<p>Hi emeraldkity4. I am occupying my current living quarters without the church’s knowledge. Apparently it is illegal for the church to provide permanent housing without some sort of license, so I only come here to sleep since it is the closest to my school (I am a full-time student).</p>
<p>sybbie719, I have been researching the faculty and their research groups, departmental awards, funding/grants, graduate school statistics, etc. and Columbia far exceeds Stony Brook, especially in my field. The resources open to GS students are the same as CC undergrads get. As long as there is a professor willing to work with you, there shouldn’t be any issue.</p>
<p>In any case, it’s not just Stony Brook and Columbia I am comparing, it’s several other schools as well. Many of them are out of state, but some are offering more money than others (I’m still receiving my financial award letters at the moment). So I’ll be able to make a final decision by December, but until then I am trying my best to plan out my finances, which I admittedly have not prepared for ahead of time as I was very focused on my studies so far.</p>