I won't be starting Columbia until the fall, but I am trying to get a handle on finding housing. How long did it take most of you to find your summer places? Did you use OCHA, a broker, Craigslist, etc? I will be out of the country until the end of July and don't want to be frantic about finding an apartment unless it is completely necessary. Any information would be helpful.

I don't know how separated MSAAD program is from MArch but hopefully I will see some of you around in September.

nancy: yes. for some reason, as i was drinking while posting last night, i thought i had received an actual snail mail about that info, but you're absolutely right, it was an email. i'm dumb. dumb as hell. (bonus points for whoever knows what that's a reference to:)

sahar: it took me about 3 weeks, a little less of actual real CONCERTED effort... used the university housing sublet search and craigslist. you should probably just take it for granted that you'll be somewhat frantic in looking for a place when the time comes. it's usually difficult to find a place till right before it's available, so you can start early, but probably will still be searching up till just a couple of weeks before you need to be there. :) have you applied for uni housing? i'm hoping that comes through for me after my sublet...
you'll be 1st year MARCH? if so, i think that there won't be much contact between us in class, but we'll still all be working our arses off in the same building. :) we'll just make sure to all meet up.

yes yes. now that housing is taken care of, i can be excited too! :)

alright. is anyone still looking for a place to sublet for the summer? i know a guy that's got a place close to campus looking for a subletter.
here's the description:

the price is 745 a month plus about 30 dollars utilities a month. i'm
looking for someone who can pay half of may's
rent too (370 dollars). the dates are basically may 15th to the end of
august. the room is about 10 by 14 feet, it's
fully furnished. there is a good bathroom, a living/kitchen fully
equipped. there is tv but no cable right now. there
is wireless or the possibility of getting hi-speed connection like my
roommate. the roommate is a male columbia
astrophysics grad. student, considerate and easy going non-smoker.
there is a laundry three stores down and
riverside park a block away. columbia/libraries are ten minutes walk.
the 125th street 1/9 is two minutes walk and
it's 25 minutes to the village etc.

the address is 3153 broadway, about 5 blocks north of campus. if anyone's interested, say so, and i'll email you his email address.

so no one interested?
you uys having much luck? everyone got a place by now?

anyone lined anything up for fall yet? now i'm starting to get nervous... by the way, sahar, which MArch track are you starting?

all of you that are starting in the summer, are you continuing in the fall?

levasser,

I was under the impression that there was only one MArch track which was for people receiving their first professional degree. I didn't get any type of advanced placement, which means I will be there for the long haul.

I applied for Columbia's housing a week after I sent in my acceptance letter. For some reason I thought that not many people applying for housing would receive it, but I re-read the website, and it said someting along the lines that most students who apply for housing receive an offer, which makes me more relieved since I have a busy few months before school and would not want to stress about housing.

waiting on uni housing for the fall. apparently we find out in june. i believe that everyone there in the summer should be there for the fall. i think.

Does anyone know about buying rather than renting? Heard that co-op rules exclude possibility of parents financing while tenant is not the source of $.

correct me if i'm wrong (likely), but are there not differnt tracks for those who have done architecture as an undergrad (2 years) and those who have not (3.5)? as someone who has not previously studied architecture full time, but who did columbia's summer studio last year, they're not making me start in the summer, which it sounds like i would otherwise be required to do.

sorry, i know that's kind of a tangent, but i'm curious...

back to housing, sahar-- when i talked to the housing people they gave me the impression that my chances were about 50-50 on getting housing. i don't know if they're just CYA (CTA?) or what.

those who already have, or will have, a B of arch go into the summer + one year program. (MS aad). I'm not sure how long the march1 is...

levasser: the only two 'pure architecture' tracks i know of are first professional and post professional. if you have a BARCH from an accredited school of arch (or foreign equivalent) then it's a 12 month program, starting in the summer (which is what i'm doing). if you don't have a prof arch degree, then i thought that it was a 3 year program with no summers. but i'm not an expert on that program since it didn't apply to me. sahar or others could clarify for us.
the confusion i think is that the 12 month program is not an M ARCH, it's an MS of arch. so when sahar says there's only one MARCH program, he's correct, and that's why.

yeah, do you know why the degree is different? I think there might have been another post about this...

levasser,

There is only one MArch program, and I don't think there is an advanced placement within that program unless it is top secret or determined by the people viewing applicant portfolios. The program is 3 years.

About housing, the website says

The majority of new students who apply to UAH can expect to be offered housing before the start of the academic year. However, the demand for student housing exceeds the supply, and a number of students will be placed on the Wait List for housing. These students should read the Wait List guidelines closely. While many students do receive housing through the Wait List process some do not.

