NYU Class of 2013 Forum

[ravens20]

I'm wondering what everyone's thoughts are on the D'Ag vs Mercer vs live off campus for 1L decision we are faced with.

[kinch]

I'm wondering what everyone's thoughts are on the D'Ag vs Mercer vs live off campus for 1L decision we are faced with.

I think it'd be better for most 1Ls to live in the dorms if only for the sense of law school community/meeting new people. Personally, I put D'Ag on my housing app.

[kumba84]

I'm wondering what everyone's thoughts are on the D'Ag vs Mercer vs live off campus for 1L decision we are faced with.

First post on this thread. As for housing, I will most certainly be living somewhere in Brooklyn since my partner and I want a larger place and a more neighborhood feel. We're only looking at places that are on or near the subway line to NYU. At the ASD, most of the students told me that was totally feasible (I talked to a 1L who lives in Brooklyn and she recommended it). They also said that Mercer was nicer than D'Ag and the rooms were a lot larger.

[lsathalon]

My fiance and I are hoping to get NYU family housing for 1L, but I can definitely see us moving to Brooklyn after that.

[Series70]

If any of you are considering Brooklyn, you may want to take a look at Bay Ridge. (We talk about it a bit here: http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... &start=500). It's not as close to the Village as Williamsburg or Park Slope, but it's cheaper and is an overall great neighborhood. There are actually some units available in my building, so feel free to PM me if you're interested. I'm not sure about the exact price for these apartments, but my wife and I currently pay $1,200/mo. for our (cat-friendly) 1-bedroom.

[forza]

General consensus is that Mercer is a bit nicer than D'Ag, then?

[sikwitt]

General consensus is that Mercer is a bit nicer than D'Ag, then?

much nicer. Most notably the mercer rooms are significantly bigger. Pricier as well though

[kumba84]

If any of you are considering Brooklyn, you may want to take a look at Bay Ridge. (We talk about it a bit here: http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... &start=500). It's not as close to the Village as Williamsburg or Park Slope, but it's cheaper and is an overall great neighborhood. There are actually some units available in my building, so feel free to PM me if you're interested. I'm not sure about the exact price for these apartments, but my wife and I currently pay $1,200/mo. for our (cat-friendly) 1-bedroom.

How long is the commute from Bay Ridge? Is it a good neighborhood for twenty-somethings? We're looking for decent grocery stores, a good bar/restaurant scene and maybe a park somewhere nearby.

[Series70]

^ It's about 45 minutes to NYU, depending on how close you are to the subway. Owl's Head Park is very nice, and then you also have the bike/running path along the bay, which is fantastic. As for bars, there are plenty, but they're pretty working class (NYPD and FDNY-types). You can always take the R a few stops north to Park Slope for trendier places, though. For supermarkets, it depends. Key Foods just opened, and it's really nice, but my wife and I prefer to walk over to GW (Great Wall) in Brooklyn's Chinatown.

I'll admit: it's the perfect neighborhood for me, but probably not for everyone else!

[dixiecupdrinking]

I would hesitate to recommend Bay Ridge to an NYU student new to the city. It is a very nice neighborhood but, realistically, it's very far out. Coming to NYU with no social network and moving to Bay Ridge could feel really isolated, especially for someone not living with a SO. As far as Brooklyn neighborhoods, I'd stick to Park Slope/Carroll Gardens/Prospect Heights/Fort Greene, which are all significantly closer to Manhattan and NYU, and have way bigger bar scenes for 20-somethings. They're pricier but still way cheaper than the Village.

[spondee]

I would hesitate to recommend Bay Ridge to an NYU student new to the city. It is a very nice neighborhood but, realistically, it's very far out. Coming to NYU with no social network and moving to Bay Ridge could feel really isolated, especially for someone not living with a SO. As far as Brooklyn neighborhoods, I'd stick to Park Slope/Carroll Gardens/Prospect Heights/Fort Greene, which are all significantly closer to Manhattan and NYU, and have way bigger bar scenes for 20-somethings. They're pricier but still way cheaper than the Village.

Agree with this completely.

[kumba84]

I would hesitate to recommend Bay Ridge to an NYU student new to the city. It is a very nice neighborhood but, realistically, it's very far out. Coming to NYU with no social network and moving to Bay Ridge could feel really isolated, especially for someone not living with a SO. As far as Brooklyn neighborhoods, I'd stick to Park Slope/Carroll Gardens/Prospect Heights/Fort Greene, which are all significantly closer to Manhattan and NYU, and have way bigger bar scenes for 20-somethings. They're pricier but still way cheaper than the Village.

Agree with this completely.

Thanks! I am moving with my partner and have a few friends in the city, but I think the closer Brooklyn neighborhoods probably would be better for my first year at least.

On a side note, does NYU maintain any sort of housing database where students can list their apartments if they're moving out, or post openings they know of? We're planning to come to the city in July to look for places but it would be nice if we already had an "in." NYU still hasn't cashed my deposit so I haven't really heard too much from them about logistics.

