From Each Sides of the Hill: An Ithaca College Transfer’s Perspective

From the communal balcony of my Terrace dorm, I’d sit and stare on the metropolis skyline of Ithaca: the view of Cayuga Lake, Cornell’s campus, luxurious high-rise buildings and the whole lot else that felt so distant from my life at Ithaca College. As an admitted Transfer Option student, I entered my collegiate profession with extra questions than solutions — the place to go, what to do and tips on how to finest put together to use to considered one of my dream colleges. IC felt like a good selection, since I lived comparatively shut by and will partake in a extra semi-conjoined four-year expertise.

In the again of my thoughts, although, the likelihood that I wouldn’t be accepted loomed giant. The Transfer Option course of was complicated from the beginning: first described as guaranteed upon fulfilling all of the requirements, later clarified as not. There had been different speculations, such because the probabilities of receiving a Transfer Option choice being slimmer than receiving an acceptance choice, in addition to that as a result of Cornell’s contract schools obtain state funding, a sure variety of New York State college students should be accepted — who make up the majority of Transfer Option awardees.

Taking a step again, Cornell’s acceptance charge for all transfers matriculating within the Fall of 2024 was just a little over 9%. Comparatively, that is increased than Cornell’s commonplace acceptance charge, however I had the worry that if I couldn’t get accepted the primary time, the second try can be difficult too. It didn’t matter if I already knew Ithaca, had rode on the TCAT or had gotten a headstart on my Ithacalves: a statistic is a statistic, and for transfers, there’s a have to show oneself twice. Cornell was so shut but so distant.

As a Junior in my Collegetown condo, I now have the obverse view. I see Ithaca College’s “Towers,” athletic middle and dorm that I spent my freshman  yr of faculty questioning if I’d ever make it to East Hill. After the actual fact, I had realized that there isn’t a lot connection between the 2 colleges except for being in the identical city, having shared cooperative places of work equivalent to ROTC and an change program the place IC students can take up to one Cornell course a semester. And I’ve at all times been shocked as to how little my Cornell buddies knew about an establishment so near the place they stay.

IC’s group leans closely towards the humanities, anchored by the Roy H. Park School of Communications and a powerful music program. They have some notable alumni in media equivalent to Bob Iger, a earlier chief government officer for the Walt Disney Company, and David Muir, an ABC News anchor you might have seen facilitate the 2024 Presidential Debate. A distinction between the 2 colleges is that inside Cornell, nearly each main is powerful. As a Biology main at Ithaca College fulfilling CALS stipulations, I actually observed a deficiency in comparison with the departments that got extra consideration. Of course, there’s a really large distinction right here, with Cornell’s endowment approaching $11 billion.

And, for those who’re curious, I actually observed a notion hole from my time at each colleges. At IC, I’d overhear lots of people speculating about Cornell, particularly throughout orientation week. There was a noticeable degree of cognizance surrounding CU. One buddy’s communications professor had in contrast his personal division to Cornell’s in a lecture. Oftentimes, the redirection of consideration was unavoidable — most TCAT routes going to Lansing (Target and Ithaca Mall space) go proper via the center of Cornell’s campus, such as Route 30. But how usually does the common Cornellian take a go to to South Hill?

On the opposite, Ithaca College barely registers for Cornell college students, at the least from my expertise. Cornell’s international repute could make college students inward-focused. Although there may be mutual consciousness, it isn’t equal. There is insularity within the university — with necessities equivalent to an unlimited meal plan and a two-year on-campus residential requirement, in addition to the posh of a plentifully stocked bookstore, there isn’t a lot want (or cause) to willingly discover the town of Ithaca past Cornell’s campus and Collegetown by-product. Perhaps this is the reason I and so many different folks solely noticed a vignette of CU. 

The similar considered localism might be painted for Ithaca College, because it has a three-year on-campus living expectation. But Cornell’s status is unimaginable to disregard and it shapes how IC college students see themselves in Ithaca. Cornell has a repute for being aggressive in nature; IC can really feel overshadowed at instances. The query arises of how this disconnect might be resolved, or, to take it one step additional, if folks from both college even need this. Or will the one associations be restricted to  shared location, courting apps, farmer’s markets and Trader Joe’s?

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Richard Ballard is a junior within the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. He may be reached at rpb233@cornell.edu.

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