Harvard Student(s) Answering Your Questions Forum

[Nonconsecutive]

all chests of gold must be reported to SFS, got it. Thank you!

I am oddly entranced by your tar.

[leslieknope]

When should I start looking at housing for an 8/1 or a 9/1 move in? The 2 and 3Ls I've talked to said to start looking nowish, but the websites I've looked at mostly have stuff up for immediate move-in.

[wwwcol]

When should I start looking at housing for an 8/1 or a 9/1 move in? The 2 and 3Ls I've talked to said to start looking nowish, but the websites I've looked at mostly have stuff up for immediate move-in.

Now is definitely the right time, though I'm not sure what sites you are looking at. Check out the Harvard Grad Market facebook page- there have been a bunch of posts for fall leases. And craigslist also has fall leases, though you have to monitor CL closely since that market moves so fast. Also, just be aware that you'll probably have trouble getting an 8 or 9/1 lease without either paying a broker's fee or subletting over the summer (to get dibs on renewing a lease).

[Mr. Elshal]

When should I start looking at housing for an 8/1 or a 9/1 move in? The 2 and 3Ls I've talked to said to start looking nowish, but the websites I've looked at mostly have stuff up for immediate move-in.

Now is definitely the right time, though I'm not sure what sites you are looking at. Check out the Harvard Grad Market facebook page- there have been a bunch of posts for fall leases. And craigslist also has fall leases, though you have to monitor CL closely since that market moves so fast. Also, just be aware that you'll probably have trouble getting an 8 or 9/1 lease without either paying a broker's fee or subletting over the summer (to get dibs on renewing a lease).

Now. My lease ends on May 31 and we've had at least one agent/set of clients come see the apartment almost every day since the beginning of February. Try to get in without an agent--they can be helpful but are worth nowhere near what they charge.

I recommend googling building addresses in the area you want. Many landlords have websites where you can see listings and reach out to see an apartment, but you'd have to look up the address or the landlord's name to find it.

[despina]

When should I start looking at housing for an 8/1 or a 9/1 move in? The 2 and 3Ls I've talked to said to start looking nowish, but the websites I've looked at mostly have stuff up for immediate move-in.

Now is definitely the right time, though I'm not sure what sites you are looking at. Check out the Harvard Grad Market facebook page- there have been a bunch of posts for fall leases. And craigslist also has fall leases, though you have to monitor CL closely since that market moves so fast. Also, just be aware that you'll probably have trouble getting an 8 or 9/1 lease without either paying a broker's fee or subletting over the summer (to get dibs on renewing a lease).

Now. My lease ends on May 31 and we've had at least one agent/set of clients come see the apartment almost every day since the beginning of February. Try to get in without an agent--they can be helpful but are worth nowhere near what they charge.

I recommend googling building addresses in the area you want. Many landlords have websites where you can see listings and reach out to see an apartment, but you'd have to look up the address or the landlord's name to find it.

Now is definitely the time for a 6/1 lease like yours, but it's still a bit early for 8/1 or 9/1. A lot of those tend to open up in April, May, June.

[TripTrip]

Now might be a good time to start looking, but you might not find what you're looking for yet.

The first thing you should know is that in the busy season, the target turnaround for leasing somewhere once it goes on the market is about ten days for one bedrooms and studios, three weeks for two bedrooms, and over a month for anything larger than that. Thus, it's tough to just spend one weekend looking for places and find something, and you won't be able to compare everywhere directly.

Second, May is when most non-Harvard-owned August leases will start to open up. I (and nearly 100 other 2Ls and 3Ls) live in a pair of buildings within a block of the law school, and I know the property manger here doesn't even ask if we're going to renew our leases until late April.

[lsn1901]

Anyone know what the grading is like for negotiation workshop? Curious how grading works as there are many students who take the class credit/no credit... Any idea if its a relatively easy H or not?

[pinkpanda]

Now might be a good time to start looking, but you might not find what you're looking for yet.

The first thing you should know is that in the busy season, the target turnaround for leasing somewhere once it goes on the market is about ten days for one bedrooms and studios, three weeks for two bedrooms, and over a month for anything larger than that. Thus, it's tough to just spend one weekend looking for places and find something, and you won't be able to compare everywhere directly.

Second, May is when most non-Harvard-owned August leases will start to open up. I (and nearly 100 other 2Ls and 3Ls) live in a pair of buildings within a block of the law school, and I know the property manger here doesn't even ask if we're going to renew our leases until late April.

