Ithaca housing

Colleges and Universities A-Z Ithaca College
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<p>Hey everyone,</p>

<p>I am so disheartened reading this thread, and I’m so sorry for the housing issues your kids have been experiencing. I just graduated from Ithaca, as a member of their largest class to date. We broke their enrollment records to the point they were offering scholarships for students to take a gap year. At the time, they experienced huge criticism and eventually built a temporary dorm structure, named Terrace 13. </p>

<p>After my class, the college made strides to try and ensure the large enrollment didn’t occur again. However, as one of you mentioned, it isn’t an exact science. It’s impossible to say who will attend and who will not, so a school like Ithaca HAS to over-enroll, because if they don’t, and the class is too small, there will be financial issues. I understand the annoyance with the lottery system (trust me, I’ve been there), but I did want to help reassure you all about a few things:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Not getting into FYRE is not the end of the world–TRUST me. I didn’t do the program and I graduated with a billion friends that I made from class and my dorm. Honestly, most of my friends who did do FYRE (or FYE in my day) didn’t even attend the events because 1/2 of them considered themselves to be “too cool” for pre-planned BBQs. Those living in the other dorms will have just as much fun, because they will meet new friends and each building has events, regardless of whether it’s FYRE or ‘regular.’</p></li>
<li><p>The class sizes won’t change. As I mentioned, I was in the biggest class IC has ever enrolled. My largest classroom size was 22 and on average they were about 15. Sure, I had lecture classes (three over the course of my college career) but those are supposed to be large. IC makes sure they add extra sections and professors to cover the material. Despite being 1/2000, I made personal connections with almost every single one of my professors and met a lot of my classmates.</p></li>
<li><p>The enrolled students are extremely diverse. I know, sometimes it’s hard to believe a particular student made their way into college, but remember that Ithaca isn’t exactly Ivy League. The different programs have different requirements. For example, music, theatre, business and the communications school will have a lower admittance rate than, say, the psychology program. It was no secret that IC admits 75%+ of their applicants. Focus on the great parts of the college, not some of the students that chose to grace the grounds. </p></li>
<li><p>This isn’t the end of the world. I know that it’s stressful now, especially when you are looking at those tuition payments, but trust me, things will get better. Your S/D will move in that first weekend and will be so excited about being there that this fiasco will escape your mind completely. They will LOVE their four years at Ithaca, and a larger class simply means they will have more friends and networking opportunities to take advantage of! </p></li>
<li><p>Living in a single isn’t a bad thing. Most of the dorms offer a comparable number of singles to the number of doubles. I lived in a single freshman year and loved it so much that I did it sophomore year too! It’s not true that you won’t meet friends, because all you have to do is leave your door open and folks will stop by. It’s nice living by yourself and not worrying about someone else’s schedule, because honestly… I can only think of like 2 friends who actually liked their freshman year roommate. Most have voodoo dolls made up of the other person. </p></li>
<li><p>Lounge living is actually pretty great. I’ll admit, the forced triples take a particular person to handle that proximity, but the lounges are awesome. You have a GIANT room shared between four people and aren’t cramped at all. We became great friends with our lounge dwellers freshman year because we were jealous of their room!</p></li>
<li><p>It is actually really awesome that Ithaca guarantees housing for four years. Granted, many seniors and juniors move off campus, but the fact that it’s guaranteed really sets us apart from other colleges who essentially kick their kids off after the first year. Ithaca just built 4 more apartment buildings in order to increase the number of students who can partake in the amazing apartments. </p></li>
</ol>

<p>And hey, just think… if they do end up in the hotel, they will get free breakfast and housekeeping. As a recent graduate, I’d give a lot for those perks! Hope things look up soon for everyone :)</p>

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<p>Thank you Ithacagirl and best of luck in your future endeavors. It was so nice of you to try and reassure us, and I’m sure many of us are feeling comforted by your words. That being said, the system is still very poorly run and they shroud really try and fix it. Since Ithaca college does guarantee housing for all 4 years, there really should NOT be a problem for them to have all of the freshman living in various dorms among themselves. And without this unnecessarily stressful situation that they have created. The lottery system is a farce being that if you did not get to choose on the first day you were virtually closed out. Except of course for the few kids who managed to snag a room in the first few minutes of the 2nd day. After that the numbers were useless and there was no reason for them to even give them out. It would be very easy for them to change the system. I really believe they don’t want to. Hey look at me. I work at IC and the college is in such demand that we have to struggle to fit all the kids that want to come here type of mentality. I know, lets give the juniors and seniors, who are familiar with the area 1st dibbs on the doirms and lets put the freshman in a HOTEL a mile from campus. That’s a great way for them to really feel involved with the community. Ya think? In case you haven’t noticed, I am still seething! Thanks again and best wishes for your future.</p>

