Okay -its that time of year again so our family needs help as we continue the next child's college search. We are planning on traveling over to Ithaca NY to see Cornell University(no,we cannot afford it being out of state but will look at anyway).We are flying in to Syracuse on a Sunday morning and will have the rest of the day to "bum around" till the visit and tours the next morning. We are scheduled to stay in Ithaca on Sunday night but wanted to know if anyone had any thoughts on fun things to do or see while there?Just and mom and daughter-so shopping,outside stuff or eating would be on top of the list. Thanks in advance!

Go on 'Google' and type in Ithaca. Lots of sites come up.

If I believe correctly there are other colleges in the area....Ithaca College and Syracuse U. http://www.syraction.com/

http://cityguide.theithacajournal.com/fe/Shopping/search.asp

INFO ON SHOPPING

I have not been back to Cornell in some time but here is what I remember. The Carousel Center in Syracuse is a very large and pretty nice mall not far from the airport. More interesting, however, is to go to downtown Ithaca and wonder around the Ithaca Commons. Lots of unique little shops, restaurants, and art galleries. You could also visit some of the state parks such as Taughannock Falls, Buttermilk Falls or (my favorite) Robert H. Treman. You could also visit the Cornell Plantations (botanical gardens, etc - very beautiful) or the Johnson Art Museum on campus. I would suggest checking Cornell's website for lots of really good information and do not hesitate to contact them for more information and visitor's services.

Thanks for the suggestions and tips. Hopefully, the weather will hold up!

I've only been there once, but I remember Ithaca to be a very interesting little town, lots of restaurants and shops. There are some nice hikes to waterfalls not too far from town. The college is on a plateau, very beautiful spot.

We did Ithaca / Cornell a couple of years ago with our oldest daughter. Ithaca's in a great spot...reasonably modern campus (60's-70's expansion). Cornell is big and beautiful.

Downtown Ithaca, if I recall, has a bohemian feel to it.

Since you're flying into Syracuse, strongly suggest you tour Syracuse University. Since your looking at Ithaca, I assume your daughter is interested in the arts. The college of visual and performing arts (VPA) at SU is outstanding.

Cornell is private so "out of state" won't matter, will it?

Confused-
I believe that part of Cornell (the Agricultural Departments and maybe a few others) are part of SUNY, so in-state tuition can be applied.

Cornell is a private endowed university and the federal land-grant institution of New York State. It is a member of the Ivy League and a partner of the State University of New York.

http://www.info.cornell.edu/CUFACTS/default.html

Thanks! No longer confused! It's definitely a very interesting setup.

Be sure to check out a winery or two while you are there. Also, check out the following link for some best of Ithaca info.


http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?n...d=216635&rfi=6

Even if you're NOT vegetarian, you've got to go to the Moosewood restaurant, it's famous for being one of the first, and having lots of cookbooks. It's in the center of Ithaca

Thanks for those tips. Actually my daughter is interested in biology or environmental sciences-no art.Syracuse U. has already been looked at for our other child but I do not think it would be her place to attend college.Appreciate the imput!

Syracuse University has an outstanding school of Environmental Sciences and Forrestry. It is consistently ranked at the top each year. I went to Syracuse for law school and the school is outstanding. Great campus life and feel.

Lots of good suggestions already. As a Syracuse native who also lived in Ithaca for four years in the early 90's (employed by Cornell at the time), I can offer some biased perspective on each. Form an overall campus environment standpoint, Cornell is more academic and more competitive - it also has a less urban and more tranquil setting. Syracuse is a more sports and party oriented social environment and the surrounding city is more blue collar and more conservative than Ithaca. fromt he perspective of mass market shopping and adjacency to reasonably priced air and rail connections, Syracuse wins. For a small college-town feel, lots of good cafes and interesting used bookstore, outdoor activities... Ithaca is the hands down winner. I frequently went to Ithaca to dine, hear live music and hang out when I lived in Syracuse yet I met folks who lived in Ithaca and went to Syracuse for a change of pace!

The College of Human Ecology, School of Industrial and Labor Relations and the Ag school of cornell are all SUNY divisions and although they are far cheaper than regular Cornell tuition, they are much pricer than a regular SUNY school (about 2.5 - 3x SUNY tuition if I recall correctly). The Scool of Environmental Sciences at SU is a similar SUNY unit with similar pricing. Three of my uncles graduated from the Forestry School there (now SUNY Env Sciences) and I can attest that it is an excellent and highly competitive program. As already mentioned, VPA is also good as is the Newhouse Communications program, the Maxwell School (grad programs) and the creative writing program of the English department (Delmore Scwartz and Tobias Wolff amnong others have taught there). As for a place to spend the day - I suggest Ithaca.