Along similar lines, does anyone have recommendations for buildings with reasonably-priced studios? (Maybe I"m being optimistic that reasonably-priced studios exist in Cambridge...) And, on the off-chance this leads to something, any 3Ls have a studio with a lease I might be able to take over?

Thanks, as always, for all the great tips!

[robotrick]

IME studios near the law school range from $1500-$1750/mo (which is roughly what the studios in 29 Garden cost). Others maybe have had different experiences though.

[Nonconsecutive]

Just as a reference for those considering them, a least a few HUH properties are getting a substantial price hike next year. I've spoke with about a dozen people in HUH properties now who have said their rent went up by around 650$ per year, as opposed to the 20-30$ per year increases of previous years.

[wwwcol]

I think robo is right about studio pricing, although maybe a little on the low side if you want to be close to campus. A couple of my friends within 5ish minutes of Wasserstein are paying closer to 2k than 1500.

Now might be a good time to start looking, but you might not find what you're looking for yet.

The first thing you should know is that in the busy season, the target turnaround for leasing somewhere once it goes on the market is about ten days for one bedrooms and studios, three weeks for two bedrooms, and over a month for anything larger than that. Thus, it's tough to just spend one weekend looking for places and find something, and you won't be able to compare everywhere directly.

Second, May is when most non-Harvard-owned August leases will start to open up. I (and nearly 100 other 2Ls and 3Ls) live in a pair of buildings within a block of the law school, and I know the property manger here doesn't even ask if we're going to renew our leases until late April.

The problem with waiting until May to find a fall lease is tht many 3ls do not stay in their places over the summer to study for the bar. So they are looking to sublease over the summer, and whoever leases then will take over the lease next year. This is how I think a lot of people find places.

[Hawks950]

Does anyone have an apartment broker you've used and recommend? If I'm going to pay a broker fee regardless of how I find the apartment, I'd rather someone do the work for me. I'm generally assuming I'll get a bad HUH window. Also if I seem to misunderstand how the process works, please let me know. Thanks!

[lunixer]

.

[tomwatts]

Seems like Grobius might be nice, although small.

I lived in Gropius for 3 years. No complaints. The rooms are small, and you have shared kitchens and bathrooms — choose your floor carefully — but it was not a problem for me.

[lunixer]

.

[mdnyc]

For those of you who live off campus, do you feel like you're missing anything at all?

[TripTrip]

For those of you who live off campus, do you feel like you're missing anything at all?

Absolutely not. In fact, quite the opposite. Apartment-dwellers host the parties because Gropius rooms are not very conducive to that.

Mostly because Gropius is ugly. But partially because multi-room parties are just not a thing. In Type-1 and Type-2 rooms if you have more than one person over you necessarily must be cuddling with each other because the rooms are so small.

[Nonconsecutive]

For those of you who live off campus, do you feel like you're missing anything at all?

I've lived off campus the entire time, and will live off campus next year as well. I have never felt like I'm missing anything, and in fact am very happy that I don't live on (or even immediately adjacent to) campus. That said, I am not a "party er'day" kind of person.

[foxes]

So it seems like everyone is thinking that they are going to live off campus right now. Is there a reason for this? I'm thinking I'll get on-campus housing, at least for the first year. Maybe move off campus second year. Does on-campus housing suck or something? Seems like Grobius might be nice, although small.

For those of you who live off campus, do you feel like you're missing anything at all?

you won't be missing anything by living off campus but im glad i lived in the dorms the 1st year just because of the convenience. rolling out of bed 5 mins before class is a luxury you shouldnt underestimate haha. also, running back to your room between classes to switch casebooks, being able to stay late at events without worrying about public transport, no probs with weirdly timed events or meetings, etc.

also, gropius is 1000% cheaper than basically any other feasible option, albeit ugly af.

[tomwatts]

Seems like Grobius might be nice, although small.

I lived in Gropius for 3 years. No complaints. The rooms are small, and you have shared kitchens and bathrooms — choose your floor carefully — but it was not a problem for me.

Any of the dorms not have shared bathrooms? I'm visiting soon but not sure if I'll have an opportunity to see everything. I also expect to stick to the standard budget, so don't want to get as expensive as HUH or off-campus apartment.

Each room in North Hall has a private bathroom. That's the only dorm like that.

[ValeVale]

Anyone know what the grading is like for negotiation workshop? Curious how grading works as there are many students who take the class credit/no credit... Any idea if its a relatively easy H or not?

Also interested...

