WUSTL($$$$) vs. Northwestern ($) Forum

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WUSTL($$$$) vs. Northwestern ($)

WUSTL (COA $87,334)
24
41%
Northwestern (COA $245,885)
35
59%
 
Total votes: 59

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Nova

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Re: WUSTL($$$$) vs. Northwestern ($)

Post by Nova » Wed Jul 03, 2013 5:38 pm

Midwest is the best

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romothesavior

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Re: WUSTL($$$$) vs. Northwestern ($)

Post by romothesavior » Wed Jul 03, 2013 5:39 pm

Nova wrote:Midwest is the best
Word

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bananasplit19

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Re: WUSTL($$$$) vs. Northwestern ($)

Post by bananasplit19 » Wed Jul 03, 2013 5:41 pm

Monochromatic Oeuvre wrote:325ish sq ft apartment is $2k per month.
:shock:

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Re: WUSTL($$$$) vs. Northwestern ($)

Post by jdb2013 » Wed Jul 03, 2013 8:10 pm

Monochromatic Oeuvre wrote:
jbagelboy wrote:
Robespierre wrote:"Side note: Can someone translate when "rental price per square foot" means in common parlance? For instance, Google says Manhattan is $50/sq ft, but obviously if you divide the monthly rent by the square footage of an apartment you'll get a much lower number. What am I missing? "

600 sq ft apartment in a good neighborhood will cost you about 30K rent per year (not month). $30,000/600 = $50.
So lionsgate at CLS is SIGNIFICANTLY higher than the Manhattan rent price. Thats some bullshit
My 325ish sq ft apartment is $2k per month. On a 12-month basis, that would be 24k/325 = $73.85. Not only is that significantly over the Manhattan average, but it's also in what's supposed to be a cheaper area of Manhattan--forget that BS about it being "subsidized" by the school.

Well, that's just swell.
as a NYC native and former real estate broker... You got ripped off unless your building is full of luxury amenities . Move next year, going a little further north of Columbia will save you loads.

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Monochromatic Oeuvre

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Re: WUSTL($$$$) vs. Northwestern ($)

Post by Monochromatic Oeuvre » Wed Jul 03, 2013 8:18 pm

jdb2013 wrote:
Monochromatic Oeuvre wrote:
jbagelboy wrote:
Robespierre wrote:"Side note: Can someone translate when "rental price per square foot" means in common parlance? For instance, Google says Manhattan is $50/sq ft, but obviously if you divide the monthly rent by the square footage of an apartment you'll get a much lower number. What am I missing? "

600 sq ft apartment in a good neighborhood will cost you about 30K rent per year (not month). $30,000/600 = $50.
So lionsgate at CLS is SIGNIFICANTLY higher than the Manhattan rent price. Thats some bullshit
My 325ish sq ft apartment is $2k per month. On a 12-month basis, that would be 24k/325 = $73.85. Not only is that significantly over the Manhattan average, but it's also in what's supposed to be a cheaper area of Manhattan--forget that BS about it being "subsidized" by the school.

Well, that's just swell.
as a NYC native and former real estate broker... You got ripped off unless your building is full of luxury amenities . Move next year, going a little further north of Columbia will save you loads.
Well, if I'm getting ripped off, it's by Columbia themselves...

Proximity to campus is a huge deal for me. I've been looking at some places that are nearly as close, but I have two reservations: a) If a private place has a 12-month lease, I'm basically committing to spending summers in NYC, as opposed to DC where I can live for free b) I'm coming off a pretty bad experience with realtors from another law school whose contract really stuck it to me in the you-know-where when I wanted to get out of it. It's made me really wary of getting screwed over again.

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sinfiery

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Re: WUSTL($$$$) vs. Northwestern ($)

Post by sinfiery » Wed Jul 03, 2013 8:22 pm

Yeah...that totally sucks bro. I have the cheapest possible floor plan for NYU law housing and I'm splitting a 535 square feet total apartment with 2 other people.


