<p>As of right now, I have only been accepted to one school (NYU) and I fear that if this is my only option I will have to live extremely thriftily because NYU's tuition is extremely high, NYC living costs are astronomical and I dont qualify for much financial aid.</p>
<p>So college confidential, how difficult is life as a broke college student?</p>
<p>So you can’t go to community college?</p>
<p>Yes, NYC (well, Manhattan. I don’t know about the other boroughs.) can be on the pricey side. I’m moving for the third time into a new apartment.
Current apartment is about $4,000/month. The new one is about $2,500/month.</p>
<p>I actually haven’t had a big problem with money though. I tutor at my college (Columbia), which brings in enough for utilities and cable/phone/internet. And for groceries, I use Fresh Direct so my parents pay for that (since it’s online, I just put in their payment info, versus if I went into a bodega, I’d have to pay.) But I almost never buy groceries so my grocery bill is like $40-$50/month if that much. I don’t know what I’m living off of…my friends always comment that my fridge is always bare but I actually don’t even notice it.</p>
<p>Are you living on campus? If you aren’t on campus, I might be able to point out some less expensive neighborhoods to look for apartments in. </p>
<p>You might need to just look for a pt job or even an on-campus job to help out, if you need it.</p>
<p>ahahahah</p>
<p>$4K a month is past the pricey side and into the insanely expensive side</p>
<p>Thank you, peanut gallery.</p>
<p>Anytime sweetcakes</p>
<p>so anyway, if the above is done being creepy and weird…</p>
<p>i’m also interested in hearing ideas about saving. i’m also considering nyu and columbia too, i haven’t actually applied anywhere yet i’m still in high school but it’s on my list of schools.
is it really that expensive in nyc? i’ll prob dorm but still, i’d like to know.</p>
<p>platts, what do you mean less expensive neighborhoods? i thought it cost the same all over? if so please do share.</p>
<p>i wonder if it’s expensive in some of the other places i’m looking at.
i never even considered this. i’m going to have to rethink my plan.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I’m not an expert on neighborhoods but in my two cents: Murray Hill, Morningside Heights, UWS and UES (you have to do some digging though).</p>
<p>Pretty much, just avoid Soho. I really wanted an apartment there but couldn’t find anything in range. Maybe I just didn’t look hard enough though.</p>
<p>Also, well actually I was discussing this with some friends recently, whether you should or shouldn’t get a broker.
They can make finding an apartment so much easier but they can also be several thousand dollars in fees.
The apartments that you don’t need a broker for usually (I feel the need to emphasize “not always” as for obvious CC-esque reasons) cost more and are part of larger developments like Archstone or Trump Place, which, for the price, you pay more and get less.</p>
<p>The brokers have access to hidden gems but always make sure you request no fee or low fee only or you’ll pay thousands in fees.</p>
<p>But if you’re going to be a freshman, don’t they require you dorm in NYU? (I don’t know, I never looked into this.) So it shouldn’t be a concern for now unless you really object to using their housing which, if money is a concern, you shouldn’t.</p>
<p>As for saving money I suggest doing your shopping outside of the city or online if you can get low or free shipping. Even places like Duane Reade jack up the price on everything.</p>
<p>thanks but you’re speaking a foreign language to me lol. i don’t know what murray hill and all that other stuff is.
what’s that area you showed me around columbia called? i remember you saying that’s inexpensive.</p>
<p>i don’t know if they require i live in a dorm but i haven’t settled on where i want to go yet anyway. i’m just trying to plan in advance so i don’t end up in a crummy situation. i like to plan lol.</p>
<p>Check Craigslist for apt rentals. If you’re at NYU, also check out places on the Lower East Side. It’s a pretty close commute or you can even walk to NYU area. Do your grocery shopping in Chinatown supermarkets (way cheaper produce, meat, etc) as opposed to Whole Foods. Clip coupons for drugstores and pharmacies. I known Duane Reade, Rite Aid, etc. always give out “rewards” coupons for regular shoppers. Avoid easy, convenient money pitfalls like buying lattes and hopping into cabs. Go to hall-in-the-wall neighborhood bars and restaurants rather than the flashy places (the dives tend to be more far anyway). Get a low-stress PT on-campus job or work as a tutor for extra money. Living in NY is fun as a student. Money worries shouldn’t get to you.</p>
<p>That was Morningside Heights.
