<p>How is life like in Ithaca? Especially for a PhD student who will spend about 5 years there. Is it an interesting enough place for someone in his/her 20s to spend 5 years there without getting too bored or depressed? I know the academics are great at Cornell, but what about the location? Is there a feeling of isolation, especially during the cold winters? And how is the community? Close? Friendly? Interesting? Boring? Fun? I visited, but 2 days just isn't enough to get that feel. Also, Graduate life would probably be different than undergrad life, but I've heard undergrad life can be pretty fun there.</p>
<p>I was wondring about that as well. I'm only considering going there for a Masters program but still would like to get an idea what the year would be like apart from academics. I'm particularly interested in lots of sports, music and generally fun things to do. Any ideas?</p>
<p>I'm currently an undergrad at Cornell. I don't know exactly how life is for grad students, but I've gotten a decent feel of it. I played on a soccer team with grad students, so it's not that hard to get involved in sports. You can easily sign up your whole lab/program for an intramural sports team (there's a lot of them) These leagues are shared with undergrads so grad students will sometimes look to Ithaca sports leagues (I played in the Ithaca soccer league with grad students). There's a ton of stuff to do on campus, but for grad students I think you have to be a lot more proactive in order to find them and you have to not mind sharing with hundreds of undergrads. There's always a show going on every weekend (BJ Novak from the office this weekend, OAR next weekend, Tracy Morgan doing stand up comedy the following weekend etc.).</p>
<p>Grad students have a graduate social center called the Big Red Barn which has get togethers strictly for grad students (dancing, beer etc..) on campus. As for bars, there are def certain bars that more grad students go to than undergrads. The Chapter House and the Nines have live music alll the time. The only issue is that last call in Ithaca is at 1AM.</p>
<p>I rarely feel isolated or bored here (in fact I am much much more bored when I go home to Long Island for a week). The only warning I have is that, although absolutely beautiful, the summers can be a little dull since there are not nearly as many people on campus. But if you get close with the other PhD students, then I'm sure you can find stuff to do (visit wineries, canoe on the lake, picnics etc.). Let me know if you have any other questions.</p>
<p>How much antipathy (if any) do the undergrads have for the grads? Also, do the grad students (at least the ones you know) seem to enjoy themselves doing research and living in Ithaca? Also, are there convenience stores (like CVS) in Ithaca? And are there places to buy shoes? and maybe some clothes? And groceries? Thanks!</p>
<p>No, unfortunately due to Ordinance 1349 you can not purchase shoes, cloths, or groceries in Ithica. You have to bring all these supplies from home.</p>
<p>I would love to hear some responses to this too. My daughter is a little hesitant about living in Ithaca for 5 years for this reason too--in spite of being very impressed with Cornell's programs and the faculty she will likely be working with. She is also considering UCLA, and she fell in love with the bustling environment of LA, although she concedes a Cornell degree may give her a some better options in the long run.</p>
<p>I don't think that the undergrads dislike the grad students at all, but some majors are more likely to "hang out" with the grad students. I see a lot of engineering grad students going to lunch, playing on intramural sports teams, with undergrads. I rarely ever even meet a business or law school student, and the only grad students that I really speak to are the ones in my lab or if I have a particularly friendly TA. Overall, I would say that there isn't too much mixing between undergrads and grad students, but it has nothing to do with whether or not we like them. </p>
<p>Most grad students seem to like Ithaca, but there are always exceptions. In biology, a lot of grad students are required to TA labs or sections. Some seem to enjoy it, but for others it can be very stressful. The undergrads are VERY demanding of their TAs sometimes.</p>
<p>There's a CVS and a Rite-Aid you can drive to, Target has everything you need and you can easily take a bus there. There are stores in collegetown that sell basic things and some groceries, but they are often overpriced and not that great. There are a whole bunch of amazing grocery stores. There is a really really nice Wegman's grocery store down on route 13 and a Tops store a couple parking lots over by Walmart, Bed Bath and Beyond, and Loews, but you would need a car to get there (<10 min drive). There is also a Tops grocery store by the mall, which can be reached easily by bus. Ithaca is very big on using local produce and meat and has a great selection of organics as well.</p>
<p>The shopping for shoes and clothes isn't the greatest. The mall has basic stores like the GAP, Abercrombie, PacSun. American Eagle, Target, AC Moore, and I think one athletic shoe store and a few other stores. I usually save all my shopping for when I go home to Long Island for breaks. If you do have a car, or a friend with a car, the Carousel Mall in Syracuse is about 1-1.5 hours away and is one of the biggest malls on the East Coast.</p>
<p>Would you recommend getting a car? For a grad student at least? And is parking around campus easy? Or is public transportation the way to go?</p>
<p>I have a car on campus now and it's really nice since I live off campus and I can easily get to the mall, grocery store, and my friends places if they don't live in collegetown. I know some grad students who actually live a town over in Lansing (where rent is cheap) and drive to school everyday (a parking permit on campus is around 700 for the year I think). Parking in collegetown is even more expensive (800-1000 for the year), so I just park on the street for free, which is working out ok, but I sometimes have to park 2 or 3 blocks away. Basically, having a car is a plus if you live off campus, but it's not entirely necessary. The bus system is great, and depending on where you live, you can probably just walk everywhere. O and parking on campus after 5PM is free, so sometimes I'll drive to the libe at night, but during the day I always just walk to campus or take the bus. </p>