Cost $1,500 a month







PER PERSON

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Monochromatic Oeuvre

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Re: WUSTL($$$$) vs. Northwestern ($)

Post by Monochromatic Oeuvre » Wed Jul 03, 2013 8:30 pm

sinfiery wrote:Yeah...that totally sucks bro. I have the cheapest possible floor plan for NYU law housing and I'm splitting a 535 square feet total apartment with 2 other people.


Cost $1,500 a month







PER PERSON

Ouch.

I guess I just don't understand why the studios would be more expensive than the surrounding area if the fact that they're reserved for law students eliminates the supply and demand aspect of a potential improved location price bump. It's certainly not to subsidize anything else because, you know, tuition is $56-mothereffing-000 a year.

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Re: WUSTL($$$$) vs. Northwestern ($)

Post by jdb2013 » Wed Jul 03, 2013 9:16 pm

Well, if I'm getting ripped off, it's by Columbia themselves...

Proximity to campus is a huge deal for me. I've been looking at some places that are nearly as close, but I have two reservations: a) If a private place has a 12-month lease, I'm basically committing to spending summers in NYC, as opposed to DC where I can live for free b) I'm coming off a pretty bad experience with realtors from another law school whose contract really stuck it to me in the you-know-where when I wanted to get out of it. It's made me really wary of getting screwed over again.[/quote]

Proximity is absolutely achievable. 10 minutes north or east could save a ton if you don't mind being a bit more in the hood. You will have a very hard time finding a sub 12 month lease though... You could say that's how Columbia gets away with it... Although if you can save 900 a month, paying rent for the 2 months you are in dc is still cheaper.

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Monochromatic Oeuvre

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Re: WUSTL($$$$) vs. Northwestern ($)

Post by Monochromatic Oeuvre » Wed Jul 03, 2013 10:04 pm

jdb2013 wrote:
Well, if I'm getting ripped off, it's by Columbia themselves...

Proximity to campus is a huge deal for me. I've been looking at some places that are nearly as close, but I have two reservations: a) If a private place has a 12-month lease, I'm basically committing to spending summers in NYC, as opposed to DC where I can live for free b) I'm coming off a pretty bad experience with realtors from another law school whose contract really stuck it to me in the you-know-where when I wanted to get out of it. It's made me really wary of getting screwed over again.
Proximity is absolutely achievable. 10 minutes north or east could save a ton if you don't mind being a bit more in the hood. You will have a very hard time finding a sub 12 month lease though... You could say that's how Columbia gets away with it... Although if you can save 900 a month, paying rent for the 2 months you are in dc is still cheaper.
I think I'm somewhat unique in that I place a pretty high value on privacy and proximity and little to no value on any other aspect of an apartment. I would pretty gladly cover a difference of, say, $500/month for a place that was 10 minutes closer to where I need to be. The combination of the 9-month lease and the relative security I feel working within Columbia's housing (as opposed to the risk of being dicked by another crappy rental contract in a seller's market) makes my current place okay.

But the information you're providing is good nonetheless. If cost is far and away a person's first priority, and they're very likely to stay in NYC every summer, going private is the right thing to do.

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Re: WUSTL($$$$) vs. Northwestern ($)

Post by BigZuck » Wed Jul 03, 2013 11:03 pm

Monochromatic Oeuvre wrote:
jdb2013 wrote:
Well, if I'm getting ripped off, it's by Columbia themselves...

Proximity to campus is a huge deal for me. I've been looking at some places that are nearly as close, but I have two reservations: a) If a private place has a 12-month lease, I'm basically committing to spending summers in NYC, as opposed to DC where I can live for free b) I'm coming off a pretty bad experience with realtors from another law school whose contract really stuck it to me in the you-know-where when I wanted to get out of it. It's made me really wary of getting screwed over again.
Proximity is absolutely achievable. 10 minutes north or east could save a ton if you don't mind being a bit more in the hood. You will have a very hard time finding a sub 12 month lease though... You could say that's how Columbia gets away with it... Although if you can save 900 a month, paying rent for the 2 months you are in dc is still cheaper.
I think I'm somewhat unique in that I place a pretty high value on privacy and proximity and little to no value on any other aspect of an apartment. I would pretty gladly cover a difference of, say, $500/month for a place that was 10 minutes closer to where I need to be. The combination of the 9-month lease and the relative security I feel working within Columbia's housing (as opposed to the risk of being dicked by another crappy rental contract in a seller's market) makes my current place okay.

