GS Housing Choice for Newbies? Price, Safety, Dorm/Suite

Hello GSers,

I’m an incoming newbie of GS. I really need your advice on GS housing as there’s not much detailed and easily accessible information on the Internet.

  1. Since my priority is to save money in the first year, I put single room in shared dorm for $850 as my first choice. Do you know exactly which dorm is this one? Is the neighbourhood safe to walk around at night?... I just want to make sure my trip from library to home is gonna be super safe...
  2. How's $850 dorm vs. $950 suite? I feel the traditional dorm could be a better place for social life... but suites sound like a better living condition for me...
  3. What's the best (safe, clean, closer to campus) housing for GSers? What's the worst?

I really appreciate any answer and tips from current GSers! Thanks!

  1. Though it's changed over the years, the official university dormitories that house GS students are very few. As such, it's safe to assume that you'll be placed in a University Apartment Housing suite (where you share a common living area with other Columbia students who could, in some cases, be graduate students).

Morningside Heights, in general, is a very safe area. The most common crimes seem to be crimes of opportunity (for example, a student’s bag being stolen because he or she was walking alone at night, listening to their iPod, and unaware of his or her surroundings). The neighborhood is packed with students. So, violent crimes, statistically speaking, are most often perpetrated by fellow students. Unfortunately.

  1. Ask this again when you know your precise options. For now, we don't have enough information to provide a good answer. But, whether you're in a dorm or University Apartment Housing, you can expect similar security and roommates. Amenities (like a gym, new kitchen, etc.) will vary greatly from building to building.
  2. There's no reliable way to determine which housing is best. Remember, Manhattan is an island and everyone wants to live on it. Apartments routinely go on the open market for one day. I'd recommend shopping according to neighborhood. Are you okay taking the train to campus? Would you prefer to be able to walk (even if it's a longer walk)?

I visited Columbia in Feb and stayed in a place around 139th. It’s really hard to connect with the exciting Manhattan scences from that far… but I think in my first year I won’t have much time to hang around the city anyways lol… (hope the second year would be more laid-back). So, ideally I need a place from 110th-120th in order to quickly walk back home at weekday night and to venture into lower/mid Manhattan in 30 minutes on weekends. At this point, the Arbor is definitely ruled out…

And the UAH application system only tells the price of the apartment without any explanation and picture… I think as long as the place is clean with no cockroaches and bedbugs, I’ll be glad to take what I get. After all, I’ve been dreaming to live in Manhattan.

Just to be clear, you won’t get to choose the location of your apartment. If they give you the Arbor, your only choice will be to decline and go back into the housing lottery - and the odds will be against you.

To give you a little flexibility, once you’re in apartment, you can apply for a housing transfer (which I did once and it was a very simple process).

[Just for context, I was a student a few years ago. All of this may have changed.]