<p>hey everyone! i'm accepted to cornell CAS and i know i will go for sure. but now i'm suffering from pre-cornell anxiety. i live in southern california so i'm sort of scared about everything.
first, i want to know how the shopping is at cornell. what stores are popular among students? when winter comes, what are the necessary clothing to buy? (i have no idea how to survive in snow)
second, are there any big gyms nearby? like 24 hour or LA fitnesses?
third, for people that like to cook (me) are there big supermarkets near the dorm area? or any costcos in ithaca?
do people walk a lot at cornell? and if they do, how do they walk in 3 ft snow?
how's the public transport?
do people bike a lot? where do they store their bikes?
thanks!</p>
<p>1.when winter comes, what are the necessary clothing to buy? (i have no idea how to survive in snow)
You should have a very good jacket, such as a North face, durable boots, gloves,hat, scarf,clothing that keeps you warm.</p>
<p>2.second, are there any big gyms nearby? like 24 hour or LA fitnesses?
Yes there are a couple gyms on campus, one of the most popular fitness centers is Noyes</p>
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<li>third, for people that like to cook (me) are there big supermarkets near the dorm area? or any costcos in ithaca? </li>
</ol>
<p>I'm pretty sure there's a walmart near by? Not sure about costco. If you ever get tired of cooking, dining halls are always an option. RPU, Appel, and Okenshields are pretty good.</p>
<p>4.do people walk a lot at cornell? and if they do, how do they walk in 3 ft snow?
how's the public transport?</p>
<p>Yes. People walk everywhere, but there are some students with cars. I'm pretty sure if they get the chance they'll clear the main pathways.</p>
<p>There is a TCAT bus system, not sure how good it is.
5. do people bike a lot? where do they store their bikes?
I've seen people bike around when it gets warmer, you might not want to bring a bike since the weather will be cold most of the time.</p>
<p>i know that when i went up for my interview there was a semi big grocery store on the East Hill Plaza where the admissions office is</p>
<p>There is a mall in Ithaca, though many people who come from places with HUGE malls are disappointed (it has a lot of your basics - Target, American Eagle, Dick's Sporting Goods, Best Buy, Borders, etc). For more of a selection, you would probably want to head to Syracuse (about an hour's drive). There are a few grocery stores convenient to campus by car or bus, one of which is a Wegmans (an awesome grocery store, if you've never been in one - most people who don't live near one at home fall in love with it!). In addition to the fitness centers on campus, there are other private fitness centers, though they're not close enough to campus to walk. The University maintains the sidewalks very well in the winter - you will never actually be walking through multiple feet of snow, unless you decide to go out and play in it somewhere that hasn't been shoveled/plowed. And the TCAT bus system is generally pretty useful. You don't need to take a bus to class, but they run frequently and stop all over campus, so it is another option for getting around. TCATs serve Cornell, Ithaca, and the surrounding communities, and incoming freshmen have been getting free bus passes for the last few years. Lots of people do have bikes, and they use them for a good portion of the year. The weather isn't actually as bad as everyone makes it out to be. Other upstate New York cities get a lot more snow than Ithaca; the main problem is that it's cold. But even then, it's just unpleasant, not freeze-to-death cold. Hope that helps!</p>
<p>OP:</p>
<p>If your idea of a mall is South Coast Plaza, then you will be seriously disappointed in the mall in Syracuse. But, don't despair bcos you can always order stuff online. For winter stuff, check out Adventure 16 in SoCal, and, of course, there is always Sierra Designs, North Face, REI or a multitude of other cold wear vendors.</p>
<p>Ithaca is a small, rural town, but a great college community.</p>
<p>don't expect good shopping at cornell. learn to enjoy shopping online lol. </p>
<p>as for snow stuff, a big puffy northface jacket is the warmest thing ive found and everyone wears uggs or some other kind of winter boot. then gloves, scarves, hats, earmuffs, etc. you don't have to go crazy and get arctic camping gear, its not that bad. </p>
<p>there are north campus gyms but they are <em>small</em>. very small compared to the gyms you're talking about, so the answer to that is no. but you will be able to workout. </p>
<p>there are big grocery stores but not near the dorms. you'll have to take the TCAT to get there. the good news is that its free for freshmen. the bad news is that the TCAT isn't always terribly convenient depending on where you want to go and what time of the week it is. some TCAT routes are really convenient from north campus....others not so much. Also, depending on the route, you may have to haul your groceries kind of a long way...it limits how much you can buy. But it's doable if you're motivated. Also if you plan on cooking, be prepared to bring a full set of kitchen supplies. No one I know cooks here because the kitchens don't provide anything whatsoever. So definitely keep that in mind.</p>
<p>yes people at cornell walk <em>A LOT</em>. but like someone already said, the plowing is good, so you don't walk in snow. you do however walk in a lot of salt. but its better than snow and ice. the maintenance staff does a good job with that.</p>
<p>Public transport is the TCAT. I know a lot of people here find the TCAT a little confusing. Most people I know don't bother taking the TCAT to class. But its good for getting to the mall, commons, wegmans/wal-mart.</p>
<p>Some people bring bikes, but most of the year you can't ride them.</p>
<p>bluebayou: HAHA southcoast plaza, i practically LIVE in that place</p>
<p>Morgan's, a boutique close to the Commons, is a pretty good place to shop. There are also a couple of small boutiques in Collegetown, but I haven't gone to them, so I don't really know about their selection.</p>
<p>Wegmans, as OurFairCornell said, is amazing. Be friends with someone who has a car because then you can go on Wegmans runs. However, as a freshman, it's so much easier just to go to the dining halls. When you live in an apartment as an upperclassmen, Wegmans will probably become more of an important part of your life. :)</p>
<p>Personally, I wouldn't recommend bringing a bike to campus. I think it's way too much of a hassle. Some parts of campus are kind of hilly, so it can be tough biking around. Most people don't bring bikes. For the people who do have bikes on campus, there are bike storage rooms in every dorm.</p>
<p>If you live on North Campus, biking to and from Central Campus, Collegetown, East Hill, and Cayuga Heights is a breeze. Biking down the hill to the Commons is a breeze too, but then you got to get back up the hill. Luckily the TCAT buses feature bike rats.</p>
<p>There's actually a lot of great shopping in Ithaca, depending on your tastes. Between Wegmans and the Farmers Market, I think you would have to go to the South of France to find better food options. Also there are several fantastic book stores and used clothing stores in Ithaca that rival any big city. And don't get me started on how awesome the twice-yearly Ithaca Book Sale is.</p>
<p>Honestly, I was up there for 6 weeks this summer for the Summer College. It is absolutely beautiful up there in the summer and there's plenty of sports like frisbee and football (pick up games) that you can do. But, frankly, we got bored of that really quickly. And in winter, you may just want to stay in and do nothing.</p>
<p>The thing that impresses me at Cornell is how diverse everyone is there, so there was never a shortage of friends. That is what I'm looking forward to. Honestly, it's not a big town with a lot to do. But it's the people there that count.</p>
<p>Cornell students don't have to pay for the on campus gyms...do they ?</p>
<p>yes they do...i think it was like 125 for the whole year. the gyms are apparently run by a private business...not cornell.</p>
<p>ahh...that sucks. Its already such an expensive school.</p>
<p>true thattt...if it helps, youre able to bursar your gym membership. maybe your parents won't notice lol?</p>
<p>haha...i just hope so. So how do we transfer money into the bursar account ? from a credit card online?</p>
<p>There is usually something on my daughter's bursar acct - hockey seasonal ticket, extra red bucks, most recently her sorority due. We do notice, but we just pay for it.</p>