<p>Hi. I'm US citizen living in Europe. I've been admitted to several schools in the USA. Now, 3 days before the decision deadline (May 1st) I'm down to these two schools: Hofstra University and Ithaca College. I'll be majoring in Finance. I know that both offer completely different college experiences, however, I feel I will fit in either of them. Ithaca College seems to be nice college town. It also offers a lot of clubs and intramural sports (I'm very much into sports). On the other hand Hofstra is very close to NYC which is a huge plus. I also like the fact that it has division I sports. If possible I would like to go to soccer tryout and compare my skills gained in Europe to players in the US. At Hofstra intramural sports are also big, which is great. More students commute to Hofstra than to Ithaca College but I guess there will still be a lot of people in dorms on a daily basis. In Europe almost everyone commutes to the universities so it's not such a problem for me. Finally, when it comes to academics Ithaca College is well-known for its music, communication/journalism majors. Business is not that highly regarded from what I've heard. Hofstra is ranked in businessweek ranking (not very high but still I guess the fact that it at least appears there is worth mentioning) and Ithaca isn't. Also, in Hofstra majority of students (25%) are business majors. At Ithaca business majors are 4th after communications, arts, health professions majors. Worth mentioning is also the fact that both schools have innovative trading rooms allowing students to get hand-on experience in business field. Is Hofstra's location something that might give me an edge in finance career in the long run? Ithaca College and Hofstra costs are almost the same after financial aid and scholarships. Thank you in advance and appreciate your help.</p>
<p>any suggestions?</p>
<p>My daughter and I just returned from touring some schools last week and IC was one of the schools we looked at. She is also interested in business (finance specifically). Although there were some things that she liked about Ithaca (incluindg the campus and the town and the small feel), she did not feel like the business program was emphasized at Ithaca. They seem to be focused more on Music and theater. </p>
<p>I don’t know anything about Hofstra but I would imagine that they might have more contacts to help out with internships and jobs being closer to NYC.</p>
<p>@ConfusedMominMA That’s exactly what I’m mostly concerned about. I also like IC campus and small town feel (However I’ve always lived in the suburbs of big city and I’m not 100% sure that small town feel will be enough for me. I’m worried that after some time it might be too small and boring) I’ve also heard that IC seems to focus more on Music and theatre majors. Did you talk with students currently at IC business school? What did they say? Did they mention something about internship opportunities or program to have one semester internship in NYC?</p>
<p>We took a general tour of the school and then a specific business school tour. The kid that was doing the business school tour did not know enough info about the school to be too helpful. </p>
<p>Now I don’t know whether this is true or not but when I asked about average SAT scores and avg GPA for admitted students, he replied that he thought that a 3.0 would be fine. (that turned my daughter right off as she has about 3.8uw.) I kind of zoned out after that. Looking at their website, they do mention kids interning at Merrill Lynch.</p>
<p>Hi @patman95 - we are so excited that you are considering Hofstra University’s business school. It is one of the top business schools in the country and offers tons of resources. I am not a business major myself but I can get you in touch with an admission officer from the business school who would be more than happy to answer your questions. We also have business students that can offer assistance. Please let us know, we look forward to talking with you! </p>
<p>Neither Hofstra nor Ithaca are schools for the 3.8UW applicant, except as safeties.
The area where Hofstra is located is not the best/safest. As an international student, residential life will be important since you won’t be able to go home every evening or every weekend - you want a school where most students are on campus and therefore where the school organizes lots of activities (even if non residential campuses aren’t common in Europe, since nobody stays on campus it doesn’t really matter, but you don’t want to be there when 2/3 students are gone.) Ithaca also graduates more of its students in 4 years (66% vs. 45%). Hofstra has NYC on its doorstep though and the academic qualifications of their respective students are similar. Try to find Fiske Guide, Princeton Review’s Best colleges, and/or Insider’s Guide. Read what they have to say about each school; if you don’t have access to these books, try to see if there’s some info you can glean from uni/go, remove the slash, or from cap/ex add a p, and most of all post on all schools’ respective fora on this website with the same questions, then compare the answers.
Actually, Ithaca’s famous for communication rather than music - lots of contacts in NYC. Personally, I’d pick Ithaca over Hofstra, but ymmv! Since you also have UVermont I’d keep UVermont in the mix if you’re concerned about Ithaca.
Your concerns however are about the business school so email both schools and ask your questions, especially requesting support for and numbers of internships, names and location of companies for summer internships, jobs held after graduation or graduate schools attended, etc.</p>
<p>@MYOS1634 Thank you for those great suggestions. They really helped. As a matter of fact, I finally decided to commit to UVM :D. I like Burlington more than Ithaca, probably because it is slightly bigger. I also like the fact that UVM is so close to downtown compared to Ithaca being located on the hill 1 mile from downtown. UVM offers a lot more activities on-campus than Ithaca and offers Division I sports, which is cool. I also love the fact that they have ski&snowboard club giving students a chance to explore nearby mountains every weekend. What’s more important I couldn’t find even one bad comment on the UVM and Burlington area. People there seems to be very open, friendly and atmosphere is very laid-back. It’s nice that almost 70% of students come out-of-state so I’ll be able to meet people from all over the East Coast. There are also very cheap Megabus connections to Boston and NYC, so I will be able to visit those cities from time to time. The size of the school is great - not too big and not too small. In regards to academics, at Ithaca majority of students major in communications, arts etc, business being only 4th choice. At UVM it seems to be more equally distributed. At Ithaca they would require me to take more Liberal arts courses (60 out of 120) than at UVM. UVM is #82 in US news ranking, which is another perk. In regards to internships, I guess that either at Ithaca or at UVM I’ll have to find some possibilities on my own as well take advantage of what career services have to offer. IC is slightly more expensive ($700) after factoring in all cost, fees, insurance etc and I don’t feel like going there just because it is in NY is worth sacrificing all great opportunities UVM has to offer. I’m finally happy to be done with this whole decision making process. :D</p>
<p>Thank you for taking us through this process. From ASU to Vermont to Ithaca back to Vermont, what a ride! 
Congratulations on your choice. I’m sure you’ll love it there. Burlington indeed is a great college town with UVM but two other colleges too, it’s within driving distance to Québec in addition to NYC/Boston, and you’re right that it’s very friendly and laid back. I don’t think you’ll be hurt in the least from having a degree from there. :)</p>