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<p>Thanks Ithacagirl, you were very kind to give us all the things to be grateful for. We know that our kids will have a great experience at Ithaca, but like Collegebound says, they need to fix this housing system.</p>

<p>NEWSFLASH!!! - no more hotel as of today (miscalculation of # of students returning to live on campus)! And ALL freshmen will do FYRE (if they want to). They must have heard it big-time from kids and parents.</p>

<p>Hope everyone has a great year!</p>

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<p>So glad to hear this! Hope this relieves everyone’s worries and puts your minds at ease. It will be a great year indeed!</p>

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<p>I could NOT believe it when I heard they canceled the hotel. After ALL that! What a gigantic hassle it all was. We had booked a room there for move-in weekend months ago, so they had to cancel our room and we had to scramble to find rooms elsewhere. (And by the way, they DOUBLED the price of their rooms for that weekend–to a rate that would be high in NYC. SO maddening!) I finally was able to find a B&B for the first night and a hotel for the second (annoying to have to move, but that was my only choice). And as for the lottery, my son’s number was in the mid 1100s, so he faced the same frustration as many of you here have said your kids did. By a stroke of sheer luck, on the very last day, during the very last time slot, he got a double in the dorm of his choice with a roommate who is even in his major. Amazing. We were so relieved! Anyway, yesterday the hotel called us to see if we wanted our rooms back. Ha, are they serious? Not a chance. We are saving a lot of money by NOT being there, so all’s well that ends well as far as I’m concerned!</p>

<p>I hope all of our kids will be happy with their room assignments and roommates and after this debacle will go on to have a wonderful college experience. Good luck, everyone!</p>

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<p>Oh and one more thing. I’m really glad they are not excluding any freshmen from FYRE. But I’m wondering how they are going to accomplish that for all students spread across the campus? My guess is it’s going to be less a residential experience and more a learning one. And they will unfortunately lose the advantage of meeting in small groups and getting to know each other well. Unless they have a lot of faculty members willing to participate, it’s going to be tough with such a large class. I’ll be interested to see how this pans out. I feel like our kids are the guinea pigs on a few levels here…</p>

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<p>Stargazer, I had called the hotel for moving-in weekend when I first knew my daughter would be going there. When they quoted me that price, I asked the woman if she was mistaken. When she said she was not, I laughed and said “I don’t think so” and booked a hotel near Cornell - MUCH cheaper. What a rip-off!</p>

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<p>Wow, what a crazy situation for all of you! </p>

<p>My son will be applying to Ithaca for next year. I’m surprised to read in this thread that freshmen receive lottery numbers and select their housing. Is this the way Ithaca normally assigns housing for freshmen? Or was this in response to the overenrollment? It seems unusual.</p>

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<p>GCmom, this is this way Ithaca has always done it for freshmen (as far as I know). I think it’s a horrible, stressful way of doing housing. I’d so rather rooms were just assigned (taking preferences into consideration), which is the way most schools do housing for freshmen. I really don’t know why it’s done this way. Best of luck to you and your child with all the application craziness!!!</p>

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<p>Thanks…this is my third and last college admissions process. And this was the first time I had heard of freshmen selecting housing in this way. I can see how it would be very stressful. </p>

<p>Good luck to all of you!</p>

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<p>Momof2, believe me, I won’t make that mistake again! I was thinking, well it would be easier to be so close on move-in day, but it really doesn’t matter. As it turns out we’re coming up a few days earlier anyway. But I’m glad I’m not paying that price and I hope never to have to (note to self: book graduation weekend WAY in advance!).</p>

<p>On another note, have any of the parents here found an Ithaca parents forum anywhere?</p>

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<p>I don’t think there is an Ithaca parents forum. Pretty sure this is the only place to talk to other parents. And I hear you about graduation!!!</p>

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<p>My family just visited Ithaca last week. During the housing part of the tour I couldn’t help but be thinking of what all of you are going through based on my reading!! I kept my lips sealed but was dying to chime in…
Anyway, my son was so impressed with the school and is very interested in the Roy Park School of Communications. I’m of course most fearful of the cost…yikes!
Could you kindly share your thoughts/experience on generousity (or lack of) merit aid?
My son has good scores (590 CR / 710 M / 740 WR) and 30 ACT comp…but lacks extra curricular other than sports and part-time job.<br>
Many thanks for your feedback!!</p>

