Need tips for Wharton University..........

[megeve]

DD has been accepted to do her MBA at WH. As we are living in Switzerland, DD will be an international student and we are not familiar with schools in USA, we need tips or advices on how to go about finding her a place to stay. Any tips/advices would be much appreciated!!

 

[Cartwheel]

Congratulations on the acceptance to Wharton! DD must be soooo excited!

For places to live, craigslist will be an invaluable resource: http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/

Also, I''m sure the campus has resources for student housing. In fact, a quick search resulted in this: http://www.wharton.upenn.edu/mba/student_life/campus/housing.cfm

Good luck!

 

[Sabine]

I don''t know anything about that area specifically, but in a college town, there are sure to be tons of apartment complexes that you should be able to search online. Sites like apartmentfinder.com and apartmentguide.com should be able to turn up some results. And once you find a place that looks nice, you should be able to google that specific complex to find more in-depth reviews. This is assuming that she will want to be living off-campus though.

You could contact the school''s housing department (probably find info. on the school''s website) if you are interested in seeing if on-campus housing is available. Good luck!

 

[AmberGretchen]

Congratulations to your DD on her acceptance - what a wonderful accomplishment

Definitely ditto the recommendation for Craigslist. What''s your time frame/schedule like? Ideally, I''d try to contact as many options as possible a couple of weeks before your daughter is moving, and line up a bunch of appointments for her to see as many places as possible before deciding.

 

[sba771]

Hi,

First congrats! That is very exciting for both of you! I am from Philly (now living in Europe) but I lived just outside the city. It sort of depends how much you want to spend and if she will have a car or not. There are some great areas in downtown. My one word of caution is the area right outside the university is the really really bad ghetto. If you make a wrong turn you are in a sketchy part of town- a small drawback for both Penn and Drexel. So my advice is avoid being too close to North or South Philly. If you have a decent budget and she doesn't mind a quickie commute- the Rittenhouse Sq area is SUPER nice and its downtown. If you decide to get her an apt in the suburbs I could probably be more help should you have questions.

 

[megeve]

Cartwheel, thank you! Yes, she is so excited, has hardly stopped talking about WH since her acceptance whenever we got her on the phone (She is working in Shanghai at the moment). No, she is not keen on campus housing, will send her the Craiglist site.

Sabine, thanks for the invaluable site resources, addresses will be on the way to her.

 

[megeve]

Date: 4/22/2009 4:03:44 PM
Author: AmberGretchen

Congratulations to your DD on her acceptance - what a wonderful accomplishment

Definitely ditto the recommendation for Craigslist. What''s your time frame/schedule like? Ideally, I''d try to contact as many options as possible a couple of weeks before your daughter is moving, and line up a bunch of appointments for her to see as many places as possible before deciding.

Thanks! Yes, we are so proud of her! She had put in so much work into her GMAT and now being awarded with this acceptance!

Thats a good point: to arrange and look at as many options as possible. Anyway, she has planned to arrive in town (I am not even sure where this university is situated at) sometime in August, just before term starts.

 

[Octavia]

Congratulations to your DD! Wharton is an awesome school. I live in Philly, so if you have specific questions about any of the areas she's considering living in, I can give my opinion. Generally, I second the Rittenhouse area -- it's pretty close to Penn's campus, so it's easy to bike, and there are both Penn buses and SEPTA (public transit) buses that go between them. Parts of West Philly are fine and housing there tends to be cheaper, but I wouldn't go much west of campus (probably 45th Street as a boundary). I also really like the Washington Square West and Society Hill areas of the city, which are basically the two neighborhoods as you go east of Rittenhouse. They're further away from Penn, but still bike-able and very close to buses and a subway line. Like Rittenhouse, they tend to be a bit pricey, though. The Art Museum area is also a good place to live and is somewhat more affordable, but transportation to Penn isn't as convenient.

Aside from Craigslist, Philly Weekly (http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com) is a good source for apartment listings. Good luck, and let us know if you have any other questions!

 

[megeve]

Date: 4/22/2009 4:26:11 PM
Author: sba771
Hi,

First congrats! That is very exciting for both of you! I am from Philly (now living in Europe) but I lived just outside the city. It sort of depends how much you want to spend and if she will have a car or not. There are some great areas in downtown. My one word of caution is the area right outside the university is the really really bad ghetto. If you make a wrong turn you are in a sketchy part of town- a small drawback for both Penn and Drexel. So my advice is avoid being too close to North or South Philly. If you have a decent budget and she doesn''t mind a quickie commute- the Rittenhouse Sq area is SUPER nice and its downtown. If you decide to get her an apt in the suburbs I could probably be more help should you have questions.

