Is anyone else planning to bring their dog? If so, do you have info on if there is pet friendly housing? I've seen posts saying that it is possible to find pet friendly housing through Columbia and posts that say no way...

I talked to the housing director about this when I visited and she was very helpful. It seems to be an unwritten rule, but if you get an unfurnished apartment in Lionsgate (law school housing) you can have a dog. She also said that general university grad housing typically turns a blind eye to dogs in their buildings, but she couldn't guarantee it would be ok. The downside is that Lionsgate is more expensive than the other law school housing. I was considering looking off campus because I think there are likely better deals out there, but I've decided not to attend.

I'm definitely interested. I have a little dog and the possibility that I might not have to subject myself to NY apartment hunting is very exciting.

I talked to some housing people at Lenfest apartments during the second ASD (which is incredibly nice by the way and expensive) about having a cat and they said the same thing: try lionsgate unfurnished.

I didn't get a chance to check it out though, anyone have any comments about it?

lionsgate is nice. some professors (well at least one professor) lives there. closer to campus than lenfest too. also much better priced.

End of cycle. Depositing tomorrow.

Edit: or not. Indecision creeps in.

me too...I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DOOOOOO!

CLS tentatively.

I sent in mine =D

Does anyone know if I have to withdraw from other schools I haven't heard back from (and the Harvard hold) if I accept Columbia's financial aid award?

Where do I find this info?

Just got back from NYU's asw and I'm officially going to send my deposit into Columbia! YAY!!!

Yay numbers twin!

just withdrew from cls, i'll see any fellow defectors in the nyu thread!

A couple questions about the housing app for anyone who's willing to help:

1) Are y'all putting August 15 (orientation) for our program start date, and choosing move-in dates with those in mind?

2) What sort of info should be included in the comments section? I don't want to forget about anything. This is what I can think of:
- Building preference obviously (definitely 400 block for me, which means roommates will be law students)
- Floor level
- Space vs. cost
- Number of roommates (what are expected price ranges of 2apt shares vs. 3apt share?)
- Cleanliness
- Loudness?
- Sleep habits
- (Smoking, single-gender/coed, unfurnished/furnished are other parts of the app)

Let me know if there any other important considerations I'm forgetting!

I was looking at housing descriptions and thought I read somewhere that 400 block apartment shares have 3 rooms so you may not be able to choose the number of roommates.
Can somebody confirm?

1) Yes, I listed August 15 (asked to move in around August 1).

2) I think you covered just about everything; if anything, I probably included less info. I was surprised they didn't have a pre-made field for desired price range!

All I listed was location (campus area), cleanliness, willingness to have friends over, price range, and that I'm fine with either M or F roommates. If I don't like their offer I can always find a place on my own, I figure (one of many luxuries of already living in NYC)!

I'm between NYU and Columbia right now but seriously leaning toward CLS, so I'm trying for figure out the housing options. Sorry if this is repetitive for those that have been on the thread for a while already.

I definitely want furnished and utilities included is a big plus. I was initially thinking I'd go for a single studio/efficiency for the first year just because I don't know anyone else at this point and I'm nervous about the random roommate situation (bad UG roommate experience). I'm now thinking I'll end up going for the apartment shares because of cost and hope I end up with some fun but responsible, clean-up-after-yourself type people (from TLS, of course ).

I was not able to go to an official admitted student event so I only got to look into the sample efficiency in Lenfest. It's obviously nice but the price is causing some serious sticker-shock. However, I didn't get to look at Lionsgate or West 115/116 so I have no idea what they're like. Can anyone point me to some inside pictures of those other options? Or at least offer some first-hand reviews? Are these places at least air-conditioned???

I hear Lionsgate is near impossible to get for 1L, although it's a decent place to live. From what I could tell, West 115/116 vary pretty widely in size, but are decent places to live, especially considering the location. Here's a video clip of a tour through a furnished 115th apartment. Hope this helps!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-ozyeJbuMM

Has anyone tried to negotiate for money over the phone? I sent Columbia my Chicago offer beforehand, but they ended up giving me nothing anyway. Would it be pointless to call them and ask them again?

Also -- is there any consensus on how long it takes to pay back loans if you're going there sticker? Starting with no savings and working in big law. Obviously it depends on a lot of factors, but is there an average time frame?

When you graduate and consolidate your loans (highly recommended), you sign up for the payment plan that most fits your needs. The standard is 10 years. There's also the extended, which is 20 years. There are also graduated and income-contingent.

For biglaw and a reasonable lifestyle, the standard 10 years is definitely feasible. You'll probably have enough income to pay more than the minimum payments and make it less than 10 years.

But don't forget about having to save for retirement. I'm totally at a loss regarding how to strike the balance between paying off student loans and saving for retirement. Theoretically, they both accrue at the market interest rate (aside from fixed gov't loans).

FWIW, I'll be graduating and going into NYC BigLaw in a year and have a 3-to-4-year plan to pay off my loans. The goal, for me, is to go hard and fast, paying off my loans as soon as possible. I don't plan on living a spartan lifestyle in Manhattan, but I worked here as a paralegal before law school and knew how to stretch my $35K salary - this should be a bit easier.

You can be as detailed as you want -- and if you have more details, just indicate priorities. I got my highest priority (cost) + my desired floor & apartment size but didn't get a non-law school roommate (no regrets about that though)... also, unless they've changed the rules, they don't do coed, so you may as well leave out roommate preference altogether & focus on things that control the building/room and not people. Also, you can easily change if the roommate situation is bad; it's just inconvenient to do so.

EDIT: They do coed, but only if you request a particular opposite-gender roommate.

After much lurking, I'm penning my first post to say I put my deposit down today! Can't wait for August! Now onto sorting out all this housing business...