<p>I'm looking to go to Columbia for graduate school, but I would be commuting. I was wondering if there are any current commuters who could give me insight as to what its like. I've had the whole "campus experience" at my undergrad school, and I'm now commuting to save money.
Do you feel safe commuting?
Have you made friends at Columbia, despite not living on campus?</p>
<p>Thanks! :)</p>
<p>I have met a large number of students that commute to and from Brooklyn, Queens, or the Bronx. If you selectively choose to live within reasonable walking distance of a subway station, you can probably get away without having to rely on a bus. That being said, I know a number of students that use a combination of both the bus and the subway in order to commute to and from the main campus. Also take into account that saving money by living farther away may be a huge waste of time. I know you can manage to find living arrangements in Manhattan for ~700 a month or less (per person) if you have a lot of roommates. (4-5 people to a 2-bedroom apartment, for example).</p>
<p>Safety can vary greatly depending on your neighborhood, but you can generally get a sense of how safe the area is based on how run-down it looks. If you are attending as a PhD student, you will inevitably make friends in your department. If you are attending as a MA or MS student, then it may be more difficult.</p>
<p>Last but not least, there is no on-campus housing option for graduate students. All graduate students that seek university housing are placed in off-campus housing that is all within walking distance of the main campus. I only know of one building that is ridiculously far (located in the Bronx) from the main campus, but there is a shuttle service running to and fro. I would recommend to anybody that it is a worthwhile effort to avoid being placed in that building. It is new, large, and luxurious (with a private gym in the building, if I recall correctly), but the distance makes it a disaster.</p>
<p>I commuted one summer from Bay Ridge to campus (~2 hours) every day. I know many grad students that have similar commutes. It’s much easier to do as a grad student than as an undergrad.</p>
<p>You obviously are not from the city if you are worried about safety. The most dangerous part of your trip will be walking home from your subway/bus stop to your apartment (and that depends on your neighborhood and time of night) and even that, as long as you have some common sense/situational awareness about where you choose to live, shouldn’t be too bad. </p>
<p>For the record, I highly recommend Bay Ridge. Great little neighborhood, next to the water (5-10 degrees cooler than Manhattan usually!), safe, and an interesting mix of seniors, young professionals, and families. Also the train ride at 7am is great because you can grab the R>W>2/3>1 (or the N>2/3/1) and can always find seating to read a book since you are so close to the ends of the lines.</p>