NYU Law Class of 2011 Forum

[VaultBound]

Yes, Citi is the only lender giving over .25% rate reductions.

[aguyingeorgia]

I tend to think with my stomach. Any suggestions/thoughts on best places to go for groceries near D'ag and Mercer?

[gedmem2]

So when I was first looking for walking distance to law school apartments, I had trouble finding anything for my price range (less than 1400 a month), but that was a month and a half ago and apparently the market has changed substantially. Since I got stuck with the most expensive one on my list in Mercer, I might be able to save 2-3 grand for my first year by switching off-campus (even with the cancellation fee).

Any advice regarding on-campus vs. off-campus housing? I am trying to see what I might be forgetting about, so I would love to hear why you all chose what you did. For those of you still apt hunting, how is it going?

[VaultBound]

$1,400 for anything close by is going to be rough. Maybe you've managed to something worthwhile but nothing I considered (size, location and quality accounted for) was under $1,600 a month.

[underdawg]

I tend to think with my stomach. Any suggestions/thoughts on best places to go for groceries near D'ag and Mercer?

Trader Joes?

And to clarify...Citi definitely has the best incentives this year? Is everyone here going Citi?

[VaultBound]

Got my HESC guarantor approval emails today, I guess NYU is finally confirming enrollment with lenders and guarantors.

Didn't think I would qualify for Subsidized Staffords...no complaints here.

[gedmem2]

$1,400 for anything close by is going to be rough. Maybe you've managed to something worthwhile but nothing I considered (size, location and quality accounted for) was under $1,600 a month.

That's what I thought, but when were you looking? Did you already find a place?

Anyone else?

[theexpert204]

Hi---this is really sad that I'm responding since I didn't get into NYU (didn't even apply, I'm not the delusional), but I went for undergrad and thought I'd throw in a couple of comments that will hopefully help you lucky folks out! I remembered how hard it was getting settled the first time around, so if I can throw out some advice

If you want to live by yourself for 1400 a month, you're a) not going to be living in manhattan or b) have to use a broker, who's fees usually amount to a lot more than you thought you were going to end up paying.

You should really consider getting roommates or think seriously about living in parts of Brooklyn/Queens that aren't too far from campus.

If you've never lived in NYC before or rented an apartment, three questions you should always ask the broker/apt managers/landlords/supers: 1) What utilities are included? 2) Is this a 1 yr or 2 yr lease? 3) What penalties will there be if I break the lease? 4) What's the pest/rodent history here? --A lot of people have nice looking spaces with crappy plumbing or rats in the walls, so turn up the heat on who evers showing you the place. I know these sound like common sense questions, but I've moved around a lot in Manhattan/Brooklyn, and in the craziness of trying to find a place to live, common sense is competing against an impending sense of doom.

If you decide you want to live outside of Brooklyn, try and stay in neighborhoods near your direct train line to school. Transferring between multiple lines can sometimes add 20-30 minutes if you don't time it correctly. Go to MTA.Info to check out the subway maps, and you'll see the neighborhoods next to lines you'll be taking daily.

W. 4th street stations stops right next to school. That's the A,C,E,D,B,F,V trains. The R train at 8th st and Broadway is also very close by. If you don't mind walking 6 blocks, the N, Q, R, W trains at 14th St/Union Square can be convenient.

Congrats to all of you and enjoy NYC!

[gedmem2]

Thanks for your response, expert! I am looking for 2 bedroom places, I know I have to have a roommate and I think I prefer that anyway.

I will probably move to Brooklyn for 2L/3L, but for my first year I would like to be close to the action, even if it breaks the bank.

Did anyone visit Mercer and take pictures? How many minutes walk is it to the law school buildings?

[decidingagain]

2BR for 1100 in Manhattan....is it currently on fire? lol

[VaultBound]

I wouldn't really put too much stock in listings without pictures and I definitely wouldn't finalize anything without stepping foot in the unit to see the street, building, rooms, etc. In addition to "expert's" advice, you need to ask about a washer/dryer in the building or unit, A/C window units or central air/heat, wires for internet and cable, is it a TRUE 2 BR or a convertible/flex, etc. Don't infer anything from listings. Brokers and those looking to rent might imply 100 things while not explicitly stating any of them.

