<p>goemstar, thanks for your reply. For those restaurants you just mentioned, are they all within walking distnaces or do you have to drive out. Also, any quality chinese/japanese restaurant there, as well? I am a bit disappointed that there is no Chipotle. Oh, and what about some pizza places like Papa Johns or the like. Thanks.</p>
<p>I was accepted to the College of Engineering, so does that mean that I cannot switch, or what if I wanted to dual major in a different college, is that possible?</p>
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hi. i am a gt student for fall 08 at ILR. I was wondering about the food there. yeah, I heard that the dorm food is good, but are there some quality restaurants near by? how about fast food chains? Chipotle? Also, does the gym get crowded? I love playing basketball and i hate it when the gym gets so crowded that i have to wait to play (like at my current university)..
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<p>Yea, it's rather unfortunate there's no Chipotle. Now that I'm in DC, I eat at Chipotle at least 1-2 times a week (the workers there all know what I want on my burrito by now).</p>
<p>As gomestar has said, Ithaca has great restaurants, some of which are in Collegetown (walking distance), some not. Unfortunately, there's no decent fast food nearby and, in my opinion, no decent authentic Chinese either (although there's plenty of good Asian/American-Asian food in Collegetown). There are Papa Johns, Dominos, Pizza Hut, etc. I usually ordered via Campusfoods.com.</p>
<p>I played a ton of basketball as well. Unfortunately, for freshmen, the only decent place to play is Helen Newman which can get quite crowded on Fridays and the weekends. In August/September (before it gets too cold), you can play on the outdoor courts near RPU but as soon as the weather gets bad, your only option is to play in the gym in Helen Newman. The badminton people usually hog one out of the two courts so you end up with 20 peepz trying to get a game going on one full-court.</p>
<p>norcalguy, thanks for your reply. </p>
<p>I am utterly shocked that there is only one indoor gym for basketball at Cornell!?! Oh well, i hope that it won't be too bad. At my current school, there are always volleyball people who always occupy one out of 3 courts and never leave, making the place get extremely crowded. But, i didn't know that there is only one indoor basketball court at Cornell.</p>
<p>There's another gym in Bartels or Barton (I don't remember which). But, if you don't have a car, you're not going to be able to go. Like I said, two full-courts but one is usually used by the badminton/volleyball people. The games in Helen Newman are decently competitive with usually 2 teams on the court and 2-3 teams waiting to rotate during peak hours. It's not optimal but the games are fun.</p>
<p>My advice: play as much bball as you can when you get to school. There are tons of outdoor courts on North and tons of people playing (multiple full and half court games and all skill levels) while the weather is good. The games we used to play when it would get dark would be rather interesting since no one could quite see the ball :) But, looking back, those are the times you remember, not whether you scored an A on the second prelim in gen chem.</p>
<p>rch855 : workload: sucks, but manageable. My advice to you is to not get into the hype of taking too many classes to "get ahead". I currently am in like 20 hours, and as a result, I'm doing terribly in a class that I pretty much took for granted due to the rigor of my other classes. It starts out fairly easy...but don't be tempted to load up too much and be overworked, because when prelims come around, it only gets exponentially worse. You end up just focusing on the next big project/test, and put off work and studying for the other ones. Its best to be really good at a smaller amount of classes then to spread yourself too thin over too many.</p>
<p>Delivery Man: The food here is pretty good, but its college food, so you do get sick of it pretty easily. Collegetown has a bunch of options though, so if you get bored, its not too bad. Alsocombine using BRBs at places like Mattins (hot sandwiches and stuff-its in duffield) with the meal plan, it makes the variety seem better. Sports? I went to the gym to play some basketball recently and it was pretty crowded. I cant imagine on weekday it would be as bad, and there are tons of outdoor courts as well.</p>
<p>Cjmdjm: you can switch, but you cant switch your first year. If you want to transfer, you can get put in the ITD (internal transfer division). To be able to switch, it really matters on where you are switching to/from, but you really just need to stay in good academic standing (which in engineering I think is a 2.0). Im thinking about minoring in business, but Im not sure about double majoring between schools.</p>
<p>Binghamton: I feel like doing this because people did it for me last year when I was so incredibly stressed out. I was another neurotic CCer, and I was really unsure of where I wanted to go, and talking to students reassured me about Cornell (unlike some other schools that I talked to students from). I love it here, and I am happy to encourage and help anyone else to come here.
Im not sure about how transfer students feel about the transfer process, but any of them I have met have been happy here. I love to party as well, and I only go out on Fridays or Saturdays, and on very rare occasions on both. The party scene is very fratty, but if you know people who live in collegetown, you can get to some house parties. I like to dance, so I actually prefer the frat parties. Some people go out Thursday/Friday/Saturday and other nights, but for the most part, I think people who party do so like once a weekend.</p>
<p>Thanks for your help guys.</p>
<p>I was wondering, if I have a car as a freshman, is there any way I can keep it as I go to Cornell? And would having a car be a plus? (like going to restaurants, nearby cities, going outside, etc.) I am a big fan of food, so if there are many good restaurants outside of walking distance, then I would love to keep it.. : ) Oh well, if its not possible for freshmen, then too bad.</p>
<p>"I'm a female engineer, planning on MechE. I lived in Balch this year--so any girls with questions about that, I can answer. I'm from the south, so I had to adjust to the weather. Anything anyone wants to know, I can attempt to answer. : )"</p>
<p>seuferk --
wow, I'm also a female from the south who wants to do engineering at Cornell (starting this fall)...