[Pneumonia]

Anyone know what the grading is like for negotiation workshop? Curious how grading works as there are many students who take the class credit/no credit... Any idea if its a relatively easy H or not?

Also interested...

When I took it last year, it was a total black box. My working group leader told us that it would all be based on our papers, but I'm not convinced that participation wasn't also taken into account. I'm assuming you're a 1L (otherwise, you'd be taking pass/fail). I don't have any info for you, but I've got some speculation.

My theory is that, if anything, the curve is a little more forgiving than regular 1L classes. This theory rests on the assumption that regular H/P grades are assigned to everyone in the class—even those taking it credit/fail—and then converted to the appropriate transcript grade—H/P for 1Ls and "credit" for upperclassmen. Since the upperclassmen are taking it credit/fail, they won't try as hard on their papers (at least in theory), which means they'll occupy a disproportionate number of the "P" slots. The result is more H's for 1Ls.

I'm not sure if any of this is accurate. In fact, I don't have any reason for thinking that it is. Maybe 1Ls are graded separately. Maybe the credit/fail students are graded separately. No way to know (unless someone else chimes in). And having cross-registrants just complicates it further. Sorry I don't have more for you.

[despina]

Anyone know what the grading is like for negotiation workshop? Curious how grading works as there are many students who take the class credit/no credit... Any idea if its a relatively easy H or not?

Also interested...

When I took it last year, it was a total black box. My working group leader told us that it would all be based on our papers, but I'm not convinced that participation wasn't also taken into account. I'm assuming you're a 1L (otherwise, you'd be taking pass/fail). I don't have any info for you, but I've got some speculation.

My theory is that, if anything, the curve is a little more forgiving than regular 1L classes. This theory rests on the assumption that regular H/P grades are assigned to everyone in the class—even those taking it credit/fail—and then converted to the appropriate transcript grade—H/P for 1Ls and "credit" for upperclassmen. Since the upperclassmen are taking it credit/fail, they won't try as hard on their papers (at least in theory), which means they'll occupy a disproportionate number of the "P" slots. The result is more H's for 1Ls.

I'm not sure if any of this is accurate. In fact, I don't have any reason for thinking that it is. Maybe 1Ls are graded separately. Maybe the credit/fail students are graded separately. No way to know (unless someone else chimes in). And having cross-registrants just complicates it further. Sorry I don't have more for you.

Agree that it's a total black box.

The thing about the NW is that even if the curve is more generous, it's never going to be an "easy H" because of the amount of time required to put in the effort needed to get anything out of the class.

It's 8 hours of class time per week, plus if you want to get anything out of the practice negotiations you need to put in some time to prepare them (I spent minimum 1 hour per week, normally more like 2-5 hours). You also have to write I think 8 "journals" which, even if you don't spend a whole lot of effort, require some baseline amount of time to spit out that number of pages of reflection. And none of this includes the required reading, which admittedly a lot of people don't do.

If you're not going to prepare for the mock-negotiations, then there's no point in taking the class because you won't get anything out of it and you'll be screwing over your working group companions who are trying to learn with you. If you're going to do the minimal prep and class time, then the H you might get is already not "easy."

[Pneumonia]

Definitely agree about the workload. I only mentioned the curve, if one meaningfully exists in that class, for the benefit of the people who are currently in it. Taking the class because you think it will be an easy H is one of the worst course selections that I can think of.

[Mr. Elshal]

I think robo is right about studio pricing, although maybe a little on the low side if you want to be close to campus. A couple of my friends within 5ish minutes of Wasserstein are paying closer to 2k than 1500.

Now might be a good time to start looking, but you might not find what you're looking for yet.

The first thing you should know is that in the busy season, the target turnaround for leasing somewhere once it goes on the market is about ten days for one bedrooms and studios, three weeks for two bedrooms, and over a month for anything larger than that. Thus, it's tough to just spend one weekend looking for places and find something, and you won't be able to compare everywhere directly.

Second, May is when most non-Harvard-owned August leases will start to open up. I (and nearly 100 other 2Ls and 3Ls) live in a pair of buildings within a block of the law school, and I know the property manger here doesn't even ask if we're going to renew our leases until late April.

The problem with waiting until May to find a fall lease is tht many 3ls do not stay in their places over the summer to study for the bar. So they are looking to sublease over the summer, and whoever leases then will take over the lease next year. This is how I think a lot of people find places.

My 1-bedroom is across the street from Wasserstein and I got it for under 2k. I think now the landlord is looking for 2.1k