As fellow students, we can give you a few suggestions, which may be helpful to any incoming students, especially new to New York City.

Most students of the Graduate Center CUNY, with the exception of those who live with their entire family, tend to rent a room in a shared apartment. One of the more reliable way of securing a room as a student new to NYC is to become a roommate of a current student(s). Here are some tips on how to do this, or failing that, how to look for rooms in general:

– Create a short announcement (who you are, what part of NYC you’re trying to find a room in, what is your budget, any other important particularities) and send it to this list. By the way if you’re completely new to GC and CUNY, as a science student keep in mind how much of your time is spent in a lab away from the GC and how much of your time is spent taking classes at the GC. The campuses can be quite far apart.

– Also, keep an eye on the DSC listserv because people looking for roommates post here, too. If you have specific questions for a DSC officer, please email dsc@cunydsc.org.

– Send an email to the administrator (APO or EO) of your program and ask them to reach out to the student body with your request. Students may be particularly open to helping someone in their own program.

– Join the DSC’s Buying, Selling, Searching Facebook page  and post a request there, with similar information.

– Look into Graduate Center Housing, where, depending on your budget, you can share a student apartment in a GC housing complex or even rent a studio. Even if you are considering, it is strongly recommended that you apply given that housing lottery assignments are given on a first-come, first-serve basis.

– Another option for graduate student housing that has served members of the Graduate Center well is the International House. You will need to apply in order to assume residency there. While it is reportedly a friendly environment for international students, you do not need to be an international student in order to be eligible to apply. Please note that it is not affiliated with CUNY.

– Looking farther afield – consider any language, cultural, or other non-student communities or attributes and look for rooms accordingly. For example, sometimes, housing announcements are posted in newspapers, Craigslist, or neighborhood flyers/posters in other languages, and it can give an advantage to speakers of those languages who are looking for a room.

– Craigslist is also an option for finding housing, just be sure to be careful. Be aware of what the typical prices are for rooms in a given neighborhood- if the ad shows a price that is far below the typical, there is a serious chance it is a scam. Be aware that rooms are often rented very quickly -sometimes within a day or two of posting, so do not wait too long to act on something you like, but also make sure no one pressures you to accept a room on the spot if you sense something is not right.

Finally, the Metropolitan Council on Housing is an NYC non-profit that provides advice to tenants and explains what are your rights as a roommate in NYC. As far as I know this is not an organization officially endorsed by CUNY or GC, I am just including it here because it is an organization with a long history of serving tenants. Their information might come in handy if you have questions about any lease your are signing (not as likely if you’re an incoming roommate, but possible), or if you have any other questions about your housing rights.

If you have any follow-up questions about housing, feel free to email dsc@cunydsc.org.

Good luck with your search!