Ithaca College

Responses from the Student Interview

From a student  who identifies as Major: Business Administration with a concentration in Finance
Minor: Business Analytics
Student Self Identifies as: Hispanic Straight Female

Summary

I am a Martin Luther King scholar, which is a social justice diversity scholarship program. I’m also in the Women in Business Club.

Background

Gender Identity: Female
Race/Ethnicity: Hispanic
Sexual Orientation: Straight

High School Experience: All-girls private high school in New York City with a graduating class of about 85 students in the graduating class. There was a culture of going to college.
First-Generation College Student: Yes
Major: Business Administration with a concentration in Finance
Minor: Business Analytics

Extracurricular Activities: I am a Martin Luther King scholar, which is a social justice diversity scholarship program. I’m also in the Women in Business Club.
Did any of your extracurriculars have a particularly big impact on your experience?
The MLK scholarship places you in a freshman dorm with all MLK scholars so you build a very family-like environment with them. The scholarship is targeted towards minorities and since Ithaca is a predominantly White institution, it created a safe space for us.

Academic Experience

Can you describe the weekly coursework for your major?
There’s a lot of math, so we have weekly quizzes and homework every day. Exams are usually once every two or three weeks. Homework can be online problem sets, worksheets, readings, and watching videos and answering questions.
Is there anything you feel either of your major’s department does especially well or poorly?
I really love the business school. I think they are really good at being inclusive of all the business majors. Being a minority business student, there are a lot of classes where I’m the only woman of color or one of the very few people of color in the class, but they do their best to help you out, keep in touch and check-in to make sure you’re doing well. I currently have meetings set up weekly with the assistant dean of the business school just to check-in and keep myself accountable for doing all of my work.
How would you describe the learning environment? Do you think it’s particularly competitive or collaborative?
It’s competitive. Everyone’s doing their own thing here at their own pace. It can be collaborative in that in some classes you work a lot together, but I also have classes where I don’t know the names of anyone in my class. It’s very dependent on major because I know in other majors they work a lot more together.
How accessible are your professors?
Very accessible. A lot of them respond to emails within less than an hour and they have office hours set up about three times a week. A lot of them also have open-door policies where if they’re in their office you can just stop in and ask them whatever.
Do you think people are open to multiple schools of thought in the classroom?
Yeah, I’d say so. It’s a pretty liberal school but there’s also a mix of more conservative people here. I’d say everyone pretty much says what they and are accepted. People just listen to everyone’s perspective.
How was transitioning academically as a first-generation college student? Were there any systems in place to help you adapt?
For me, it was kind of difficult. Ithaca has resources and a lot of programs here, like the New Student & Transition Programs and resources for first-generation students. But, I personally didn’t take advantage of the resources that were offered to me last year so my transition was a little bit more difficult. If you do take the opportunity to take advantage of all the programs and resources they offer, I think you will be fine.
Why did you pick your major? Are you happy with your choice?
I’m really happy with my major. I chose it because in high school I took classes in a financial program and fell in love with the subject through that. I started working in internships before I came to college and just stuck with it. I still love it.

Reasons to Attend

1) The friendly and socially accepting environment. It really becomes a home.
2) The professors are pretty great and willing to help you out if you need it. The professors here know who you are. Even in the larger lecture hall classes, you can become really close with your professors. They are also helpful when it comes to making career connections.
3) Being in Ithaca, New York is a really great college town. I love being here.

Reasons Not to Attend

1) It’s freezing in the winter.
2) It’s not a big party school if you’re looking for that.
3) The dining hall food is pretty bad, but hopefully, that improves.

Around Campus

Where have you lived on and around campus?
Freshman: Eastman Hall with one roommate.
Sophomore: Boothroyd Hall with one roommate.
How was transitioning from New York City to Ithaca in terms of location?
It’s definitely a total environment change, which is exactly what I wanted. I spent four years commuting into the city from New Jersey, so I was tired of public transportation. Here, it’s very rural. We have Ithaca Commons, which is kind of a little town. It’s only a bus stop away, so it’s really accessible. It’s nice to stay on campus.
Can you describe the level of safety you’ve experienced on and around campus?
We have campus police all over doing their rounds. We also have the blue light system. It’s a very small campus and the only thing that people may be scared of is there are a lot of woods around which can have a creepy effect.