[BenJ]

General consensus is that Mercer is a bit nicer than D'Ag, then?

much nicer. Most notably the mercer rooms are significantly bigger. Pricier as well though

From visiting and seeing the rooms, I didn't get the impression that Mercer is that much nicer than D'Ag. I mean, the rooms were marginally bigger in Mercer (not enough to be noticeable unless the rooms were side-by-side), but otherwise they seemed basically the same. Of course, the sample rooms they have set up might not be representative. But, other than size, does anyone think Mercer is really significantly "nicer" than D'Ag? I don't think I can justify $200/month to get just an extra 2' x 1' in bedroom space.

Also, for those looking for local housing cheaply, my boyfriend and his future roommate just signed a lease on a two-bedroom apartment on Sullivan St. less than a block from campus for just $1900/month between them. I was pretty shocked that they could do that well, but the apartment itself is decent, not significantly smaller than a D'Ag apartment (just saw it myself this weekend).

[Anastasia Dee Dualla]

Anyone been able to set up their email and such?

[BenJ]

How soon after submitting deposits did most people get ID#s? I know they say seven to ten days, but is it generally on the shorter end or the longer end, or is there some specific day of the week when they go out for everyone who deposited in the past week, or what?

[forza]

How soon after submitting deposits did most people get ID#s? I know they say seven to ten days, but is it generally on the shorter end or the longer end, or is there some specific day of the week when they go out for everyone who deposited in the past week, or what?

I'd also like to know this.

[lsathalon]

It took about a month for me to get my net id and everything I needed to set up the email account...however, this was in January/February, so they may have sped up the process by now.

[notaname]

Since folks on TLS are so rankings-obsessed, I thought I might share New York Magazine's list of New York's 50 most desirable neighborhoods. (Get used to saying/writing "nabes" if you're about to move to the city.)

http://nymag.com/realestate/neighborhoods/2010/65374/

Park Slope, the top ranking candidate, has very good train access to W. 4th St. But also note that the LES and East Village make appearances. As previously mentioned, Prospect Heights is also a great option for NYU students. Carroll Gardens is a nice place to live, and if you live in the right part of the neighborhood the train access is great, but you might end up feeling isolated from the rest of Brooklyn.

[kumba84]

Since folks on TLS are so rankings-obsessed, I thought I might share New York Magazine's list of New York's 50 most desirable neighborhoods. (Get used to saying/writing "nabes" if you're about to move to the city.)

http://nymag.com/realestate/neighborhoods/2010/65374/

Park Slope, the top ranking candidate, has very good train access to W. 4th St. But also note that the LES and East Village make appearances. As previously mentioned, Prospect Heights is also a great option for NYU students. Carroll Gardens is a nice place to live, and if you live in the right part of the neighborhood the train access is great, but you might end up feeling isolated from the rest of Brooklyn.

Just read this article. If you skip to the end, there's a "livability calculator" where you can plug in your own values for the various categories and it will tell you some suitable neighborhoods.

[kumba84]

How soon after submitting deposits did most people get ID#s? I know they say seven to ten days, but is it generally on the shorter end or the longer end, or is there some specific day of the week when they go out for everyone who deposited in the past week, or what?

I'd also like to know this.

Still waiting on mine and I submitted my deposit on April 1.

[badfish]

If you have a pre-existing network in NYC and would prefer to hang out with those people, you should live off campus.

If you are new to the city and don't have a network, you should live on campus.

Mercer is nicer than d'ag, but d'ag is closer than Mercer.

Also, the idea that you need to live on a direct line to W4 really cuts down your options. I know that I live on the L, for example and have to transfer @ 6th ave to the ACE to get to W4 but it is never an issue. Try and get a feel for which subways work the best before you rule out the idea of living somewhere b/c there is no direct line to NYU.

[BenJ]

It took about a month for me to get my net id and everything I needed to set up the email account...however, this was in January/February, so they may have sped up the process by now.

I hope it's not that long at this point! I just want to get the housing application submitted soon, and I'm requesting a specific person as my roommate, so we need to get each others' ID#s before submitting.

[lsathalon]

It took about a month for me to get my net id and everything I needed to set up the email account...however, this was in January/February, so they may have sped up the process by now.

I hope it's not that long at this point! I just want to get the housing application submitted soon, and I'm requesting a specific person as my roommate, so we need to get each others' ID#s before submitting.

Since I'm doing family housing, I wanted to get my housing app in really early. When I started getting anxious (after about a month), I sent an email to the Admissions office, and they got me my id number within a few days.

[kumba84]

Ok, I was just able to set up my NYU home account and email address through the admitted students website, even though I never received that deposit confirmation email. I have to say I was a little disappointed to be assigned a random-looking email address along the lines of ab8392@nyu.edu, but apparently you can set up another, easy to remember account, and then they'll merge together.

[spondee]

You can easily change your email address to something more professional/personal.

If I remember right, log into NYUHome, go to preferences at the top right, and there should be a link on the next page...