Admitted to Columbia Business School Class of 2012

Kroll took from late Jan to late March for me. They requested one additional document. As for (need-based) scholarships - one of those was bundled in with my financial aid statement, so those decisions I would presume have been made. I ahven't heard back about merit based fellowships, and don't know if that means I'm late one the list (decisions are rolling, and I was on the later end of Early Decision) or already got shut down (I don't know if they send a "sorry, no fellowship for you" email). Has anyone heard back re: merit-based fellowships, either thumbs up or down?

regarding merit based aid, fin aid office said most if not all of us should know by end of april
cbs admit weekend 2 is on apr 15/16

So people with need based scholarships have already been informed correct?

For those in the Bay Area, a few of us are meeting up for an informal happy hour this Wednesday, 4/7 at La Mar. I'll be there starting at 6.

La Mar is close to Embarcadero MUNI and BART. I will make sure the group is easily identifiable, but feel free to PM me if you are planning on coming.

Bigfernhead. I don't think any need based info has been released yet. The CBS fin aid app said they would start notifying students on April 15th.

Has anyone heard differently?

Thanks.

Is there a specific time frame we should start looking at loans? Should we wait after the scholarship notification? Or start now...

Given that the rules re: perkins eligibility might change, the finaid folks at CBS suggested holding off until mid-may or so. It should be buried somewhere on your to-do list as well...

What is everyone's plan regarding housing? I spoke with a broker yesterday who charges 15% on a year's rent. Are broker fees unavoidable? I heard craigslist can be a bit of a nightmare.

I'm going to be looking for a roomie I think. I'm looking to move out of my location, and get somewhere closer to school.

I heard that the connect event is a great way to meet potential roomates.

I think avoiding broker's fees is tough, but 15% is way too high in my opinion. A month's rent is pretty standard, but 15% is too much. I'd try Craigslist, and see if something happens. Not sure when you're planning to move in, but I think it's too early to start looking for a July/August move in.

Where are people thinking of living?

Yeah, 15% seems very high in this market. Although, I'd be curious to know if the market has been rebounding so far this year. It was very depressed in Manhattan for most of 2008/2009 from what I read.

It is too early to be looking for a July/August move-in, indeed. The NYC market apparently operates on about a 1-3 week basis... so if you want to move on August 1st, you'll have to make a trip towards mid-end July with checkbook in hand to secure something. That's what I plan to do -- pending finding roommates, which is pretty key

I'd like to live either on the Upper West Side, Morningside Heights, Midtown West... or perhaps even Chelsea/SoHo. My only real criteria area A) on Manhattan and B) within 5-6 blocks of the 1 train. Oh, and hopefully not too crazy expensive.

eminent, mid july might be tight. i'd advise early july if not late may. 1 month in advance basically.
regarding stay, i have heard that people stay as far as downtown or even jersey city (no kidding) but the most common recommendation is- stay within 10-15 blocks (0.5-0.75 miles apprx)- so you don't have to wait for the train to go home.

That is what I am looking to do as well and stay close to school. I live an hour away, and that is going to be killer in my opinion.

Within a 10-15 block radius, you can always get home without much trouble (and you save $ on metrocard!).

I think the issue is that it can get sketchy around the area (so I hear). What is the better area to live if you're trying to stay within the 10-15 blocks? I heard Morningside is bad.

I'd definitely consider Morningside, but think the other parts of Manhattan may be more lively/fun. I guess we'll see.

I was holding out hope for on-campus housing previously but those dreams have been crushed. Apparently, Californians don't have much luck in that process. We generally get the leftovers in August if there's any left at that point.

i've been to campus housing apartments on 119th and the area looked good.
what i heard is upto 120-123street, it's okay. school is at 116th.
so i say between 100-123 street is within a mile.
metro card savings can be much as there is no student discount. it's 89$ for an unlimited ride per month.

eminent- did u get any response sayng u wont be allocated housing?

praz, what about from 100-116st?

I received no formal response saying I won't be given housing. However, from discussions w/ other prospectives and current students, they told me that the supply is very limited and Internationals end up taking the lions share of it. Californians are at the bottom of the priority list.

I don't know if it will be different this year, but I'm not counting on getting on-campus housing.

I heard 60s-80s are a wonderful neighborhood and the train ride is very short. From google maps, the 1 seems to be a pretty fast train... it seems like even if you live in the 40s or 50s, you're looking at a 10-15 minute train ride on the 1. Very doable on a daily basis.