It could be lies though, but I am going to wait it out until I hear a definite no from them. Then I will start to worry more about finding an apartment.

so it has become abundantly clear that i have no business at columbia since i can't even figure out the degree differences. sheesh.

thanks for the clarification, though.

sahar, thanks. i think i'm going to do the same re housing, it was my original plan, anyway. if our procrastination ends up biting us in the ass, maybe we can share a cardboard box under an overpass.

i considered posting this as a new thread, but i don't think it would have done anything constructive other than fill the forums even more. :)
are you guys intending to do an part-time work? looking over and over my economic situation.. it's pretty grim. :) i've been taking it for granted that i'll have to get some sort of part-time job, but wondered if anyone had any experience/advice. how much could one really expect to make over the course of a year while pursuing their msaad? and doing what? what are the best opportunities? just being a waiter/bartender?

heterarchy,

I think I am going to try to get a job too. I had a job throughout my undergraduate years and it was a nice break from studio. I am deciding between a job on campus or off. I think On campus may be more flexible when it starts to get crazy at school, but I haven't really put more thought in it than that. Did you get a letter that said that you can ask about jobs within the school at registration or go to Romm XX at Building XX (I don't have the letter with me now) to inquire about jobs throughout the university.

yeah, i got that letter, and i'll definitely be checking it out. :) explore all options.
i didn't have a job in undergrad because i got a pretty good scholarship (only reason i went to bsu), and i think it'll be a bit of an adjustment for me. in undergrad, because i didn't have a job, i could really put 200% in to studio, which was great. i just hope i can still put as much time in to it at columbia.

but before we all start pushing that 200% mark, what's the conclusion on a before-school-starts bash?

who's in?

which night works best?

i say either the 27th or the 28th, but if we did it on the 26th i know there are some all you can drink deals for cheap in the east village.

heterarchy & sahar: yeah. my economic situation is also pretty bad. i'm definitely considering getting a job both/either on and/or off campus. i've been doing that all throughout undergrad. i wish i could had the time and energy to push 200% for studio, but i somehow managed - and looking back on it, i think it sure was a nice break from the studio :-)
on the housing front, yes, i did apply for the on-campus housing. it certainly couldn't hurt, right? i've been also searching places through craigslist. only problem i am encountering with that is most brokers/landlords are looking for someone to move in immeidately and i'm not planning on moving until mid-late august. i wonder if that means i shouldn't expect finding anything until *literally* couple weeks before the school starts? any advices on finding people looking for tenants starting mid-late august instead of immediate occupancy?

best advice is don't start looking yet. at least not in ernest. you'll have very little luck finding anything that far out unless you already know of someone who will need it then.
so for now, relax. :) enjoy the summer.

ha ha ha. had to share this. i just got an email acceptance from ucla today. FINALLY. but a bit late i'd say. :)
check today's date, and check the date mentioned in the email:

>Dear William Bybee,

This email is to informally let you know that your application is being
recommended for admission to the Graduate Admissions office. Our
faculty were favorably impressed with your application and would like
to
offer you admission into our M.Arch II program. A letter from the
department, as well as an official online letter from the university,
will follow soon. We ask that you let us know if you can accept our
offer by May 2nd.

Thank you for your interest in our program and we hope to see you in
August.

Jim Kies
Graduate Adviser
Department of Architecture and Urban Design
UCLA

hetarchy,

I got a similar letter from Jim Kies two weeks ago. hmm. I feel that they could have told us A BIT earlier.

precisely. i sent a rather scathing, but reasonable, email to them. not much more i can do other than laugh. :)
i can't get over how they wanted me to respond back to them two days before i got the email.

i got that e-mail the day after columbia's deadline...wow, sending it out after may 2nd?!? that's really ridiculous.

so then, role call.
who all will be at columbia this summer? hopefully everyone has a place to stay. :)

flying to NY tomorrow
see you soon :)

august 14... can. not. wait.

where you guys coming from?
levasser: miami according to your profile. :) i assume you'll be entering the march program?

yes, to both queries. when do you arrive, heterarchy? and for m.arch as well?

i hit the town this coming wednesday afternoon, then hit resgistration the next day - but for the msaad program, not march. not that it much matters which program you're in, we're all going to be living in the same building. :) too bad you won't be here till august, you're going to miss all the summer fun. :)
speaking of which, is ANYBODY who'll be in town at the time interested in going out before the summer classes start? i've suggested it a couple of times but no one's seemed very enthused. it seems like a great opportunity to meet eachother before class starts and to feel a little more comfortable and at home when they do start.
also, where'd you guys go to school? me = ball state u. (aka testicle tech:)

i am insanely jealous. you're going to have a blast. if you get any other takers for going out before fall classes, i'm in. and i went to georgetown.

i think we might be able to arrange a night out on the town before fall classes.. :) though wait, when do fall classes start? i have a wedding to go to in portland on labor day weekend. eh, we'll work that out later. stay tuned.. :)
as far as the pre-summer party, i'm definitely doing it one way or the other. :) like the bachelor party before getting married... ;)

Hey all,

I am currently a first year at Columbia Mailman School of Public Health, and I was in the same situation last summer... I definitely recommend going to the Broker's Fair, but be on the lookout for roommates, not just apartments. It's a lot cheaper to find some good roommates and team up to find a place with multiple bedrooms. I'd also recommend biting the bullet and using a realtor... they have no incentive to screw you over and I've heard that Craig's list down here is questionable.

That being said, if any of you are interested in coming down to New York early, I'll be subletting my bedroom (it's in a 3-bed apartment I share with another public health student and a dental student) for the summer, when I'll be completing my practicum for school. It's fully furnished, as is the apartment as a whole, and will be available from June 1st through August 15th, though you will only be responsible for rent for June and July. Rent is $820 (with some room for negotiation), and all utilities are included or will be taken care of (including wi-fi). Importantly, at the corner of 170th and Fort Washington, it's literally two minutes from CUMC and the School of Public Health, as well as from major trains to go downtown. Laundry is in the building, and it's secure. Just one block from a grocery store.

I'd be glad to give you more details or send you pictures, feel free to email me at pjb2148@columbia.edu. Thanks!