hey, i think i was on 13.
heh i know astoria very well. it _is_ an awesome place. however, the real estate agents there are very misleading, they post these ads for apts from 600-1000$ etc in papers but alot of times they only have the expensive ones, you really need to call alot of them and make a big effort... i know many people who live there and/or who have lived there, and i kinda doubt you could find a studio for 600$, or it would be difficult. 700-800$ maybe. but if you look hard enough i bet 600$ is doable. also depends on what pt. of astoria/how far from train etc. its a great place to live, ive spent alot of time there. if you do move there lemme know, i can tell you tons of great spots/places. it would be a pain to drive to school, triboro is right there but lots o' commuter traffic during rush hour. its easy enough(and alot cheaper) to take the N to 59th and lex and then transfer to the 6, train ride in total(not including walking etc) would be about 25min...
or, you could get in shape and bike to school, some people do that. bike right over the triboro(w/slight detour for a minute on ward island), or you can bike over queensboro...both have pedestrian paths, triboro is less maintained..
having a car in certain pts of astoria is _much_ easier than other pts. due to streetcleaning rules/frequency.
classes 1st semester started at 10(!) i beleive, some were 9 occasionally, in the spring most classes are 9. if you are thinking about queens you might want to also consider woodside, also near to city, quiet family 'hood etc right off the 7 w/easy transfer to the 4/5 at GC etc. jackson heights is really awesome too, but a very busy place...
if you are ok w/harlem though, i seem to have seen ads for thigns around 800$ for one bedrooms and such(you mentioned 900$), would think studios would be cheaper...you can get something in a more fancy(aka homogenous) pt. of UES for 1000$ pretty easily also..
lionel