Staying in New York

Thanks for all the replies!

@ violets did any of the hostels you stayed at have social or living areas at all?

@ dulceamor i've been to the city a couple of times before so i have sort of done the sight seeing thing, although there are a lot of parts i'd like to see again! I'll be studying while I'm out there so I'd be making time for that as well. Although I definitely would like some sort of social life..bars, clubs etc are definitely my thing!

@ bzookaj I'll just be doing self study, I didn't finish the UK equivalent of high school or go to college, so I've been taking evening courses to qualify myself. By next year i should hopefully be studying for my degree.

@ Solohobo I definitely would fit more in with the college scene! i don't know much about the surrounding areas of the main city, but i'll definitely look into more about Brooklyn etc. I only really had considered staying in a hostel (honestly i just hadn't even tried to think of other options), but short term renting does actually make a lot of sense, particularly for the social side if i were to share with students. Oh and about Vegas! I really have no idea what I'm getting into there!

Also does anyone know how long you can stay in the US with a normal holiday visa? Someone told me it was no longer than 90 days at a time, however I've heard you can get another type of visa that allows you to stay up to 6 months?

@ tiltedflipcurves just saw your reply! Thanks for the ideas, these are all really helpful. I am confident enough, but I wouldn't go up to a stranger and just start a conversation so these sorts of thing are really what i'm looking for. I'd definitely be interested in volunteer work, and it'd look good on my CV!

Volunteer work - look into NYCares
Things to do - look into Living Social or MeetUp.

Go to lectures and talks at the museums. All of them have schedules of their programs.

Check out Idlewild Books events schedule. Idlewild is a travel concentrated book store.

check out 'meetup.com'. You can meet people with similar interests very easily this way. Both clubs with regular outings and casual meetups.

NYC has to be the most user friendly city for a nice young lady to meet others easily. My interns there are from all over the US for the summer, and after a few days, their lives become a blur.

Tourist Visa is 90 Days.

What country is your Passport, UK?

Tourist Visa is 90 Days.

There is no 90 day tourist visa. There is the (up to) 90 day Visa Waiver Program, which is not a visa but a visa waiver (i.e. it waives the requirement for a visa), and the (up to) 180 day B-2 tourist visa.

Thanks for clarification, but a average UK passport holder, can apply, and receive, a 90 day stay, correct?

If they are eligible for the VWP (and proper nationality is not the only requirement), 90 days is standard.

Actually, under VWP, it depends on the CBP officer you get at the POE. If he/she feels the person is not being honest and/or has dubious intent - then the pax can get sent to secondary/denied entry/ or shorter than 90 stay.

A young lass in '09 was given 30 day entry because she could not show enough money in cash/CC/TC and claimed she knew no one and wanted to visit NC,AL,TX,CA - Tripped the alarms in the officer's mind.

#18, while true, it's often the case (from reports here) that British nationals who are eligible are given the maximum. Hence my use of the term "standard" (which is not "always," or "only").