North of that is Harlem. South of it (I mean, Columbia) is the UWS. Below that is midtown west/Clinton.
Here’s a map: <a href=“http://newyorkcity2005.web.infoseek.co.jp/information/images/maps/manhattan.jpg[/url]”>http://newyorkcity2005.web.infoseek.co.jp/information/images/maps/manhattan.jpg</a></p>
<p>If you aren’t set on where you’re going then don’t worry about this. If you decide to attend Columbia like we’ve discussed a few times, then aim for Morningside Heights or Harlem or UWS.</p>
<p>I think it’s a lot cheaper outside of Manhattan though. I’m not sure on exact figures since it’s not something I’ve looked into but I do know it’s nowhere near Manhattan prices. You might want to consider Brooklyn or Queens or something.</p>
<p>If you do choose to come to an NYC school and not live on campus then the best advice I can give is to avoid Time Warner everything like the plague. If it says Time Warner, Optimum or whatever aliases they go under, don’t use it. They’re just…bad at everything they do. Biggest mistake I ever did was sign up on a three year contract with these idiots.</p>
<p>thanks you two for the help!</p>
<p>i do know columbia is def on my list of where i’m applying to. i just haven’t decided whether to go to their science and engineering school or regular school since i still haven’t decided on a major. do you know if it’s hard to switch internal schools like if i go to the regular one but then decide i want to do engineering instead?</p>
<p>i haven’t decided whether to apply to nyu though.</p>
<p>what’s soho like? why did you want to live there instead?</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>No reason in particular. I just kind of like the area a little better. </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Erm…I actually don’t know, sorry. I’ve heard rumors that it’s as hard as transferring in from an outside school but I don’t know if there’s any truth in that.</p>
<p>I think it might be easier to go from SEAS to CC than CC to SEAS. Again, I’m not 100% on this. You might want to ask admissions.</p>
<p>Figure out what you want to do before applying to Columbia, I don’t hear of a lot of CC/SEAS transfers.</p>
<p>I go to NYU and my dorm costs about $4300/semester, which comes out to just over $1000/month. There are a lot of places on the Lower East Side (near NYU) which are slightly cheaper. NYU doesn’t require freshmen to dorm but I would if I were you; it makes it a lot easier to make friends, because there’s no campus and the social scene is fragmented. I wouldn’t come here at all if means taking on requires a lot of debt though. If they didn’t give me a scholarship I definitely would’ve gone to SUNY. Believe me, college is not worth a ton of debt which will screw you over in your twenties. </p>
<p>Most students here have a part-time job of some sort. I get paid like $20/hour just for babysitting - Manhattan parents are loaded 
And NYU has a service called CareerNet where you can browse thousands of local jobs and send your resume and cover letter online. </p>
<p>also, weed here is more expensive than back home, and i’m guessing from your username you smoke - just a warning :P</p>
<p>It sucks. But you learn how to manage your money and be an adult fast.</p>
<p>And you choose to smoke a lot of weed with what’s left of your money…well, let’s just say you should plan on eating ramen noodles everyday for the next year.</p>
<p>Know how to manage your expenses and money. If you can’t budget, maybe you should rethink your decisions.</p>
<p>LOL Alix, that’s his username because he want(ed?) to go to Brown.
I don’t know if that still applies though since he keeps asking me about other schools.</p>
<p>^ ahaha no, the OP’s username is “SmokealotofWEED” so I deduced based on that :]
it’s so funny you would attribute that to brown! people smoke a lot at nyu too.</p>
<p>hey, if you’re looking to save money, cutting back on cigs and weed helps a lot! and you can just drink more to compensate.</p>
<p>if you want to smoke mad weed and not lose money but make money then you can deal.</p>
![http://newyorkcity2005.web.infoseek.co.jp/information/images/maps/manhattan.jpg[/url]](http://newyorkcity2005.web.infoseek.co.jp/information/images/maps/manhattan.jpg%5B/url%5D){kind=link}