My biggest concern is the weather.
I've lived in hot/humid (Texas) weather my whole life, and I'm concerned that not only will I not be able to adjust to the cold, but that I'll also get sick so often (due to the cold -- has this happened to you?) that my grades will be affected.</p>
<p>Any advice/experiences?
thanks</p>
<p>The weather is only a hassle if you make it out to be a hassle. I had plenty of friends from Florida or California who never complained about the weather because they didn't let it bother them. Others couldn't get past it. Get some good winter boots, a warm coat, a scarf, hat, and gloves and you will be fine. </p>
<p>People don't get sick from the cold. That's a folk legend. People get sick from bacteria, viruses, etc. Of course if you have allergies or an autoimmune disease or something like that, well that's a whole different consideration.</p>
<p>It's actually funny. Before the advent of air conditioning (which was invented by a Cornell alum, by the way), everybody had to live in cold weather climes because the incidence of infectious diseases was much lower.</p>
<p>And why do I do this? Well, I'm a fairly recent grad who has a huge affinity for Cornell -- attending Cornell was the best thing to ever happen to me. And most alums I know will say the same thing. The amount of loyalty students have to the school after we graduate is really striking.</p>
<p>I'm also dealing with some health issues these days, so posting here helps to pass the time!</p>
<p>rch855: Workload depends on the time of year. Around exam time, it'll be ridiculous. Otherwise it's pretty manageable. Sometimes it's more the rigor of the courses I feel like most of the stress comes from trying to understand/process everything and preparing for exams rather than doing homework. First semester was pretty easy for me, but it depends on what classes you're taking, how familiar you are with/how much you like the material, and what you're good at. Like right now I'm above the mean in all of my classes except CS, which I think most people would consider their easiest class. One thing I've noticed about exams, though: consistent effort really really pays off. Don't let yourself get lazy, because cramming and trying to learn the material last minute doesn't work.</p>
<p>delivery man: some of the restaurants are decently close, others not so much. I wouldn't worry about distance, however. Several are in the Ithaca commons which is serviced every 10 minutes by buses from the Cornell campus. For the others, you'd likely go with friends to eat (and not alone), so one of them may have a car or you can split the taxi bill. </p>
<p>"The weather is only a hassle if you make it out to be a hassle."
I agree! It's nice to see all 4 seasons during the school year. </p>
<p>"I was wondering, if I have a car as a freshman, is there any way I can keep it as I go to Cornell? And would having a car be a plus?"
You can have a car, but it's a bit of a hassle. Parking on campus is something like $650 a year, and you may have to park far out in a lot. Still, it's not a bad idea if you're interested in exploring greater ithaca in search of great food (a noble cause, IMO)</p>
<p>"The food here is pretty good, but its college food, so you do get sick of it pretty easily"
As a tremendous food fan, I disagree! I've found the food on campus to be excellent and wildly diverse. The only thing I get sick of is waiting 45-50 seconds before being able to scoop something onto my plate. </p>
<p>Norcalguy - give A&J Chinese a shot, it's right on the Rockville Pike. Really good food, really good price. Bring a friend, big portions.</p>
<p>Parking for freshman isn't too bad since they live on North anyway....it's when live on West and have on park North that sucks.</p>
<p>But I do agree with gomestar....having a car to sample all of Ithaca's food is an excellent cause :-D</p>
<p>some places to eat:</p>
<p>i'm interested in the townhouse dorm, is there anything i should know about it? and is it single sex per townhouse?
also i'm looking at the ecology house. i heard you can bring a pet there? could it be a BIG dog?</p>
<p>What kind of student fits in at Cornell? What type of person would hate Cornell?</p>
<p>I'm someone looking for lots of diversity, meeting new people, doing well and learning a lot academically, trying new things, having a good time, etc. I still have to go to Cornell days though.</p>
<p>dogs, cats, ferrets and poisonous animals are prohibited from the ecology house.</p>
<p>The weather is really not too bad here. I was TERRIFIED. I ended up kind of liking the snow, the only thing I don't like is the wind, but its really not bad, as long as you dress appropriately. Everyone over exaggerates the weather, but really, it just seems like winter takes a loooong time. Bring rain boots...I still haven't invested in them, and since the snow has now pretty much been replaced with rain, I've been wishing I had them.</p>
<p>thejoker: I hate to give this response that everyone gives...but honestly, anyone would fit in here. That's one of the reasons I decided on Cornell, and not an engineering-specific school. Its really nice to have friends from what would be totally different groups in high school, and to meet so many different people. Cornell has republicans, democrats, liberatarians, people who don't care (haha), people from every country, different music tastes (my best friend is an avid country music listener, for example), clubs for anything and everything (we started a dressage club this year), partiers, religious people.....I honestly can't think of anyone who wouldn't have a group. </p>
<p>I mean, it is cold, but I definitely have found it manageable, and I love Cornell, so that has outweighed my hatred for winter.</p>
<p>Random question for Gomestar, do many people actually get denied from ILR? it seems like everybody who doesn't get in is guranteed transfer...</p>
<p>i can help with any questions as well...haha anything to distract me from writing my history paper! lol</p>