<p>My D visited Ithaca College and liked it very much but is concerned about 6000 students being kind of small. She's wondering if there is enough to do on weekends with no sororities/frats. She's looking for an active college campus.</p>
<p>She has set her sights on University of Delaware and Binghamton U but she really liked the feel of Ithaca, and it's highly rated Speech Pathology program.</p>
<p>I’ve gotten the impression that Ithaca kids do socialize with Cornell kids to some extent. (Six thousand students is plenty to have an active social life, IMHO, but of course it is her decision. 
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<p>6,000 students is roughly the same size as Harvard, Stanford, Duke – places where you don’t hear people complaining about not enough happening – and of course there are another 12,000 undergraduates on the next hill over at Cornell. I think that when you put that many 18-22 year-olds in close proximity, you get a lot happening, with or without fraternities.</p>
<p>does anyone know firsthand if Ithaca has a nurturing supportive environment for its students?</p>
<p>I laughed because S’s school, in a much more isolated location, has only 2,000 students.</p>
<p>I think it does have a supportive environment, but I think Ithaca varies a bit department by department.</p>
<p>Some of the departments are large and lively, and some are small and selective.</p>
<p>I taught at Ithaca College and believe the culture there to be quite supportive and nurturing. Don’t really know anything about the weekend scene except to say that any weekend in Ithaca has more than enough going on to keep boredom at bay. With 20,000 students in a small location, and two excellent institutions doing all they can to keep student body happy, it’s a unique environment.</p>
<p>Agree w/ above^^ I lived in Ithaca for many years. My H was an IC professor. My D1 is now a Cornell student. There is not a lot of interaction between the two schools. But
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<p>Quest, a friend’s son enjoyed his time there. Bear in mind that its somewhat remote location means it is not a commuter school, so kids are around on the weekends.</p>
<p>The school’s website may list weekend activities.</p>
<p>I hear many kids go to Cornell activities.</p>
<p>I have heard good things about UDel as well.</p>
<p>Nurturing I think depens on the particular department.</p>