Columbia Grad School, but Low Salary? (university, living, cost of)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Please help-a-girl-out! After graduating from college this past May, I decided to wait a year before pursuing grad school. I now have an acceptance to a Master's program at Columbia, beginning next Fall.
My dilemma is this: I will be attending grad school part time, while working at my full time job... which pays me ~50k before taxes. I'd really like to live closer to both my job and Columbia (both in UWS/MSH area) and move out of my parents' home in Queens where I have lived since moving back from college.
But... can I even afford to do so, given my salary?
Additional questions:
-How much in rent can I afford?
-If not in UWS where should I look to rent?
-Would the income of my parents possibly help qualify me for housing that I would normally not be considered for?
-Any other tips?
Thank you.
Stay at home! there's no reason to move to manhattan unless you want to live the Sarah Jessica Parker lifestyle. You already went to college so that means you already have lived away from home and partied your brains out. There's no need to move to manhattan unless you're going to own a condo. Renting a studio for 3k is for suckers.
Since your from Queens, you already know the city. Living out at home means you got food, shelter, and water for free and more importantly a clean bathroom that works.
Your goal should be to finish the masters, become a snob with and ivy league degree in hand, and then move out. Invest that extra money in stocks, bonds, and mutual funds, and maybe for that manhattan condo (not a co-op..too many damn rules).
Eliminate the debt!
also, I think columbia's library is 24/7. Just sleep there and bathe at the gym if you have to.
Stay at home! there's no reason to move to manhattan unless you want to live the Sarah Jessica Parker lifestyle. You already went to college so that means you already have lived away from home and partied your brains out. There's no need to move to manhattan unless you're going to own a condo. Renting a studio for 3k is for suckers.
Since your from Queens, you already know the city. Living out at home means you got food, shelter, and water for free and more importantly a clean bathroom that works.
Your goal should be to finish the masters, become a snob with and ivy league degree in hand, and then move out. Invest that extra money in stocks, bonds, and mutual funds, and maybe for that manhattan condo (not a co-op..too many damn rules).
Eliminate the debt!
also, I think columbia's library is 24/7. Just sleep there and bathe at the gym if you have to.
Are you in the MBA program?
This is probably the best advise unless your parents are rich and don't mind paying your bills.
You can probably get a room in a shared apartment on the UWS or a studio in Inwood (stay west of Broadway, as everyone here will tell you) for around $1200.
Wouldn't Columbia help you out with housing. They own most of the property in Morningside heights.
Not for part time, and/or only if there are places left after everyone else.
Nor are the Columbia-owned apartments necessarily cheaper. They organize share things also and these are usually around $1,500, don't know about right now.
But still, for the shares also, part-time status means low priority.
You can always live completely on your own once you graduate and get a higher paying job.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
