<p>Ditto on everything dewdrop said. More stuff:</p>
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<li><p>Pretty much without a car/friends with cars, your options are flying into Ithaca, Syracuse, and NYC. The bus from Port Authority in NYC to campus is ~$40. Keep in mind that it’ll cost some money (depending on how you travel, anywhere from $2-$50) and some time (a few hours?) to get from any NYC airport to Port Authority. You can order a shuttle from Syracuse airport to campus for ~$70 (rates might have gone up). Why it costs more to travel from Syracuse, a 1hr trip, compared to NYC, a 4.5hr trip, is beyond me. In my experience, the cost difference between flights to Ithaca and Syracuse is small enough that it doesn’t actually cost more to fly into Ithaca, but much more convenient, but you should shop around regardless.</p></li>
<li><p>There are plenty of student jobs available in and around the Cornell campus and Collegetown. If you really need to go to the commons/downtown Ithaca for employment, theres the #10 bus that runs every 10-15 minutes from campus to the commons, as well as the #30 which runs every 30 minutes between the mall (north of campus), through campus, to the commons (south/west of campus).</p></li>
<li><p>I did 10 meals my first semester and thought that it was too much so I switched to 7 the second. Even though the food is generally really good (as a junior, I thought of going to a dining hall as superior to the restaurants in Collegetown), you’ll get sick of it eventually. I think you can upgrade your plan at anytime during the semester, but not downward so keep that in mind as you select a plan.</p></li>
<li><p>I thought the M&T branch was only in Collegetown… Regardless, there’s also HSBC bank which has an ATM in Willard Straight and branches in the Commons, near the mall, and in East Hill Plaza (east of campus). They have a 3.5% interest savings account so that’s what I use.</p></li>
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