Ithaca College

I've been attending Ithaca College for almost a full academic year now, and to be up-front-and-honest with you...

1. Ithaca College is NOT diverse.Sure, I've seen them too: the pamphlets and brochures with pictures of students who all seem to represent different nationalities and ethnic backgrounds. I thought it looked great, as I'm sure lots of other diversity-embracing individuals did too. But much to my surprise was the fact that Ithaca College is far from being even slightly impressionable with regard to diversity of its student body. I'm not blowing this out-of-proportion, either; Ithaca College is pretty much 90% akin to a white supremacy party with regard to diversity. I wish it were different.

1st Year Male -- Class 2009

Faculty Accessibility: A+, Education Quality: B-

I have very mixed feeling about Ithaca College. i transferred to this school from another university because of the strong communications program (Park School of Communications). In that, I was not disappointed. In practically every other way, I was.

Ithaca College is excellent for professional studies. If you want to study communications, theater, physical therapy, music or business (now, anyway. The business program has gotten MUCH better the past couple of years), Ithaca is the place to be. Everything else is decidedly mediocre.

I double-degreed here (B.S. in Communications, B.A. in History). Liberal arts are lousy. If you want to study history, philosophy, english, economics, physics, etc. don't bother coming here. It isn't worth the money and you will be disappointed.

The Park school is excellent, if slightly inconsistent. Some programs, like Television/Radio and Marketing are fantastic. Others are less well defined, like film and journalism. The Park's school biggest success may well be its administrative philosophy. The administrators and dean are accessible and will work with you to solve any problems that may occur.

Unfortunately, that does not extend to the rest of the college. The School of Humanities and Sciences and the upper levels of college administration are so rigidly bureaucratic it would make the Soviet Union proud. There is the letter of the law and nothing more. Your actual situation doesn't matter in the slightest. The review process for decisions is non-existent and, in my experience, the administration outside of the Park school is indifferent or punitive.

Politically, the school is very far to the Left, more so (on a person-to-person basis) than my previous school (CU-Boulder). If you are a conservative, you are definitely in the minority. While almost everyone is a liberal of one stripe or another, the school at least tries to throw those who aren't a bone and brings a conservative speaker or two to campus every year, which is more than I can say for CU-Boulder.

Financial aid is insufficient. My family is not poor, but we are also not rich. We are decidedly upper-middle class, and if you are similar it puts you in a hard spot here (and many other places). I got some aid, and worked very hard in school to get a bit more, but if your family earns more than $65k but not enough to afford some $25k/year that your financial aid doesn't cover, be prepared to take on quite a bit of debt.On the balance, Ithaca is worth it if you are entering one of the well-known and prestigious programs. If you want to study broadcasting, music, physical therapy, music or (to a lesser extent) theater, Ithaca is a good place. If one of those major's aren't your goal, strike Ithaca from your list. It simply isn't worth it.

3rd Year Male -- Class 2008

Faculty Accessibility: A+, Individual Value: F

Ithaca, Ithaca, Ithaca. I am a firm believer that with college being such a personal decision, you can't really tell how you'll like a school from what other people tell you. But this is just what I have to say...

I came to Ithaca from the west coast looking for a change of pace, looking to mix things up. I wanted to do journalism, and after hearing it's a great school for communications I decided to go with it, over schools like Bates and Colby. For me, big mistake. I wanted a liberal arts education to go along with a communications degree...and Ithaca does not do that all. You could almost say it's a technical school for journalism...you take writing/reporting class after writing/reporting class, with no real "learning". Make sure you remember this, because they will tell you differently. If you want and liberal arts education DO NOT COME HERE. The Park school is also very elitist, and although I consider myself quite smart the smugness of people got to me.

I don't know much about the other programs, but I know outside of the communications, theater, and music departments Ithaca has no clout and isn't worth the money.

The social life is mediocre. I come from a small town myself, so being away from the city didn't worry me...but Ithaca seems EXTRA small. There honestly is very little to do, even if your outdoorsy like me. Parties are everything here, it feels like a big state school how much people drink. I grew up in high school definitely enjoying myself, drinking and partying with friends, but amazingly this school has turned me off that. It's just too insane, and gets boring after awhile. Also, 99% of people are from within 200 miles of the school, making it so (while most people are nice) they're very monogamous and fall into cliques quite quickly. The college honestly seems like high school, part 2.

Ithaca is a good school if your in music, theater, and communications, and you want professional educations in them. It is not good for learning things about the world. I would not advise people coming from outside the Northeast to come here, cause you'll sort of be treated as an outsider. If you want to go a northeast school, go to a more prestigious one like Williams or Bowdoin.

I'm transferring back to the West coast, to save money (Ithaca is amazingly expensive for what you get, and they nickel and dime you for everything), but also to learn more about the world rather then just be molded into a future profession. Ithaca is quite boring and uninspiring, it, and everyone who goes there, seem to be caught in a little bubble. Just my advice, take it for what you will, I know a lot of my "friends" here absolutely love it, but they are all the cliches i mentioned above. If your not one of those cliches, avoid this school.

1st Year Male -- Class 2011

Collaboration/Competitive: A, Scholastic Success: C