You said you don't mind breaking the bank to be close to the action but don't want to spend more than $1,400? Kind of contradictory.

Anyway, good luck with the search.

[gedmem2]

You said you don't mind breaking the bank to be close to the action but don't want to spend more than $1,400? Kind of contradictory.

Ha! Paying four times what I used to for 1/3 the square footage is not considered breaking the bank?

We get 2286 per month for rent, food, entertainment, transportation, etc.
-1400 for rent leaves 886 for food, transportation, and entertainment:

cell phone: $50
metro card: $81
food: $450
prescriptions, co-pays: $40
that only leaves $265 for drinks, entertainment, plane tickets, toiletries, clothing

(All assuming that I make money my first summer.)

With that type of budget I have no doubt that I will have to dip into my savings some, which I had originally saved so that I could minimize debt, but of course that doesn't seem like a possibility.

So yeah, I consider 1400 breaking the bank. How are others who wish to live in Manhattan planning on managing?

edit: Also because I would be dealing with the cancellation fee it would actually be 1600 for me, I guess I could have said that above. . .

[underdawg]

Mercer is about a 5 minute walk to the school.

[cup]

I wouldn't really put too much stock in listings without pictures and I definitely wouldn't finalize anything without stepping foot in the unit to see the street, building, rooms, etc. In addition to "expert's" advice, you need to ask about a washer/dryer in the building or unit, A/C window units or central air/heat, wires for internet and cable, is it a TRUE 2 BR or a convertible/flex, etc. Don't infer anything from listings. Brokers and those looking to rent might imply 100 things while not explicitly stating any of them.

You said you don't mind breaking the bank to be close to the action but don't want to spend more than $1,400? Kind of contradictory.

Anyway, good luck with the search.

TITRC,
Listings are most likely BS from my experience. I would consider trying to get further up the island for anything close to that price range that is not going to be a total shithole. A friend of mine who is also going to NYU was able to get a room with an older lady who owns her place in the east village, so maybe you could look into that. I ended up paying $1800 for my 400sf studio. It is really close to the b,c line, so I will end up walking only like 2 1/2 blocks to the law school. The difference is that I have a roomate, my wife, so my budgeting is a little different. Don't even bother looking above 106 on the east side, that is a very scary place at 10pm, I had to see for myself. It is not bad at all in that range on the west side though. Good luck.

[zeezoo]

OMG DIDNT REALIZE NYC HAD A TRADER JOES IM GONNA CREAM MYSELF

[NakaNaka]

I wouldn't really put too much stock in listings without pictures and I definitely wouldn't finalize anything without stepping foot in the unit to see the street, building, rooms, etc. In addition to "expert's" advice, you need to ask about a washer/dryer in the building or unit, A/C window units or central air/heat, wires for internet and cable, is it a TRUE 2 BR or a convertible/flex, etc. Don't infer anything from listings. Brokers and those looking to rent might imply 100 things while not explicitly stating any of them.

You said you don't mind breaking the bank to be close to the action but don't want to spend more than $1,400? Kind of contradictory.

Anyway, good luck with the search.

TITRC,
Listings are most likely BS from my experience. I would consider trying to get further up the island for anything close to that price range that is not going to be a total shithole. A friend of mine who is also going to NYU was able to get a room with an older lady who owns her place in the east village, so maybe you could look into that. I ended up paying $1800 for my 400sf studio. It is really close to the b,c line, so I will end up walking only like 2 1/2 blocks to the law school. The difference is that I have a roomate, my wife, so my budgeting is a little different. Don't even bother looking above 106 on the east side, that is a very scary place at 10pm, I had to see for myself. It is not bad at all in that range on the west side though. Good luck.

