Cornell and Cool Weather

Today, we woke up this morning only to head to the airport destined for Ithaca.  We cherished our last moments at the luxurious Inn at Penn.  We headed out the doors of the lobby and were pleasantly greeted by a decreased level of humidity outside.  Isaac picked us up in the Suburban (in the same black “secret agent” SUV as the start of our trip) headed to the Philadelphia airport.  We said a warm goodbye to Philly, who has treated us so nicely over the week, and soon boarded a small black plane headed for Ithaca. 

The Expanded Cornell Cohort!

The best surprise of the day so far: we walked out the airplane to be welcomed by 70 degrees weather with a breeze, my most preferable type of weather.  We were soon deceived by the layout of Ithaca, which we all perceived to be in the middle of nowhere, but we were soon to be proved wrong as the green surroundings decorated the town, with houses, a mall, and numerous cars.  The Cornell campus emerged amongst a group of trees as the luscious green, spacious campus came into sight and the Statler Hotel towered over many of the surrounding school buildings. 

We set down our luggage and took our first walk around campus, headed toward the Wilson Farms Market.  After getting a quick bite to eat, we settled back to the hotel to relax and absorb the beautiful scenery.  We soon departed for The Heights for dinner with Jill, an administrative officer at the Summer College, as well as four current students at Cornell. 

The Heights' Sirloin Steak

Similar to the Penn dinner, visiting the campus beforehand proved to spark better conversation with the Cornellians.  I sat near two current students, Katie and Lauren, who gave great insights to life at Cornell and the all the opportunities that the school held.  I was amazed by all of the available classes and activities Cornell has to offer across its enormous campus, including a wine tasting class (for seniors only) and a massage course.  Generally speaking, I have also been very impressed about how generous the Ivy Leagues are with financial aid as well, awarding only need-based scholarships (as opposed to merit-based). This topics of the dinner was similar to the dinner at Prospect back in May, as the Cornell students presented a particular interest in the specific classes we were taking along with what opportunities the ILC has available for their students.  This dinner was a great introduction to familiarize us particularly to life at school as they gave us tips for navigating ourselves around campus. 

Blogging Party!

The dinner made me extremely interested to begin my journey at Cornell.  Tomorrow we will meet up for orientation and hopefully get to meet more Summer College attendees.  I feel ready to start this next chapter in the ILC experience and cannot wait for what the future has in store for us!