But the information you're providing is good nonetheless. If cost is far and away a person's first priority, and they're very likely to stay in NYC every summer, going private is the right thing to do.
Spending $500 more to be ten minutes closer? I can dig it (as always, YOLO) but this is not helping your whole "I'm not rich" argument my bro.

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Re: WUSTL($$$$) vs. Northwestern ($)

Post by jdb2013 » Thu Jul 04, 2013 1:58 am

BigZuck wrote:
Monochromatic Oeuvre wrote:
jdb2013 wrote:
Well, if I'm getting ripped off, it's by Columbia themselves...

Proximity to campus is a huge deal for me. I've been looking at some places that are nearly as close, but I have two reservations: a) If a private place has a 12-month lease, I'm basically committing to spending summers in NYC, as opposed to DC where I can live for free b) I'm coming off a pretty bad experience with realtors from another law school whose contract really stuck it to me in the you-know-where when I wanted to get out of it. It's made me really wary of getting screwed over again.
Proximity is absolutely achievable. 10 minutes north or east could save a ton if you don't mind being a bit more in the hood. You will have a very hard time finding a sub 12 month lease though... You could say that's how Columbia gets away with it... Although if you can save 900 a month, paying rent for the 2 months you are in dc is still cheaper.
I think I'm somewhat unique in that I place a pretty high value on privacy and proximity and little to no value on any other aspect of an apartment. I would pretty gladly cover a difference of, say, $500/month for a place that was 10 minutes closer to where I need to be. The combination of the 9-month lease and the relative security I feel working within Columbia's housing (as opposed to the risk of being dicked by another crappy rental contract in a seller's market) makes my current place okay.

But the information you're providing is good nonetheless. If cost is far and away a person's first priority, and they're very likely to stay in NYC every summer, going private is the right thing to do.
Spending $500 more to be ten minutes closer? I can dig it (as always, YOLO) but this is not helping your whole "I'm not rich" argument my bro.

Also for those who care... The savings are closer to 1000, and a Bloomberg lease (which is pretty standard) is a pretty secure contract... And again, if you are talking about 2k over 10 months or 1k over 12, regardless of where you want to live in the summer you save 8k taking the 12 month lease.

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Re: WUSTL($$$$) vs. Northwestern ($)

Post by jbagelboy » Thu Jul 04, 2013 4:39 am

BigZuck wrote:
Monochromatic Oeuvre wrote:
jdb2013 wrote:
Well, if I'm getting ripped off, it's by Columbia themselves...

Proximity to campus is a huge deal for me. I've been looking at some places that are nearly as close, but I have two reservations: a) If a private place has a 12-month lease, I'm basically committing to spending summers in NYC, as opposed to DC where I can live for free b) I'm coming off a pretty bad experience with realtors from another law school whose contract really stuck it to me in the you-know-where when I wanted to get out of it. It's made me really wary of getting screwed over again.
Proximity is absolutely achievable. 10 minutes north or east could save a ton if you don't mind being a bit more in the hood. You will have a very hard time finding a sub 12 month lease though... You could say that's how Columbia gets away with it... Although if you can save 900 a month, paying rent for the 2 months you are in dc is still cheaper.
I think I'm somewhat unique in that I place a pretty high value on privacy and proximity and little to no value on any other aspect of an apartment. I would pretty gladly cover a difference of, say, $500/month for a place that was 10 minutes closer to where I need to be. The combination of the 9-month lease and the relative security I feel working within Columbia's housing (as opposed to the risk of being dicked by another crappy rental contract in a seller's market) makes my current place okay.

But the information you're providing is good nonetheless. If cost is far and away a person's first priority, and they're very likely to stay in NYC every summer, going private is the right thing to do.
Spending $500 more to be ten minutes closer? I can dig it (as always, YOLO) but this is not helping your whole "I'm not rich" argument my bro.
Yo guys, chill. It makes sense for Mono to have tried to gl thru UAH and cls housing, since its random and you don't know what you'll be assigned. Also, this is the washed up runt of the housing several months after initial offers.

