Boston University Class of 2020 [ANOTHER New Poll!]

[Dodocogon]

How possible is it to negotiate your lease to start earlier than September 1st?

I wanted to come in early August to have some time to settle in and adjust, but I'm realizing that most leases seems to start on 9/1.

Depends on the previous tenant... In mine they aren't leaving until the 31st so no dice for me.

[floatie]

How possible is it to negotiate your lease to start earlier than September 1st?

I wanted to come in early August to have some time to settle in and adjust, but I'm realizing that most leases seems to start on 9/1.

If the previous tenants are leaving before 9/1 you guys can work something out for you to move in earlier.

PROTIPS FOR EVERYONE (lived in the area for a while, so I've been through the impending shitshow before):
1) If you're getting furniture from Ikea ORDER IT SOON(ish) or else there won't be any delivery slots available for that weekend
2) Secure movers ASAP. If you're getting a Uhaul or something, make sure whoever is driving is fond of insane traffic on crowded, narrow streets, and knows how to parallel park like a pro
3) The vast majority of apartments around BU (esp in the Allston/Brighton area) don't have elevators (even the ones that are 4-5 stories) and the stairwells are VERY narrow. Keep that in mind when you make moving plans.

[ashrice13]

That last poll option was made for me

[Litt1tUp]

Did anyone get their reimbursement/stipends from Boston? I'm still waiting and getting nervous it may never come...

[tuesdayninja]

They're not budging on my scholarship negotiations and it's making me sad. Just gimme a little moe moneyyyyyy

[Dodocogon]

Did anyone get their reimbursement/stipends from Boston? I'm still waiting and getting nervous it may never come...

Got mine the beginning of this week. In Kansas, and I submitted all my receipts the week before the first ASD.

[gopats92]

Hey guys! Been lurking on this board for a couple of weeks now, but it's slow at work so I figured now was the time to check in! BU is most likely where I'll end up (I've deposited but I'm just holding out for another scholarship increase so I can feel better about turning down a full ride elsewhere).

Anyways I've lived in Allston for the last three years, went to undergrad in Boston, and have worked in public service/law here, so if anyone has any questions feel free to let me know!

[Dodocogon]

Surprised to find my UG (Kansas State) actually has an associate at Cooley in Boston - I guess I'll have to hit him up once I get up there

This is actually a really cool connection! Good luck!

I need to get better at having theses types of awkward networking conversations instead of shying away from them.

Well start by removing the word awkward there haha

I think random networking things are always going to be awkward for me...it's just the way i'm wired (read: introvert).

I'm with you. I'm decent at faking it, but I hate it.

Yeah, I was definitely being a bit facetious there - one of those things that are much easier said than done. I find the worst is starting the interaction and once it's going I'm quite comfortable. But cold-calling (or emailing, rather) people is rough. I do like hearing people's stories and lawyers are always happy to tell, at least.

Had a nice conversation with this guy over the phone (got 20+ mins pretty easily) and now have a connection as to where to watch KSU football games this fall. The important stuff, right?

[Dodocogon]

Also Ash you need to volunteer to hang out with the nice people on the (BU) facebook group

[ashrice13]

Also Ash you need to volunteer to hang out with the nice people on the (BU) facebook group

I totally just did this right before I saw this comment!!

We should also get a TLS BU meet up going once all you fine people are in town. Maybe one of the orientation days or something.

[jessmeesh]

I'm going to be in Boston (for the first time) tomorrow. I'm doing a self-guided tour of the law school. Anyone have any suggestions of where I should go/see/eat/etc? I have all of tomorrow but trying to limit my spending.

[ashrice13]

I'm going to be in Boston (for the first time) tomorrow. I'm doing a self-guided tour of the law school. Anyone have any suggestions of where I should go/see/eat/etc? I have all of tomorrow but trying to limit my spending.

There are tons of other things to do/see/eat but these would be some fun options that are free or cheap -

[+] Spoiler

If you're looking for really cheap/fast food - there's a Tasty Burger and a UBurger nearby. Both are Boston based (and I think Boston only) chains that are good. The style is quick service (like five guys) as opposed to fast food (like McDonalds). If you want to get food and some good beers - Sunset Grill and Tap is in Allston less than a mile from BU and it's pretty good. The beer selection is the reason to go here though. If you don't like beer, you can find similarly priced food elsewhere. I'm not extremely familiar with the restaurants right near BU so I'd be reluctant to recommend them. If you want to send me a PM or something with where you're staying, I can probably recommend a few places near your hotel.

