Ithaca College

Responses from the Student Interview

From a student  who identifies as Major: Television and Radio Production
Minor: None
Student Self Identifies as: White Straight Female

Summary

I did a club called Ithaca College After Dark, which hosted events on-campus for freshmen. Besides that, I worked at one of the dining halls.

Background

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

High School Experience: Public school in Syracuse, NY with about 300 students in the graduating class. There wasn’t really a culture of going to college.
First-Generation College Student: Yes
Major: Television and Radio Production
Minor: None

Extracurricular Activities: I did a club called Ithaca College After Dark, which hosted events on-campus for freshmen. Besides that, I worked at one of the dining halls.
Did any of your extracurricular activities have a particularly big impact on your experience?
[Ithaca College After Dark] was really nice because as a freshman it was hard to assimilate to everything. I found it sophomore year, so it was nice to see the experience of other students and help them out a little bit.

Academic Experience

Can you describe the weekly coursework for your major?
There was more hands-on project stuff, but it was pretty easy. The bulk of my grades were papers, projects, and going out in the field and creating ideas for productions.
Is there anything you feel your major’s department does especially well or poorly?
With any major in the Park School of Communications, they push you to study abroad in Los Angeles, which is what I did this past semester. That was my whole goal. They help you out and encourage you to [take advantage of opportunities] and be part of the campus. I really liked being part of the Park School.
How would you describe the learning environment? Do you think it’s particularly competitive or collaborative?
It was definitely collaborative. There were a lot of group projects, which was helpful. I was a shy person, but each year they have you doing more projects with people and you see more students around the same classes you have each year, so you get more comfortable. We’re almost like a community.
What was your favorite part of studying at the Park School of Communications?
The Park Portable Equipment Center & Services (PPECS) was really nice. I know it sounds weird, but if you needed anything you could go down there and rent it. It didn’t have to be for a specific project. If you wanted to do anything for fun you could just go rent something.
How accessible are your professors?
They try to seem like they’re accessible, but they’re pretty hard to nail down. I would contact professors and it seemed like they were always busy. I thought I had a good relationship with one professor and I needed a letter of recommendation and I tried to get ahold of him but he didn’t have time for it.
Why did you pick your major? Are you happy with your choice?
When I first started, I was a Communications Management and Design major. I was about a semester in and realized it wasn’t what I wanted to do. It was really easy for me to switch my major to Television and Radio Production. I’m happy with my decision and I although I don’t know what I want to do with it, I think I picked the right field.
How was transitioning academically as a first-generation college student? Are there systems in place that help you transition?
It was definitely hard trying to figure out all the financial aid stuff because no one has had to do that before in my family. Ithaca was very supportive and eager to find and help the first-year students with anything we needed. I found that helpful.

Reasons to Attend

1) Financially, if you go to Ithaca they’re more than happy to help you out. I’ve gotten things waived for me when I couldn’t afford them.
2) The work-study program is really nice. I worked at a dining hall.
3) I like the closed campus. I wouldn’t like walking on what is supposed to be my campus and seeing people who don’t go there.
4) The college town vibe was really nice, and having Cornell across the street was nice. If you ever got tired of being on campus at Ithaca you could always just go over there.

Reasons Not to Attend

1) The people of color I know didn’t feel at home on campus. The majority of Ithaca are White students, which is hard to get around. [About 72% of students are White, 9% of students are Hispanic, and 5.5% of students are Black.]

Around Campus

Where have you lived on and around campus?
Freshman: Williams with one roommate
Sophomore: Emerson Hall with one roommate
Junior: Garden apartments with one roommate
Senior: I lived in Los Angeles for my only semester with two roommates
How was transitioning from Syracuse to Ithaca in terms of location?
It was generally the same, I only live an hour away. It’s definitely different and very green. There’s a little bit of a different culture, and I appreciate their green outlook. They have recycling bins in every dorm room and they encourage us to recycle and be green. I never grew up having those ideals, so it was nice to see.
Can you describe the level of safety you’ve experienced on and around campus?
I’ve felt really safe, especially with all the Blue Light System being around. I’d go to work and come home at 1:30 in the morning and walk across campus and I’ve felt pretty good.

Social Opportunities

What kind of nightlife or weekend activities do you participate in at Ithaca?
Given the college town vibe, there’s always a house party going on. There are a few different bars downtown in the Ithaca Commons.
What nights of the week do you regularly do things?
Usually, my friends and I only went out on Friday or Saturday nights. Sometimes we’d go to the Cornell fraternity parties which were a lot of fun and the bars always are fun too.
How happy are you with the weekend options at Ithaca? Is there anything you would change if you could?
They’re fun. There aren’t parties on some weekends and there are parties on others. You just hear about what’s going on by ear, it’s not an every weekend type of thing. If I could change anything, I would make it so Ithaca had food open late at night until maybe 3:00 AM.

Campus Culture

How did you meet your closest friends?
I met my closest friend at an LGBTQ meeting during my freshman year the first week I was there. They introduced me to their roommates, and ever since then we’ve all been friends.
How would you describe the overall social scene?
It’s very cliquey. Given that it’s a private school, a lot of students that go there come from money. They come from private high schools and are into the same things so it’s kind of cliquey to that degree. I was lucky I found friends that came from somewhat of the same background. It was hard meeting people because they’re all different. [Socioeconomically, about 21% of students come from the top 5%.]
To what extent do you feel people of different races and sexual orientations mix socially?
They’re very cliquey. They make it seem like they’re friendly, but at the end of the day, they stick to their certain friends. [About 72% of students are White, 9% of students are Hispanic, and 5.5% of students are Black.]
How would you describe the student body?
A lot of the students are stuck up. You have the people that come from money, then you have the people that go to Ithaca because they’re genuinely down to earth type of people. There are so many different characteristics and personalities all across the board. You can find your group, but they don’t cross over whatsoever.
Do people generally seem happy with Ithaca by senior year? Do people leave loving Ithaca?
Personally, I love Ithaca and I’m so happy I made the decision I did because I wouldn’t change it for anything. I’ve heard from a handful of people that they didn’t want to go to Ithaca anymore, and they ended up transferring out. That’s a common theme for sure. [The 2018 retention rate from freshman fall to a third semester was 87%.]

Careers

Has the alumni network helped you find internships or jobs?
Yes, being in Park School of Communications they emphasize that so much. I’m a little late to the game, but they have Facebook groups you can go on and they’ll have job postings. You can network like crazy. It’s all about who you know and the connections.
Have you learned any computer programs or computer languages that will be helpful professionally?
I’ve learned more about Adobe Photoshop, Premiere, After Effects, and I learned how to do animation.

Financial Aid

Have you used financial aid? If so, how accommodating was the office to your needs?
The majority of my tuition is from financial aid, but I’ve had a lot of different issues. I went in as an independent student so I had no parents to help me financially. I went into the office with a lot of questions and they were helpful, but it was just such a pain. The office was helpful when I needed them, though.