Agreed, UWS is nice all the way up to Columbia, UES I wouldn't want to live much above 106 either though things are starting to change you see some really nice buildings in Spanish Harlem now that are not cheap. The key is, if you are looking to not live in student housing, you need roommates. It's basically as simple as that. NYC is an expensive town and it doesn't get any easier on a student budget. There are some good apts and places to be had if you have roomies. Most of my friends who aren't going to law school and are moving to Manhattan have at least 2 roomies. The apts are a decent size, they all have their own rooms, but roomies are kind of essential.

[Lyrrad]

Anyone have an electronic copy of the Student Health history and MMR forms for new students? I just called for them to mail it to me, but it'll take some time for it to arrive.

[cup]

Anyone have an electronic copy of the Student Health history and MMR forms for new students? I just called for them to mail it to me, but it'll take some time for it to arrive.

It is a scantron form, so I don't know if printouts will work. They might though. I, however, haven't seen an electronic copy for new students anywhere.

[dgs]

In case this happened to anyone else, sharing my experience and solution:

If you got an e-mail from JD Admission today about missing your MMR and Final Undergraduate College Questionnaire, but thought you'd already sent them, it's possible that they have the forms but sent you the e-mail anyways. I cleared it up fairly quickly by calling NYU Law Admissions about the Questionnaire (212-998-6060) and the University Health Center number in the e-mail (212-443-1199) about the Measles, Mumps, and Rubella.

Lyrrad: MMR and Meningitis forms are on the health center website. If you're an incoming law student, that's all you need. Or it is according to the e-mail I received, but not according to the e-mail someone else received (see: 5-6 pages earlier in this thread) They can be printed easily and signed by your physician.

I really hope these aren't a sign of future communication problems to come...

[underdawg]

The MMR thing isn't even due for a month anyway...

[NakaNaka]

Yeah my undergrad transcript was sent out a week and a half ago and I got the e-mail saying they haven't gotten it yet, so I'll call Admissions on Monday to see what the deal is.

I'm kind of curious about what orientation entails. I wonder when they will send us info on that. I know it's 5 weeks away but it still feels right around the corner. Time to enjoy these last few weeks.

[dgs]

Yeah, details on orientation would be nice.

So far dude/tte with the Obama Bike avatar and I are the only ones up for ditching Day 1 in favor of the last ever McCarren pool party if the Hold Steady are on the bill. Though I think they may be on tour elsewhere, so I'll take suggestions on other bands for which to daydream of misprioritizing my life in favor of watching.

[concerned]

Some questions about applying for loans to CitiBank via the HESC Website:

1. Once someone applies for the two MPNs, will CitiBank send some paperwork/e-mail specifying what the terms/discounts/incentives are?

2. They offer a .5 interest rate reduction when repayment starts and a .25 interest rate reduction for signing up for auto-debit. They also give multiple chances to regain incentive/incentives if they are lost due to late payment. When they talk about losing incentives, are they talking only about the .25 interest rate or both? In other words, can the .5 interest rate reduction ever be lost? (I don't think so since the only requirement for the .5 interest rate reduction is that repayment starts.)

3. If someone has six loans from Citibank (two for each year say), would he/she want to consolidate the loans? In other words, why do people consolidate loans?

Thanks.

[VaultBound]

1. You will NOT get any email outlining the incentives. The terms and incentives are pretty straight-forward.

2. Incentives can be lost if you miss payments. How many and how frequently they allow you to without losing the incentives is up to the lender. I don't know Citi's policy.

3. Loan consolidation is usually reserved for those that have several high-interest debts (i.e. credit cards) and cannot make the required minimum payments. In this situation, you consolidate the loans using a third-party lender and have a lower payment for a longer term. Because Citi defers your repayment until after graduation, I'm fairly sure they put it all in the same loan. The incentives might change but the total is increased with each disbursement.

[underdawg]

So do we pick "New York University" and then "Graduate-Law" on the HESC thing or "NYU Law"? I picked the former...hope it's ok...