and she helped me (and has gone on to become one of my best friends and a mentor).

That was basically my point...the question I was responding to was concerned about signing the lease too early. I was reassuring her that this is already not early when it comes to a college town.

[Yanaka]

On 4/4/2017 at 10:44 PM, ThousandsHardships said:

If you're in a college town, this is rarely an issue. There are so many apartments that function by the academic year that it's pretty normal for students to pay the deposit in March/April and don't move in until August or September. Most current residents also won't be leaving until May/June or in August. If it's a college town, everything functions according to the academic schedule.

I hadn't seen your post! Thanks for the reassurance. How can I know the deal is not a scam, and how can I avoid giving the deposit and not having any apartment to move into once I'm there?