Social Opportunities

What kind of nightlife or weekend activities do you participate in at Ithaca?
The weekend starts on Thursday for most of us. We usually head downtown to the bars in Ithaca Commons. Ithaca has a pretty good party scene. We have sports houses that throw parties and underground fraternities that have parties. We also have the Cornell parties that we can go to. There’s always something to do during the weekends, you’ll never have nothing happening. Thursday, we’ll go downtown to a bar in Ithaca. Friday and Saturday, we’ll find out whatever parties are happening, go to that party, and then leave to go to the bars.
What’s the impact of Greek life on nightlife?
It’s not a huge thing because it’s not affiliated with the college. If you want to rush, you rush, but no one feels like they have to go Greek. It’s not a huge thing, it’s just where people go to go to house parties.
What’s an alternative to going to a party or a bar that you like for a night out?
There’s a karaoke bar not too far away. There’s a place called the Kava Bar where people can go for tea. There’s also Apple Fest this upcoming weekend. On campus, there are bingo nights and that kind of stuff.
Can you describe a typical night going out freshman year? How did it differ from now when you’re more socially established?
If a freshman finds out about a party, all the freshmen find out about the party [laughs]. If you’re a freshman girl you can get in wherever, but if you’re a guy you have to pay $5. Sometimes the guys on the sports teams will upcharge them $10 or $15. One time my friend was charged $40 to get in and he just walked away. It’s a little more difficult to get in if you’re a guy, but if you’re a girl it’s pretty easy to get in.
How happy are you with the weekend options at Ithaca? Is there anything you would change if you could?
I’m happy with them. The only thing is the bars get old sometimes because we always go to the same places. There are other places in Collegetown, but Ithaca students like to go to Ithaca Commons. My other problem with the parties is there are always a lot of freshmen at the parties.

Campus Culture

How did you meet your closest friends?
We met before school started. There was a Facebook page for the Class of 2022 and people made group chats with students who were living in certain buildings and people who were from around the same area. I went to a New York City meet up with all the people from New York City who were going to Ithaca and that’s where I met three of my closest friends. The rest of my friends expanded from there.
How would you describe the overall social scene?
I feel like everyone finds their people here. I’ve met so many people from freshman year who was a friend of a friend and is now one of my close friends. You meet people through the different things you do. If you’re out and about on campus, you’re going to meet people regardless of whether you want to or not. You meet people in your classes, in clubs, and I’ve met a lot of people going out to parties. People are generally pretty outgoing, accepting, and willing to have a conversation.
If at all, how did being a first-generation college student impact your social transition?
I don’t think it really did. Because of my private high school experience, I had no problem adjusting. I feel like my experience is pretty similar to most college freshmen. I don’t think there is any single aspect of being first-generation that made a difference. I’d say being a minority had a bigger impact than being a first-generation student.
How do you like the size of Ithaca in terms of undergraduate enrollment? How has it impacted your experience? [There are about 6,250 undergraduates.]
I don’t know. Last year I had a different opinion about it because I felt like I knew every freshman on the campus. This year, I’ve met like 50 people I didn’t know existed last year, so I don’t know everyone. I’d rather be here than a giant state school because here you have your friend group and people in your friend group know other people and then your friend group makes friends with different groups. I feel this is the perfect size.
To what extent do you feel people of different races and sexual orientations mix socially?
Ithaca is very, very White and it’s very White liberal. Within the minority community itself, the Blacks and Hispanics mostly stick together because there’s that feeling of being home. I’m in and out of it because most of my friends are White, but I know a lot of students in the MLK scholarship community strongly prefer to surround themselves people like them. There are also a lot of clubs targeting minorities that you can join if you want that little piece of home and want to keep your culture. Most of the minorities stick together and those are their people. [About 72% of students are White, 9% of students are Hispanic, and 5.5% of students are Black.]
How would you describe the Hispanic community on campus? How strong is it?
It exists, but it’s not too major.

Careers

Have you learned any computer programs or languages through your coursework that will be especially helpful to you professionally?
My first semester I took a calculus course that works with a program called R. I know my spring semester I will have to take a computer course that focuses on Excel for my business major.

Financial Aid

Have you used financial aid? If so, how easy is the office to work with?
Yes, I use financial aid. The office is very accessible, but I wouldn’t say they’re easy to work with. I was fighting for some more financial aid this semester and they just said, “Sorry, we can’t offer you anything.”