About a year ago, there was a thread on Ithaca College discussing its staff reduction and the elimination of some majors. I haven’t seen anything since, and was wondering if things have settled down now, as it seem there were some morale issues among students at that time. My DC has been accepted to Park and is extremely interested, so I am just trying to get an idea of the current environment.
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I would like to hear more about Ithaca as well. We are still waiting on an acceptance, but I think it will end up being a top choice for my son.
Good luck! The school wasn’t on my son’s list at first because he thought he wanted something bigger. But after we toured, it went way up for him and is one of his top choices now. My only concern is the issue I originally brought up. He’s going back for an admitted student day next month, so hopefully we can get a better idea of what is going on there.
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I’d love to hear more about it. Not sure if we’ll be able to visit at all, but S is willing to commit even so. What does your kid want to study at Park?
He plans to major in Cinema and Photography. Ithaca’s film program is ranked pretty high which is what drew him to Park. He’s also looking seriously at DePaul.
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My daughter has also been accepted to Park for Film. I was concerned about Ithaca also, and what I have heard has not really help us make a decision yet. I have read a few articles in the Ithacan student news paper and there seems to be a lack of leadership in the college right now. They are doing a president search and 3 of the schools are without deans. Then I spoke to my friend, whose daughter is in her sophomore year and she loves the classes and faculty. The economics of the school are not trickling down and affecting her schooling.
My son has applied for music. The faculty has been unbelievably kind and encouraging throughout the application process with plentiful personal contact. If this is any indication of what his experience would be like at Ithaca, I am impressed.
Three deans — that is a lot of administrative turn over, to be sure. I think Covid has shaken up a lot of schools and this could be good or bad. @Beammeup have you been to campus yet, and do the facilities look as nice in person as they do online?
We did make it to campus during the summer for a tour. Unfortunately Ithaca there was two big things going against it when we visited. First, we had just visited Syracuse the day before, which had students on campus and is in the city, so much more life. Then we visited Ithaca on Saturday and It seemed like the tour groups were the only people there.
So of course we compared Ithaca to Syracuse the whole tour. We could see where money could be used to improve some of the curb appeal of the buildings. In truth the interiors of the buildings were nice. One of the other things against it, is that it is up on the hill outside of town. They do have shuttle buses into town, so that can be a negative also.
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Your observations are very interesting. We, too, visited Ithaca in the summer the day after we toured Syracuse, but had a somewhat opposite reaction. Our tour guide at Syracuse was absolutely awful. We learned nothing and were turned off, having expected to love it. We went to Ithaca not expecting much and were pleasantly surprised. Our tour guide was phenomenal and very impressive, which reflected very well on the institution. The only disappointment was there were no students there at the time, so we are going back for an admitted students day to get a better idea. Ithaca is kind of isolated, but the area around Syracuse wasn’t terribly lovely, so that was kind of a wash for us. Both schools are still on the table for my son, but it is interesting how a tour/tour guide can make such a difference.
I could have written what you did word for word. Totally agree.
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As someone who has never been to IC… good to get the different perspectives. Don’t think the isolation will be a concern since he is also looking at — and likes — Bard.
Ithaca is a great college town and has a whole different feel when students are back on campus at both schools. There’s lots of live music, political activity, and kids swarming both around town and at the variety of spots for outdoor fun, i…e. gorges, waterfalls, parks, and the lake.
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My daughter went to Syracuse, only going because we pushed her into it. My wife has family living there and her cousin went to Syracuse. So we got the official tour and the the cousins tour of Syracuse and the city. Ithaca was my daughter favorite before the tours and I guess she saw all the negatives.
Anyone want to add what it is currently like at IC? Pros/Cons?
I have heard tons of positives from current IC parents. My son will be on the swim team, and I have only heard how happy the kids are since we committed a couple of days ago. Extremely welcoming community.
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My son is in his first year there and absolutely loves it. He is very happy with his decision to attend. While he thought he wanted a larger, more urban campus, he finds plenty to do with his free time in Ithaca. Only negative is his dorm is a little on the run down side, but he loves living there anyway because of the friends he has met.
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I’ll chime in as well. Parent of a first year. My kid is academically engaged and has friends. I’m very impressed with the professors and facilities (music and working out are his priorities). The complaints I’ve heard from others are related to food and advising which would probably differ by major. Any questions, please ask!
How are the dorms / residential life? What kinds of things are there to do on and off campus?
DD23 was accepted into the Park School and is interested in minoring in music so Ithaca is high on the list since they are so well known for film and music
My son doesn’t spend much time in the dorms since he’s a music major. He is BUSY. He is probably in the music building (which is state of the art and bright and comfortable) 10 hours per day. The music department is phenomenal and that’s how he’s made many of his friends — through his instrument studio or classes. He plans to do some club sports this semester with a different group he met during orientation. Everyone seems very friendly and he’s had no issue fitting in. He doesn’t have a car so he rarely goes off campus, he’s been out to eat and over to Cornell and to a pub downtown, but he’s not a big partier.
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As I mentioned earlier, the dorms aren’t particularly nice, but DS really doesn’t care that much. He is hoping to get into one of the nicer ones next year but he’ll be happy as long he is near his friends. There seems to be a lot for him to do on campus and off. He is in few clubs and plays a club sport. He often goes to performances on campus as well. On the weekends he goes into town or sometimes to parties or concerts at Cornell. He doesn’t have a car, but uses the bus, walks and Ubers to wherever he needs to go. He seems to have a very busy social life and is enjoying himself immensely. I couldn’t be happier for him that he found his place.
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