Fenway is a short walk from BU (about 5 minutes) and it's worth it to go there. Not only can you see Fenway but there are lots of places to eat there as well (these will be more expensive). It might be worth it to walk over and have a drink @ Bleecher bar. The bar actually has a window area that looks right into the park (google the bar...if you go to the website I'm sure they have a picture or something to show what I'm talking about). It's usually hard to get a seat by that but because it's a Wednesday and the Sox are playing an away game, you should be able to.

If you like art, the Museum of Fine Arts is free after 4pm on Wednesdays (the admission is a "donation of your choice" and you can choose $0 as many people do) so that would be the cheapest museum option. It's going to be a little chilly tomorrow but if you don't mind that - walking all or part of the freedom trail is really nice/free (if you're short on time, hit up faneuil hall). The Common is a nice place to relax and people watch but it will probably be too cold to just hang out there.

The Sam Adams Brewery is in Jamaica Plain, near Boston, and they give free tours. The tour is only like 15 minutes and then they give you a bunch of beer. If you're in a small group, you could easily walk out of there with a buzz on (it's happened to us for sure). They offer shuttles to a nearby restuarant that has pretty reasonably priced pub/bar food and will give you a free glass if you buy another beer there. I can't remember the name of the retaurant but it is a cool Irish pub type place. I imagine they still do this...I haven't gone for a couple of years but they were doing this as recently as 2 years ago.

Also - If you have some extra cash and want to hit up a bakery, everyone always wants to go to Mike's pastry because it's the most well known place (I am not really sure why/how but it seems that tourists always know about Mikes...???) but I say skip the line @ Mike's and go to Bova's...I think they're better (they're also open 24/7).

[jessmeesh]

I'm going to be in Boston (for the first time) tomorrow. I'm doing a self-guided tour of the law school. Anyone have any suggestions of where I should go/see/eat/etc? I have all of tomorrow but trying to limit my spending.

There are tons of other things to do/see/eat but these would be some fun options that are free or cheap -

[+] Spoiler

If you're looking for really cheap/fast food - there's a Tasty Burger and a UBurger nearby. Both are Boston based (and I think Boston only) chains that are good. The style is quick service (like five guys) as opposed to fast food (like McDonalds). If you want to get food and some good beers - Sunset Grill and Tap is in Allston less than a mile from BU and it's pretty good. The beer selection is the reason to go here though. If you don't like beer, you can find similarly priced food elsewhere. I'm not extremely familiar with the restaurants right near BU so I'd be reluctant to recommend them. If you want to send me a PM or something with where you're staying, I can probably recommend a few places near your hotel.

Fenway is a short walk from BU (about 5 minutes) and it's worth it to go there. Not only can you see Fenway but there are lots of places to eat there as well (these will be more expensive). It might be worth it to walk over and have a drink @ Bleecher bar. The bar actually has a window area that looks right into the park (google the bar...if you go to the website I'm sure they have a picture or something to show what I'm talking about). It's usually hard to get a seat by that but because it's a Wednesday and the Sox are playing an away game, you should be able to.

If you like art, the Museum of Fine Arts is free after 4pm on Wednesdays (the admission is a "donation of your choice" and you can choose $0 as many people do) so that would be the cheapest museum option. It's going to be a little chilly tomorrow but if you don't mind that - walking all or part of the freedom trail is really nice/free (if you're short on time, hit up faneuil hall). The Common is a nice place to relax and people watch but it will probably be too cold to just hang out there.

The Sam Adams Brewery is in Jamaica Plain, near Boston, and they give free tours. The tour is only like 15 minutes and then they give you a bunch of beer. If you're in a small group, you could easily walk out of there with a buzz on (it's happened to us for sure). They offer shuttles to a nearby restuarant that has pretty reasonably priced pub/bar food and will give you a free glass if you buy another beer there. I can't remember the name of the retaurant but it is a cool Irish pub type place. I imagine they still do this...I haven't gone for a couple of years but they were doing this as recently as 2 years ago.