Thank you! I am not sure what to expect to spend for rent in Philly. Rents are so expensive here in Switzerland. Right now, all we know is she would not have a car, that means she has to live within walking distance or short trip with buses. However, as you mentioned right outside the uni is a bad ghetto, we might have to rethink our strategy. Anyway, I am going to send her your comments. Its good to know about the Rittenhouse Sq area, appreciate that!

 

[megeve]

Date: 4/22/2009 4:50:42 PM
Author: Octavia
Congratulations to your DD! Wharton is an awesome school. I live in Philly, so if you have specific questions about any of the areas she's considering living in, I can give my opinion. Generally, I second the Rittenhouse area -- it's pretty close to Penn's campus, so it's easy to bike, and there are both Penn buses and SEPTA (public transit) buses that go between them. Parts of West Philly are fine and housing there tends to be cheaper, but I wouldn't go much west of campus (probably 45th Street as a boundary). I also really like the Washington Square West and Society Hill areas of the city, which are basically the two neighborhoods as you go east of Rittenhouse. They're further away from Penn, but still bike-able and very close to buses and a subway line. Like Rittenhouse, they tend to be a bit pricey, though.

Aside from Craigslist, Philly Weekly (http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com) is a good source for apartment listings. Good luck, and let us know if you have any other questions!

Thank you for your offer! Just to get a rough idea, do you know how pricey the rent is in these areas: Rittenhouse, Washinton Sq W and Society Hill? It doesn't have to be exact just a +/- number.

 

[Kaleigh]

First off, congrats to your DD. My daughter is at Penn, undergrad. I ditto the suggestion of Rittenhouse Square. It''s a lovely area and close to Penn.

 

[Octavia]

Megeve, regarding rent: I live in a high-rise 1-bedroom apartment in the Rittenhouse area and we pay $1400 per month. That's probably on the high side, but it's a doorman building and includes all utilities except phone and internet. Expect roughly $1000+ for a studio or $1200+ for a 1-bedroom in the Rittenhouse, Wash West, or Society Hill areas. It can be up to a couple hundred a month cheaper in the good parts of West Philly, the Art Museum, or just south of Rittenhouse. If she can find a roommate (the school might be able to help her out with this if another MBA student, or other graduate or law student, is also looking for a roommate), you can get 2-bedrooms in the Rittenhouse area for around $1600+, which is a pretty good option IMO. The housing stock is a mix of high-rise buildings and brownstones/townhouses that have been chopped up into apartments.

Not having a car is a good plan, because parking is ridiculous in Center City. The public transit to the more popular suburbs and to the airport is also pretty good. The only reason to use a car is if you're traveling far out of the city, which she probably won't do too much as a grad student!

ETA: I should also add that a couple of the big universities here, including Penn, have a deal with SEPTA, the public transit company, for reduced-cost bus and train passes. You have to pay upfront for the whole semester, but if she anticipates using the buses and subway much, it's definitely worth it.

Also edited to update prices after looking at Craigslist! Things have changed a bit since I last looked at apartments

 

[megeve]

Date: 4/22/2009 4:57:16 PM
Author: Kaleigh
First off, congrats to your DD. My daughter is at Penn, undergrad. I ditto the suggestion of Rittenhouse Square. It''s a lovely area and close to Penn.

Thank you! How awesome that your daughter is also at Penn! I have heard only wonderful comments about Penn (By the way, just found out that WH and Penn U is the same and only one - excuse my ignorance!) Now I am going to give Rittenhouse Sq some serious thought! Do you know how pricey rents are there? Just needed to know some figure to prepare ourselves.

 

[Kaleigh]

Date: 4/22/2009 5:05:45 PM
Author: megeve

Date: 4/22/2009 4:57:16 PM
Author: Kaleigh
First off, congrats to your DD. My daughter is at Penn, undergrad. I ditto the suggestion of Rittenhouse Square. It''s a lovely area and close to Penn.

Thank you! How awesome that your daughter is also at Penn! I have heard only wonderful comments about Penn (By the way, just found out that WH and Penn U is the same and only one - excuse my ignorance!) Now I am going to give Rittenhouse Sq some serious thought! Do you know how pricey rents are there? Just needed to know some figure to prepare ourselves.

I will ask my daughter after she gets off work from her internship. She''ll know who to contact, etc... My husband and I are Co Presidents of Penn''s Parents council, if you want to contact me direclty. I live 20 minutes outside the city, so would be happy to help you in any way I can. Lisa

 

[megeve]

Octavia, thanks for your reply. We have more or less guessed it would be around $1000.- per month and you confirmed it. Looks like she has to start searching and make lots of appointments!

Kaleigh/Lisa, thank you, its so sweet of you to offer!

I will keep it in mind. How long more does your DD has till graduation?