That price to live alone in 325 sq ft is not completely unheard of. Its comparable to other CLS housing options. Most 1Ls do it for a reason, and we have a shitload on our plate already. FWIW, I tried the private market prior to applying for UAH; it was absurd. The only places under 2K were fake ads, and the 3K/4K studios/occasional 1BDR werent sufficiently nicer than something like lenfest to merit the fees, hassle, and inconvenience, not to mention that blows most peoples' budget. Parts of CLS housing might blow, but the alternatives are worse.

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Monochromatic Oeuvre

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Re: WUSTL($$$$) vs. Northwestern ($)

Post by Monochromatic Oeuvre » Thu Jul 04, 2013 8:13 am

jdb2013 wrote:
BigZuck wrote:
Monochromatic Oeuvre wrote:
jdb2013 wrote:
Proximity is absolutely achievable. 10 minutes north or east could save a ton if you don't mind being a bit more in the hood. You will have a very hard time finding a sub 12 month lease though... You could say that's how Columbia gets away with it... Although if you can save 900 a month, paying rent for the 2 months you are in dc is still cheaper.
I think I'm somewhat unique in that I place a pretty high value on privacy and proximity and little to no value on any other aspect of an apartment. I would pretty gladly cover a difference of, say, $500/month for a place that was 10 minutes closer to where I need to be. The combination of the 9-month lease and the relative security I feel working within Columbia's housing (as opposed to the risk of being dicked by another crappy rental contract in a seller's market) makes my current place okay.

But the information you're providing is good nonetheless. If cost is far and away a person's first priority, and they're very likely to stay in NYC every summer, going private is the right thing to do.
Spending $500 more to be ten minutes closer? I can dig it (as always, YOLO) but this is not helping your whole "I'm not rich" argument my bro.

Also for those who care... The savings are closer to 1000, and a Bloomberg lease (which is pretty standard) is a pretty secure contract... And again, if you are talking about 2k over 10 months or 1k over 12, regardless of where you want to live in the summer you save 8k taking the 12 month lease.
I certainly agree that if rent is low enough, you wind up saving money even if you go somewhere else during the summer. But I just see so many other downsides, in my situation, for trying to get private housing.

1. Proximity is very important because I'm suspecting time will be at a relative premium during 1L. Perhaps I'm not the type of student for whom twenty minutes a day would be all that problematic, but then again I suspect, given my inclinations and tendency, that I'm likely the kind of student for whom it would be a huge deal.
2. It has to be a single, because I'm a pretty private person and living with others tends to frustrate me. I'm living alone for the first time in my life and the QOL improvement is phenomenal. Also, part of the condition of my parents agreeing to pay for a place is that it was a single, because they are intending to make frequent use of it in lieu of paying $200/night for a hotel. (They're NYC afficionados, and they see it as a relative bargain when they'd come up frequently regardless.) If I don't take a single now through CLS, I'm not assured of one for the year.
3. I'm from DC and therefore believe there is at least a decent chance I'd like to be back in the summer, which makes a 9-month lease much more desirable than a 12-month lease. As I understand it, a 9-month lease is only available through CLS.
4. I'm coming off what I thought was a pretty bad experience with a realtor at another law school, and would not at all appreciate having to go through that process again. I'm also, at this point, pretty afraid of getting screwed since I essentially have very little leverage in this market.
5. Living in a building with other CLS students is a plus. I don't know if that will be just a nice little touch or if it could turn out to be a big relief.

I think for many students, looking for a private place is the way to go (particularly since most are more cost-conscious than I am). For me, however, there's so many unknown factors that are up in the air that the security of CLS housing seems to make more sense. I definitely agree that it's something at least to look into for 2L/3L, when I suspect I'll have more free time, will know the area better, and will know my lifestyle well enough to know what would be a good decision for me.

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Samara

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Re: WUSTL($$$$) vs. Northwestern ($)

Post by Samara » Thu Jul 04, 2013 11:30 am

Is there not a CLS housing thread on TLS?

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