<p>How is parking in philly? I will be living off campus if I do get in, will I have to pay an arm and a leg for parking?
How is public transportation? I dont know too much about Philly.</p>
<p>The cost of parking can vary depending on whether it is an outdoor lot, indoor valet or self park, as well as location. In center city (the area around UArts), for indoor valet parking you are looking at $215 - $250/month, $150 - $200/month for outdoor self parking/month.Philly has a pretty good public transportation system and access to center city is usually convenient, again depending where you will be living. </p>
<p>When you say you will be living "off campus", there's "off campus" and then there's "OFF campus". My daughter lives "off campus" but she's only a block and a half from the Terra Building. Friends of hers live off campus and are 12 blocks or more from the Terra Building. Then there are some who live outside of center city and for whom public transportation or a car is a must. If you can tell me a bit more specifically the location where you think you will be living, I can give you better information.</p>
<p>well i have a lot of furniture because I live in an apartment now. I'm wanting a one bed room somewhere near the school.</p>
<p>If you are living near the school, then generally you don't need a car. Most everything you would want to do within center city you can walk to or when necessary hop a cab with some friends. Center city philadelphia and most places students would want to go to are very walkable if you are living near the school. There are also buses and an Amtrak local line that make center city travel easy. Public transportation to outside of the city is plentiful but the problem is getting around once you arrive at your destination station. Public transportation within outlying suburban communities can be limited. That being said, if you will be doing things outside of center city with any regularity, then a car will be a great convenience if not a necessity.</p>
<p>As far as moving in is concerned, you can rent a Ryder or UHaul truck one way and return it to a drop off in center city.</p>
<p>Thanks! how strenuous are the academics there?</p>
<p>My daughter had no problem with the academics her freshman year (Writing 1 & 2) and does not anticipate difficulty in the future. But she loaded herself up with Honors and AP classes all throughout high school and was very accustomed to the demands of a very strenuous academic curriculum. I think the toughest thing about the academics at UArts is having the discipline and time management skills to handle them in the context of all of your performance and theater classes. The time demands can be overwhelming if you are not prepared. A freshman has 26+ hours of class alone each semester. Even within the theatre curriculum there is a lot of reading and writing of papers, it is not all studio work. If you were a solid high school student and have good self discipline and time management skills, you should not have a problem adjusting to handling the class load and academic demands. If you were a student who slacked off, the demands of the program will be an eye opener.</p>
<p>i definitely have explored philadelphia a lot in these last 2 years and have never once wished i had a car with me. everything that you would ever want to go to is within walking distance. i take a cab to the train station when i go home, but other than that, i walk just about everywhere. i don't really see the need for a car since it is a big city. public transportation is also really good, but i don't even need that because everything is so close!</p>
<p>how is the housing? not necessarily the housing provided by the school.
I live in westchester county and i'm used to paying alot of rent. i also have a job though. i'm not sure i could have a job there though.
are there subways or anything to help get around?</p>
<p>The cost of housing is very variable within walking distance of UArts depending on the type of unit. A studio apartment in a Brownstone can be as cheap as $600 - $800/month and a 2 bedroom in a luxury highrise can be as much as $2500 a month with 1 bedrooms ranging from $1000 - $1500. It's all about location and the condition of the building.</p>
<p>Philly has an extensive subway system but as I mentioned before, most of what you would want to do is within walking distance of UArts. In addition, there are a load of bus lines within the city.</p>
<p>My daughter is a freshman at UARTS does anyone know how applying for housing works after freshman year. I understand it's not guaranteed. Also how soon should we be looking for an apartment if we are hoping for a chance at housing in Juniper. Do they let you know in time to find something, i.e., before the summer? What are the pros and cons of both. I appreciate any input.</p>
<p>If memory serves me right, some time in the spring you should receive a communication from the Residential life office about housing including a form to designate whether and where you desire housing. Housing after the freshman year is on a first come basis. My suggestion would be to call the housing office at 215-717-6811 to have your questions about dorm housing for sophomores answered in detail based on what the procedure will be for the 2009 school year.</p>
<p>As to apartments, the time to start looking depends on when your daughter will want to take occupancy. Most rental agents can't tell you what will actually be available until 60 - 90 days before the date of occupancy because of the notice requirements under the leases nor will enter into a lease more than 60 days prior to the date of occupancy. April - July seem to be heavy months in Philadelphia for rental activity as students make commitments for either either the summer or the start of the school semester. From March through July, you also have students in apartments giving notice of their intent to stay or terminate. </p>
<p>There is a ton of rental housing available and the most difficult thing is to get a handle on what locations will meet your criteria in terms of convenience to the campus as well as safety (which is an important issue given the need of MT and Acting students to be out until late at night for rehearsals, shows and crew) and the types of rental housing that is available to meet your cost considerations and desired living arrangements. Because of the broad array of types of housing and neighborhoods within reasonable proximity to UArts, it doesn't hurt to start looking and surveying the landscape in January or February so that you have some direction and focus when the time comes to seriously look. Within an 8 block radius of campus, there is a broad array of housing in terms of types of units, cost and desirability (including late night safety) of neighborhoods. There are also a load of neighborhoods more distant that would require using public transportation or a bicycle to commute.</p>
<p>As to whether dorms or off campus is more desirable after freshman year, that's really a function of personal choice and cost. Most off campus housing is based on 12 month leases. School term leases are hard to find thereby offering an advantage to the dorms for those who do not intend to stay in Philadelphia for the summer and don't mind the process of moving their stuff in and out each year. Most students get off campus housing not only because dorm space is limited after freshman year but also because of the total freedom to choose your living arrangements and freedom from dorm rules and procedures.</p>
<p>Thank you MichaelNKat, as usual you have more than answered my question. You should be on UARTS payroll!!</p>
<p>My pleasure. A couple of additional things. When seriously looking, make sure to check out the reputation of the owner/management company as part of your due diligence. Because there are a ton of smaller Brownstones and small buildings with 3 - 5 units, there are also some owners/management companies that are less than stellar in their responsiveness. Doing a google search for the name of the management company or owner can often pull up apartment review sites with tenant comments. Also, be very wary of craigslist. It is unfortunately used by scammers. I know of 3 students who found on craigslist a dream row house at a price too good to be true about 8 blocks from the Terra Building. They even visited it and spoke to a tenant. Turns out the guy listing it on craigslist had actually stolen the identity of a recent Wharton MBA grad and was using it to enter into scam leases. If the owner/rental agent does not have an office or residence where you can meet them in person and give them the sniff test, if all of your contact is by email, stay away! In our search, we stuck to very visible rental agents/management companies who are well established in the city and had offices we could walk into but even there, there were some we avoided based on the experience of current UArts students and online consumer reports.</p>