a couple of questions for those already at cornell

Colleges and Universities A-Z Cornell University
1

<p>background info: im an ED freshman for fall of 2007.</p>

<li><p>do we need routers in the dorms? if its a 2 people dorm, they will have 2 internet outlets right?</p></li>
<li><p>do you need a map of ithaca? (for new students). is it a good idea to have one?</p></li>
<li><p>how are the transportations to other cities? are there trains? buses? grey hound?</p></li>
<li><p>the cornell bound packet will come sometimes in may right? and is that the only packet we’ll be getting?</p></li>
<li><p>can people go to the dorms earlier than the august 18th date?</p></li>
<li><p>mail. if i order stuff on the internet and get delivery by UPS or something, is it possible for them to come up to the dorms or whatever? do we even get an address?</p></li>
<li><p>what kind of banks are aviliable on campus?</p></li>
<li><p>are there any cingular stores/providers nearby? how’s the coverage?</p></li>
<li><p>This question is geared toward international students (from canada specifically), do you guys get visas? if so, cornell has to provide some kind of proof of acceptance right? what do i need to know about this? do i have to request it specifically?</p></li>
<li><p>Another international student question. will you get a social security number from the student visa? can you work on campus?</p></li>
</ol>

<p>i shall add more Qs when i remember then i guess.
thanks in advance</p>

2

<p>"1. do we need routers in the dorms? if its a 2 people dorm, they will have 2 internet outlets right?"
no routers, there should be 1 internet plugin for each person. </p>

<p>"2. do you need a map of ithaca? (for new students). is it a good idea to have one?"
eh, it's not a bad idea, but I've usually just used mapquest for anything. </p>

<p>"3. how are the transportations to other cities? are there trains? buses? grey hound?"
busses are the most common, and the bus system isn't half bad either. There's also an airport but it's rather expensive. </p>

<p>"4. the cornell bound packet will come sometimes in may right? and is that the only packet we'll be getting?"
not sure when, but you'll be getting it and at some point you'll also get the cornell email and all of that jazz in the mail. </p>

<p>"5. can people go to the dorms earlier than the august 18th date?"
i dont think so</p>

<p>"6. mail. if i order stuff on the internet and get delivery by UPS or something, is it possible for them to come up to the dorms or whatever? do we even get an address?"
yes, you'll have your own mailbox and you can have packages shipped to you. </p>

<p>"7. what kind of banks are aviliable on campus?"
the one I use is M&T right on campus, I think there's another but i forget the name. </p>

<p>"8. are there any cingular stores/providers nearby? how's the coverage?"
There's a cingular provider at the mall, but the coverage is rather spotty on campus. </p>

<p>not sure about the international student question.</p>

3

<p>thanks a lot!
if the cingular coverage is bad, what is good?</p>

4

<p>verizon is the best, and i've had good luck with sprint</p>

5

<p>are they GSM providers? i mean do they have SIM cards that i can put into my own phone?</p>

6

<p>Sadly, no, they are CDMA. How is T-Mobile? (I'm assuming horrible, because it's horrible here and I'm in a metro area)</p>

7

<p>my gf uses t-mobile and i've just gotten used to leaver her voicemails until her phone goes back into service. It just doesn't work alot of times inside of buildings.</p>

8

<p>ah that sucks..... no wai willl i make the switch to CDMA man</p>

9

<ol>
<li>do we need routers in the dorms? if its a 2 people dorm, they will have 2 internet outlets right? </li>
</ol>

<p>yes, there is an "internet outlet" for every person in the dorm.</p>

<ol>
<li>do you need a map of ithaca? (for new students). is it a good idea to have one? </li>
</ol>

<p>um, not really. If you do, a map of cornell is provided and maps of Ithaca are available if you really want them</p>

<ol>
<li>how are the transportations to other cities? are there trains? buses? grey hound? </li>
</ol>

<p>im not really sure about this one. I know very few people who randomly travel to other cities. People go to syracuse but I don't know about the bus service there. However, if you want to go to NYC, the shortline is you best option....you get a student discount ($65 roundtrip) and the bus picks you up and drops you off right on campus....very convenient</p>

<ol>
<li>the cornell bound packet will come sometimes in may right? and is that the only packet we'll be getting?</li>
</ol>

<p>The Cornell bound packet will probably come in early April because it has important Cornell Days information which is in the middle of April. </p>

<ol>
<li>can people go to the dorms earlier than the august 18th date?</li>
</ol>

<p>Nope</p>

<ol>
<li>mail. if i order stuff on the internet and get delivery by UPS or something, is it possible for them to come up to the dorms or whatever? do we even get an address?</li>
</ol>

<p>yes, you get an address so packages and just general mail can be sent to you on campus.</p>

<ol>
<li>what kind of banks are aviliable on campus?</li>
</ol>

<p>there are bank of american ATM's in the commons and in collegetown.....on campus, I've seen Tompkins County bank or something like that....there are a few others but I'm not sure what they are</p>

<ol>
<li>are there any cingular stores/providers nearby? how's the coverage?</li>
</ol>

<p>cingular is next best to verizon on north campus but most of the people i know with cingular still don't get good service....your best bet is to get verizon...the first week i was here, LOTS of my friends switched to verizon....not only do you get service, but since more than half the campus has it, you can talk to lots of people for free.... :)</p>

10

<p>man... but i really want to use my choice of a phone that isnt properiatary though.... im eyeing a nokia n95 and its a GSM phone</p>

11

<p>me either, i wantd to get the D- Wade sidekick before, that's T-mobile, but wellz, gave up my idea, and thinking about Cingular right now</p>

12

<p>a major bank near pyramid mall is hsbc (i think they have 2 in ithaca). you can also open up a WaMu because i think they have free withdrawals for students (perhaps making up for their lack of atms)..but make sure. and i've heard t-mobile is horrible and that the only service that really works up there is verizon.</p>

<p>i have a question, what's the easiest way people get to cornell from nyc? (if one did not drive up there by car) i hear its a VERY long process but just wanted to make sure...</p>

13

<p>heard there is bus in Port Authority........................</p>

14

<p>Coach USA/ Shortline buses have services from NY Port Authority Terminal right upto campus through out the day. You can check the timings at the website to confirm timings.</p>

15

<p>I find cingular service isn't bad. I get service in my dorm (Dickson) unlike some other people. I find traveling to other cities a hassle just because we're about 4.5 hours from any other major city. Even though we have Grey Hound and Shortline buses.</p>

<p>There are also Tompkins County and HSBC ATMs on campus.</p>

16

<p>maybe it's phone dependent..</p>

<p>you see, the only reason why im not into verizon is they are CDMA, which means i can't just plug in a SIM into my existing phone and BAM, it works....</p>

<p>This summer, i am lookinkg to get a Nokia N95, an awesome phone, and i think in the end i'll just stick to cingular just because...</p>

<p>maybe signal is phone dependent aswell? my mom's phone, also cingular, does not have nearly as much signal as i do (she's always 2 bars while im always 5) and we have different phones, hers being much cheaper</p>

17

<p>does anyone travel by air from nyc? because i think the only way thats possible is if you get off at syracuse, and then its another hour drive from there to campus?</p>

18

<p>its a long time, i think you're far better off just driving the whole way</p>