I found an old Cornell Parent thread but unfortunately it was closed. So I’m starting another one in the hopes to glean some wisdom from other parents and to share some stories of our Cornellians! I have a son who is a rising sophomore in CALS and he loves it there.
I have a son who just graduated, and who also loved it. Happy to help answer questions.
@PatentPending thank you! What’s your son doing now? College and major?
You can find a group of Cornell parents on a popular social media site if you search there.
@CALSmom CALS/Info Sci major. He was able to get a great internship each summer, and now has a super job with a major tech company.
Ask away! My son graduated last year with a math degree (philosophy minor). He’s getting a PhD in math at Yale now. He loved Cornell!! I started a parent support group on social media years ago, but it’s state specific (though many members are from other states with some from other countries). There were no official groups at the time. Maybe there are now. It’s been helpful. Especially when the child forgot his keys at home. Another local family (who we didn’t know other than from the online group) delivered his keys and student ID the next day.
@PatentPending thanks and congrats to your son
@TrudiRexar thank you for the info!
@NJCornellMom thanks and congrats to your son as well! A general parent Cornell page is up and running (not state specific) but not a lot of members on there. I thought there would be more parents here on CC. I agree, these sites are so helpful 
I am one of the admins of the Cornell Parents page on that popular social media site. We are up to 237 members - come join us!
Happy to see this thread, as my oldest is beginning his graduate studies at Cornell this fall and I am not a social media user. Can anyone here weigh in on the bus options b/t Cornell/Ithaca and NYC? I know there is a direct Cornell bus, but also a regular coach bus option that is a lot cheaper. Anyone have experiences with both/either? Thanks in advance!
The only time we used the rather expensive campus to campus bus was when our son was on his way to a graduate school open house. It was great! They provided drinks on the bus (water, soda), and the ride was fast and direct. It’s just about double the price of other options. It drops at Cornell locations in Manhattan (club and campus). There are several less expensive choices. Most make many stops. Short line runs all the time. Check out their pages. They can get on the bus on campus and run into the station to pay for the ticket (when it gets to town).
In case you need it:
https://ipp.cornell.edu/content/campus-campus-bus-service/
Thanks, @NJCornellMom , this is very helpful. The fancy bus sounds great but a bit above a grad student’s price point for multiple visits (visiting the GF)!
Short line bus runs $50 one-way compared to I believe $95 one-way on the Cornell campus to campus bus.The short line is not as fancy as the Cornell bus but again for a college student it’s completely acceptable
Does anyone know about extra buses for fall break? I remember riding an express bus from Student Travel Services direct from campus to Long Island for the breaks, but I can’t find any information about them - only direct to NYC and other locations. Am I missing it or does this come out later?
@patatty try this link
https://web.coachusa.com/shortline/ss.details.asp?action=Lookup&c1=Ithaca&s1=NY&c2=Hempstead&s2=NY&resultId=192937&order=&dayFilter=&scheduleChoice=&sitePageName=&nt=1%2Findex%2Easp&cbid=817380963555
Pros and cons of Short Line vs C2C. My son has taken both multiple times. He takes Short Line to White Plains and C2C to the Cornell Club and then walks the block to Grand Central Terminal to take the Metro North commuter train home.
Short Line runs one bus at approx 2pm and perhaps one early in the morning. They will add additional buses at 2pm for school breaks, but they do not add additional departure times. The trip to White Plains can take less than four hours or up to six hours, depending on whether or not the bus travels directly to White Plains or requires a transfer at Binghamton and I think somewhere else.
Since students are not required to reserve a seat in advance, Short Line does not know how many students will be traveling, so they don’t always have the needed # of buses at the terminal. My son has waited 20-30 minutes for the bus to depart White Plains.
Pro is that one can always get a seat, no advance planning needed, and it is half the price of C2C. (Less than half price if you have to include cost of commuter rail ticket out of Manhattan.)
C2C runs three daily trips each way between Cornell & Manhattan. They typically add an additional late afternoon departure for school breaks/holidays.
C2C travels directly to the Cornell Club on 44th btwn 5th & Madison before stopping up at the Med School. Travel time is almost always four hours. Bus is less cramped b/c there are three seats across instead of four.
Downside of C2C is that they only run three bus trips per day (four for break), so availability is limited.
This is another company that does school break charters. Info isn’t up for this year, but I assume they still do them. We have been out of Cornell already for a year. We used them, Short line, whatever worked. Enjoying the ease of the kid’s commute home by train from Yale (PhD program)!
http://www.goswarthout.com/students/fall-break-tickets-9.html
Oh, and this one (haven’t used them):
http://www.northforkexpress.com/linerun_ce.html
I’ve also seen this company for NYC trips, but we haven’t used them:
http://bigredbullet.com/
Thanks for the info. I guess it may be too early yet to book for fall break.
@patatty – no, not too early to book C2C bus for fall break. The 5:30 bus is already sold out, and only three seats remaining on the 11:30am one. Need to know if your student has Fri classes before booking that one though.
I looked at the Big Red Bullet bus but I thought it departed from downtown Ithaca, which would have been a hassle for anyone living on campus. Both Short Line and C2C had easy departure and drop-off locations.
Hi CT1417 - thanks so much for letting us know about the Short Line. We live in Westchester so White Plains would be easier than the city. I tried to see if I could reserve online but could not. If you can’t reserve a seat on Short Line ahead of time, did you son ever not be able to get a seat on it?