Also - If you have some extra cash and want to hit up a bakery, everyone always wants to go to Mike's pastry because it's the most well known place (I am not really sure why/how but it seems that tourists always know about Mikes...???) but I say skip the line @ Mike's and go to Bova's...I think they're better (they're also open 24/7).

Ahhh! that's awesome. thank you!

[ashrice13]

Has anyone tried to submit their immunization form yet? It's not letting me log into the patient portal. It might just be too early...I'm defintely trying to just get everything done early so I don't have to worry about it all summer. BU Doesn't always seem to like how early I'm doing stuff haha

[angelfan5589]

Did anyone get their reimbursement/stipends from Boston? I'm still waiting and getting nervous it may never come...

Got mine the beginning of this week. In Kansas, and I submitted all my receipts the week before the first ASD.

I got mine last week. I went to the second ASD. But I got the full $300. Did you reserve a stipend? They didn't send a confirmation that they got my email so I actually sent them a follow up to confirm they got my receipt.

[gopats92]

Okay I have to ask: is anyone else still waiting to hear back re scholarship negotiations?

I received a small increase right before the deposit deadline, submitted another request, and was told they would consider my additional request as their next deposit deadline approaches. I know I still have a couple weeks until the June 1st deposit, but I am just curious if there is anyone else here also waiting or has heard back (yes or no) on their second round of scholarship negotiations.

[orangejuice23]

Hey folks!

I just joined this thread, but was accepted to BU back in April. Has anyone had any luck getting more scholarship? If so, did you just sent a short email to Cheryl Constantine or did you send in an elaborate letter?

[ashrice13]

Hey folks!

I just joined this thread, but was accepted to BU back in April. Has anyone had any luck getting more scholarship? If so, did you just sent a short email to Cheryl Constantine or did you send in an elaborate letter?

There's tons of info all around TLS (and the BU applicants thread) about how to negotiate so it might be helpful to look around. I sent a short email to the main bu financial aid email address, though.

[Dodocogon]

Hey folks!

I just joined this thread, but was accepted to BU back in April. Has anyone had any luck getting more scholarship? If so, did you just sent a short email to Cheryl Constantine or did you send in an elaborate letter?

I sent a 3 paragraph letter going into my situation; you can address it to Cheryl and send it to the finaid@bu.edu email - that's what they asked for when I called in.

[orangejuice23]

Hey folks!

I just joined this thread, but was accepted to BU back in April. Has anyone had any luck getting more scholarship? If so, did you just sent a short email to Cheryl Constantine or did you send in an elaborate letter?

There's tons of info all around TLS (and the BU applicants thread) about how to negotiate so it might be helpful to look around. I sent a short email to the main bu financial aid email address, though.

Thanks for the info! I will do some digging around.

[jessmeesh]

Anyone else put off by student link?

I was pretty excited to dig around and start getting shit done, but yikes that site is ugly.

[ashrice13]

Anyone else put off by student link?

I was pretty excited to dig around and start getting shit done, but yikes that site is ugly.

Absolutely agree! There's also not much to find (I've tried).

[jessmeesh]

Anyone else put off by student link?

I was pretty excited to dig around and start getting shit done, but yikes that site is ugly.

Absolutely agree! There's also not much to find (I've tried).

Yup. Was also disappointed by the lack of things to do. My bar is pretty high from UMich undergrad. Wolverine Access is amazing. I've been poking around the health services site and the computer store site. At least its something new to do admit the waiting lol

[tuesdayninja]

Anyone else put off by student link?

I was pretty excited to dig around and start getting shit done, but yikes that site is ugly.

Absolutely agree! There's also not much to find (I've tried).

Yup. Was also disappointed by the lack of things to do. My bar is pretty high from UMich undergrad. Wolverine Access is amazing. I've been poking around the health services site and the computer store site. At least its something new to do admit the waiting lol

Yay fellow wolverine! Yea studentlink stinks hah

[jessmeesh]

Yay fellow wolverine! Yea studentlink stinks hah

Heeyy!!!

Are you committed to BU? I'd love to know another wolverine.