<p>I don't know how this applies if you plan on living downtown though. I think most people who live downtown just take the bus to campus.</p>
<p>Just some information that might clear up grad/undergrad interaction on <em>any</em> campus:</p>
<p>Teaching assistants are discouraged from socializing with undergrads, for obvious reasons. Frankly, they usually don't need much discouragement, as the lives, schedules, and priorities of grad students are VERY different from those of undergraduates.</p>
<p>Oh, and Ithaca is actually a great little place. Plenty to do. Of course, when you're a grad student, you'll have little time to do it.</p>
<p>I did my MS at UCSD, and was never discouraged from socializing with my students. I was actually fond of many of them and was happy to dispense advice on classes/grad school/etc. The students' positive perceptions of me found their way onto my evaluations and the professors made note of these things on their performance reports, so at my school at least, good student-TA relationships were applauded. (We even made group runs to the campus pub during gel runs!)</p>
<p>And when I was an undergrad, my interaction with my TAs was a big factor in motivating me to continue into graduate studies. We researched, studied (I was in some cross-listed classes with them), and played flag football together -- it was a nice intro to the grad school life.</p>
<p>How are the athletic facilities at Cornell? Do grad students use them and are they great? Also, I'm thinking about the summers there, and it's starting to scare me a little bit especially if it's going to be quite deserted. Are all the facilities opened during the summer? (libraries, gyms, etc). And how are the locals of the town? nice people? farmers? are there lots of businesses around Ithaca or just mainly restaurants?</p>
<p>I've never been to the gym, but I hear they're nice, but expensive. I'm pretty sure that everything is open during the summer. There are a lot of camps and high school summer programs that use the facilities. The campus is not completely deserted, but you will notice a significant decrease in the number of people walking around. If your friends are staying for the summer, then you will be fine. I made the mistake of staying for a summer when very few of my friends were around, and it's a lot harder to meet new people during the summer. </p>
<p>The locals or townies are very nice people. Ithaca is an interesting town with its own "Ithaculture" as they like to call it.</p>
<p>so you have to pay for gym access? also, how do you find the grad students there? Are they nice and relaxed type people or intense all the time people? And do you find the air much fresher in Ithaca or at least around Cornell due to the trees and landscape? And for the public transportation system, does it take you to most places that you want/need to go around Ithaca? And is there a theater to watch movies in Ithaca or near Cornell or do people not watch new movies around there?</p>
<p>yea you have to pay unless your graduate program pays for you. The grad students I know are really nice, but I don't really know too many so it's hard to really say.</p>
<p>Um yea I guess the air is really fresh and clean, i don't really know how to answer that.</p>
<p>Buses take you pretty much anywhere in Ithaca but it can be tricky to get to some of the stores on route 13.</p>
<p>There is a theater on campus that shows a lot of indie and foreign films and then some newer ones, but there is a newly renovated movie theater at the mall, just a short bus ride away.</p>
<p>What time does the public transportation system stop running? And if you were to do it again, would you go to Cornell again? Or do you have better choices in mind?</p>
<p>you can look at the schedules here- tcatbus.com- but for example, buses to the mall stop running around 9ish on weekdays, and 11:30ish on weekends and there are buses that run on campus to drive the drunk people home until 2 in the morning. if you ever get stuck somewhere, you can always call a cab.</p>
<p>If I were to do it again, I would choose Cornell in a heart beat. I can't imagine going somewhere else.</p>
<p>How is the general social life for grad students at Cornell? Besides soccer/sports, the red barn, and going to restaurants, what do people do? It's just that I get such a negative vibe from many people about the isolation of Ithaca. I know a lot of people hike and do outdoor activities. But are there things that you just can't do in Ithaca that many people want to do? Basically, research is good, but would it be an enjoyable overall experience in other aspects of graduate life. I know it varies from people to people, but is it generally more difficult to enjoy life here than in a bigger city? Is it harder to find things to do? Is it easier to become unhappy? I just don't want to make a bad decision in something that will last probably around 5 years. I know the scenery is amazing, but will it be worth it to spend 5 years in Ithaca as a professional (as opposed to an undergraduate student).</p>
<p>I don't think it's isolated at all. It's got all the things you would find in a college town, all the artsy things and musical groups and things like that. I mean, people from the city come to the Finger Lakes region for their vacations, so there's definitely a lot to do. The question for grad students is whether you'll have the time to do them.</p>
<p>And actually, not that many people I know hike and do outdoor activities. It is very popular, but that generally takes longer to do. It's much easier to go to, let's say, the Apple Festival or the Chili Cook-off on the Commons, or go to a play or a musical, walk around the art museum on campus, bowling and badminton at Helen Newman. It's only isolated in the sense that you can't go to New York City every weekend, but unless you're from a large city, this won't matter anyway. Ithaca feels closest to a large town/small city, and all of my friends who are not from large cities think that Ithaca is a lot more happening than where they came from.</p>
<p>I really feel like there's so much to do and not enough time to do them. I've never seen anyone here upset about the lack of opportunities, only the lack of time.</p>
<p>For those with experience, can you list all the things you do not like about Cornell or living there for an extended period of time? Perhaps things that are more subtle (i.e. besides that it's very cold).</p>