My daughters friend is coming to NYC to study in a school for dance (probably on or nearby 5th Av). She'll be there for 6 months and needs cheap accomodations .
Can anyone tell me where (on what websites) she can find some more information?
Or what area of NY that she should choose to live in ? She has a friend staying in the Bronx, but I don't think that is the most comfortable place to live.

Fifth Ave. is a street that runs north to south for more than 100 blocks so saying on or nearby there is useless information.

I would imagine the school she's attending should have plenty of information.

Craigslist.com is a website where she might be able to look for a room to let or roommate situation. She could even run her own ad there stating what she's looking for which I think is better. But first it would be helpful to know exactly which school or where she'll need to be in order to answer your "where" question.

NYU (New York University) is near lower Fifth Ave. so there's a fair amount of student housing/kids in that area. Also, time of year could make a big difference. If this is partly over the summer, there are a lot of places available when the college kids leave.

The Village Voice is a newspaper with classified where she may find listings for people looking for roommates. I have a friend who leaves the city for the summer and always rents her apt. If you tell me her budget, that might be yet another option. We need more info.

craigslist.com is a good place to start looking;
my daughter found a sublet in Williamsburg which is an upcoming area of Brooklyn that young people in the arts seem to adore;
she has a fifth floor walk up for 1000. a month; small and falling apart in a so so building but it's safe and she has her own space. The subway commute is fine.

a lot of areas are being gentrified and popular now; her school could provide suggestions also.

Cheapest alternative would be a room within a large appartment shared by a few people; if she could come ahead of time to see a few possibilities, she'd have a better idea.

DEfinately check out Craigslist.org. A word of advice - she will have to share an apt with someone if she wants to live in Manhattan for just 6 mths. Very few landlords give out studios/1 bdrms for 6 months or to students.

Short-term rentals are available at nyhabitat.com

When we understimated the durarion of closing on our co-op, we got a good rate for a 1-bedroom in a decent area for 3 months in Manhattan.

nyhabitat has all kinds and sizes of furnished apartments in all areas of metropolitan NY.

I will definitely check out craigslist.com.
I know 5th Av is very vague, but she was talking about Central Park en 5th.
Would it be possible to rent something max. $500 per month? Sharing?

There is no way you can rent anything alone for $500 per month. (FYI - the rent for my garage is $415 per month. A one bedroom apartment in a middle class building in a pleasant neighborhood in Manhattan goes for about $2500 per month. The same in a luxury building in an upscale neighborhood would be at least $4000.)

One of the posters above described what her daughter got for $1000 per month in Brooklyn - and that was a very good deal.

For $500 per month she wouldn/t even be able to have her own room in an apartment in a nicer neighborhood in Manhattan - but would have to share the room. She might be able to get her own room if she's willing to stay in one of the areas in Manhattan currently being gentrified - perhaps Inwood.

Agree with the other posters:

check school provided resources
Check the Village voice
Check Craigs list

If you tell us what school/where she will be we might suggest some options in the outer boroughs with reasonable transport.

nytraveler, your advice is right on....

A shared room residence at nyu was
around 800$ if I recall-

When we looked at rooms within homes it was expensive also..

If she finds something temporary to live in until she gets there, she should take it and then continue looking once she is in ny.
We wired money in blind faith to this person for his appartment, we lucked out and he overnighted the keys to us, the place was filthy, we had to do a big clean up before it was livable..

I think her best bet would be to look for shared accommodation through the dance school. I can't think what dance school there is on 5th; at my daughter's dance school, on W57th, there's an active bulletin board for those seeking accommodation. Needless to say, dancers are used to making compromises on where they live; some areas of the Bronx, close to the subway line, might be just fine, and if her budget is limited, it would be extremely difficult to find something near 5th Ave in Manhattan.

Lois
The girl doesn't know Manhattan at all, so I am pretty sure the dance school could be in a totally different part of Manhattan.
Maybe it even is 57th Str. , as she mentioned Central PArk too.
I will have to ask her again.
Thanks for all the advice, I hope she finds what she wants, I'll let you know if she does!