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<p>Tpcrd66, I think it’s different for different majors. I don’t know about the Park School, but my daughter is in the School of Music. They didn’t give her ANY academic merit aid (despite SAT 2150, 33 ACT, over 100 GPA, top 5% of a class of 525, lots of APs and IBs, etc.). For music kids any aid (merit) comes only from the School of Music and is based solely on their audition. I called financial aid and admissions about this, because I was shocked. She received both kinds of scholarships from other schools she applied to. We appealed the amount of music merit aid she got directly to the music school, and she wrote to the two violin teachers who auditioned her telling them that while she appreciated what was offered to her, she would not be able to attend Ithaca with it. She sent copies of her award letters from other colleges to the director of admissions for the School of Music (he told her to do this), and between that and the violin teachers pushing for more $$ for her, she ended up with a much better merit aid package (although the place is STILL too expensive in my book!!). So the moral is, don’t give up if what they initially offer you is not enough. They may end up increasing the amount. funny what you said about biting your tongue during the housing tour. It really is a nice school though. Good luck!!!</p>

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<p>This thread has me exceptionally worried. My S (who is a junior in high school) has placed Ithaca at the top of his list because he really wants to study his instrument with one of the professors there. This thread is making me re-consider even looking at the school, let alone applying and auditioning. It boggles my mind that this is how the school treats their incoming freshman in regards to housing. (I am not a newbie to the college process either). Hmmmm…:(</p>

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<p>Oh no! Please, don’t let this deter you from applying to Ithaca. I understand the concerns about it, but the great part about them taking away the hotel is that they heard your concerns and scrambled to find a way to solve it. As much as they want to advertise that they “miscalculated,” I’m pretty sure they just approved more upperclassmen to live off campus. So that’s a good thing! </p>

<p>I promise all of you… In a month, this will not even be a problem. Your kids will LOVE it there and none of this will effect their time at school. </p>

<p>As for the process by which they do housing… There’s really no way to win. If kids were placed in their dorms with no choice, they’d complain they had no choice and hated their assignment. If they are given a lottery, there’s always the groups that get the higher numbers. If they let everyone on at once, the system would crash.</p>

<p>I’m sure they’re expanding the FYRE to other dorms (a project they’ve been working on for three+ years. Trust me, it’s not as easy as just deeming a dorm FRYRE), and your kids will LOVE it! Besides, it’s freshman year. By sophomore year, they’ll be pros, learn their ways around Homer and the reslife system and make the move off campus. </p>

<p>As for those who are upset about upperclassmen being able to live there all four years… It’s not really easy to move off campus if you don’t have a car. And lots of our kids (myself included for four years) don’t have them. The guarantee was honestly one reason I chose Ithaca because, coming from CA, I knew I wouldn’t want to depend on someone else to drive me. That said, I did end up moving off campus my JR year, but only bc I was fortunate to find a place RIGHT next to a bus stop.</p>

<p>But I’m glad everything is working out, and good luck with move-in weekend! There will be a ton of students around to help everyone move and I’m jealous of you all that you get to go! I miss it already :)</p>

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<p>There is a Facebook group for parents of entering BFA Acting and MT students. PM me if you’re interested in joining. We could use some more members.</p>

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<p>When my D and I visited Ithaca the end of June, they said housing is done by matching the applicant profiles…like “match.com” or “eHarmony.” There was no mention of a lottery. They said the Freshman can even choose the towers…which we thought would be reserved for upperclassmen. I am surprised to hear about the non-stackable scholarships as well. My D is looking at Tech Theatre and we were advised the merit and department scholarships are stackable.</p>

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<p>The students do fill out a housing profile form online. I think a kid has the option of connecting with other kids who have the same interests, lifestyles, etc. I have no idea of how closely Ithaca looks at that (or if they look at it at all) when assigning roommates, as my daughter connected with hers via the myIthaca site and/or the Ithaca Class of 2017 Facebook group. But for kids who do not have a roommate picked out, as I said, I don’t know how Ithaca puts kids together. The towers have traditionally housed a large number of freshmen, and it’s the same this year (ditto for the upper quads).</p>

<p>As far as stackable merit scholarships, I only know that they do not do that for the School of Music kids, other schools or departments might.</p>

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<p>To clarify, the lottery has nothing to do with roommate selection, it is for DORM/ROOM selection. Not who you will be living with, but where you’ll be living.</p>