CUNY School (Clinton, Hunter: apartment, for rent, credit)

[JMusto0223]

Ok, after hours of researching CUNY schools I was going to go ahead and apply to 4 of them as it allowed me on the CUNY application site. Well I realized that I only saw one of them that had on-campus living, then there is the towers at CCNY which I am sure will fill up extremely fast, it may even be too late for me to apply to that so I can get a room during the fall semester. So I am asking what do people in my situation do that attend a CUNY school who live over 300 miles away where they could not commute and would obviously need a place to live at while attending school. I don't think I could afford paying for tuition along with paying for rent in an apartment while having a part time job as perhaps a restauraunt server could I? I found that I could rent a room for around $1300 a month on studenthousing.org but I still think I could find a cheaper room to rent maybe or a studio elsewhere in an outer borough. I feel as if my dreams of being able to live in NYC are being shattered and it breaks my heart. If anyone could offer me some tips or advice as to how I could pull off attending a CUNY school and still hold my head above water I would greatly appreciate it.

[JMusto0223]

I was afraid this wasnt going to get answered, I can not find 1 resource on the internet either about where students live who go to CUNY either.

[ira]

CUNY colleges are commuter schools since most, as you found out, don't have true campuses (also, you have to be a NYC resident to enjoy the "discounted" tuition). So, you'll find that most CUNY students live w/in 5 boroghs.

Which colleges are you considering? Pick a school and then decide which location works best for you. But in any case, avoid Manhattan as it is very expensive. Look at Queens/Bronx/Brooklyn. Also, once you decide on a school, they'll be able to point you in the right direction and they would probably put you in touch with other students who are looking for roommates.

Good Luck.

P.S. I did undergrad at CUNY and got a great education.

[JMusto0223]

Well i applied to brooklyn college, the city college, hunter college, and borough of manhattan community college. I just found the site roommates.com and you can search for people with all the similarities of yourself of people who already have an apartment. There are some cheap rooms that I found that are around $700 a month in places such as clinton heights and brooklyn heights. Obviously it might not be a good neighborhood but with searching i think i could find a roommate like that perhaps to be able to live there affordably. I know CUNY is meant for people who already live in NYC but im sure there are plenty of people who go to CUNY schools that live 300 miles away like me.

[drkman]

Originally Posted by JMusto0223

Well i applied to brooklyn college, the city college, hunter college, and borough of manhattan community college. I just found the site roommates.com and you can search for people with all the similarities of yourself of people who already have an apartment. There are some cheap rooms that I found that are around $700 a month in places such as clinton heights and brooklyn heights. Obviously it might not be a good neighborhood but with searching i think i could find a roommate like that perhaps to be able to live there affordably. I know CUNY is meant for people who already live in NYC but im sure there are plenty of people who go to CUNY schools that live 300 miles away like me.

I think that you mean Clinton Hill. Both of those areas are fine for a student. If you can get into Brooklyn Heights that may be preferable, since it is considered one of the best areas in Brooklyn and the Promenade is great to watch the sunset and the city skyline.

[UpsonDowns]

Originally Posted by JMusto0223

Well i applied to brooklyn college, the city college, hunter college, and borough of manhattan community college. I just found the site roommates.com and you can search for people with all the similarities of yourself of people who already have an apartment. There are some cheap rooms that I found that are around $700 a month in places such as clinton heights and brooklyn heights. Obviously it might not be a good neighborhood but with searching i think i could find a roommate like that perhaps to be able to live there affordably. I know CUNY is meant for people who already live in NYC but im sure there are plenty of people who go to CUNY schools that live 300 miles away like me.

Just in case you didn't realize it, Borough of Manhattan Community College is only a two year school. It doesn't really make sense to pay out of state tuition to go there. It's more like a stepping stone into a four-year school for locals and new immigrants.

[JMusto0223]

Originally Posted by UpsonDowns

Just in case you didn't realize it, Borough of Manhattan Community College is only a two year school. It doesn't really make sense to pay out of state tuition to go there. It's more like a stepping stone into a four-year school for locals and new immigrants.

Hmm well I am in state, just not in city. It says people who are non city residents but have B-81 file residency on file will pay the same as city people. If not the $120 per credit increases to $190 per credit. Anyways I do hope I get into one of them, I think I could get by with paying around $700 for a rented room somewhere and I will be working as well while going to school so it should all work out, right?

[JMusto0223]

I forgot to ask if anyone who has gone to any of these schools if they have a decent computer science/computer engineering program that is what I am applying for.

[ludwg]

I live in dyker heights and my train commute consist at least 45mins to bmcc. They have computer science in bmcc but not sure if its great or not. Hunter college has a dorm but only holds around 600 out of 20,000+ students, chances on landing on is very slim.

[schiphol]

I went to CCNY and I know they are big on engineering. I can't say I know much about the computer science program. I always felt that they lacked in that department in terms of just computer resources available for students and the people who worked there. But that was years ago. a friend of mine actually works at Hunter as a UNIX admin and he says it's great there. So much so that he turned down an interview for a $100K+ job doing the same thing for a finance company. I also did a semester at Hunter and I must say I thought it has a better location, it's better organized, and just felt nicer to be in. I think the students at Hunter where more serious and probably had a tad more diversity.