ohgoodness

Ain't no flying to Ithaca ... Super-expensive and going to Syracuse is pretty tough as well. NYC and then Campus to Campus or shortline bus is the recommended way sadly. The buses are not nice but not horrible and the 5 hour trip is easy and rather beautiful (going through the catskills then binghamton to ithaca corridor). The campus to campus bus really is a posh thing - leaves from mid-town and offers a better ride than an airplane (only 4 hours). You get free sodas, snacks and coffee with wifi and whatnot. http://transportation.fs.cornell.edu/coach/

I know people who live in the South Hill-area (Ithaca College), which is about an hours walk to McGraw, who share a house with 4 others and pay about 4-500 thus leaving 500 for food and whatnot. Note that your Cornell card will function as a free bus pass for the first year so if you live south hill/further out, buses are still an option even if you want to live cheaply. Apart from that - there are places out by Community Corners and such that are cheaper (like 700) and would probably look the other way about pets. My suggestion - if you want to live on the cheap - find a house with 3-4 housemates. I think my budget is about 1050 a month (800 rent + 30 cellphone) but I am extremely frugal and live straight edge so it's easier. Sadly my monthly budget usually goes down the drain by having to pay for travelling to/from Ithaca for various work/non-work reasons...

I really have no idea about the wait-list situation but we have been having admitted students visiting these last two weeks so I know that there is an ongoing recruitment process currently. I would also be aware the Cornell goes on spring break (WOO!) on Friday and does not return until April 4th or so. Seeing how close that is to the deadlines.. Just an FYI. I am 100% outside of this process and have no inside information

I am happy with Cornell's. Very good coverage and extensive coverage outside of the local area. One pays 10$ flat-rate for any visits to the Cornell medical center (Gannett) which can do most fundamental things and refer one to the finger lakes medical center for larger issues. http://www.studentinsurance.cornell.edu/gannett/insurance/ship/

I applied as well but I was so sick when writing my "freedom" things that I doubt that I will be getting anything. Also I am rather bummed out about not hearing back before may 1st. That's a very long time..

To calm your mind - I did apply for the on-campus housing and did get an offer from them (in like march or april) but I rejected as I found a better place off-campus. You can always apply and then reject the offer without any loss to you at all. If I run past the Hasbrouck complex tomorrow - I'll take a quick picture and upload to show what it may looks like in mid-feb.

Cornell used this website for transferring to them from an international account. It has a lot of other school using it so perhaps your school does as well: https://www.peertransfer.com/

Fulbright (at least the Swedish variety) does not work if you are applying from the U.S and have already started your program. You should look into the things through your school first and foremost. I get lots and lots of information about possible scholarships from Cornell on a monthly basis and they helped me get a first-year fellowship. (Cornell here: http://www.gradschool.cornell.edu/fellowships )

I really don't know if you should trust me on this topic but I would definitely visit before I accepted an offer. The prairies are the west and it is somewhat special! My memory of Calgary is much based on comparing to other Canadian cities and to Sweden.

Sheila Orloff is somewhere around the left-ist lean but I would say that a lot of the work of the "social politics" school has been done in reaction to the neglections of Marxist work. Lesie McCann is there as well and she does a lot of stuff that is closely related to Orloff's stuff.

I don't drive either (it's an active choice and due to being from a big city) and it really has not affected my quality of life. The buses do take you out to the mall if you need it - you can always find friend with wheels and I spend 90% of my time working so having a car wouldn't be that much of a change. Ithaca is the best of small towns so don't knock it as easily.

I lived in Saskatoon for 2 years and worked in Calgary and Edmonton. Edmonton is a western city whereas Calgary is much more metropolitan and is comparable to Montreal/Toronto/Ottawa. Calgary has an excellent train system, a somewhat lively cultural scene and a decent downtown core. Edmonton has hockey, lots of working class and woeful transportation. In Calgary - you can rest your eyes on the foothills of the Rockies whereas Edmonton - welcome to tar sands country. Also - winter is rough in both places but Edmonton is among the worst things I have ever done (aka the nickname deadmonton). I have perhaps spent 2 months total in these cities so I have no idea bout living life there but I would say that Calgary is a city whereas Edmonton is a trading outpost turned city. Calgary is comparable to eastern Canada whereas Edmonton is only comparable to the prairies.

I'm vegan and it's easy as 123 here. Ithaca has a nice farmers market with local greens and stuffs, there is a fancy dirt-expensive local "organic" store (green star) downtown where you can get all the fancy tofu and such. Wegmans, which local people love and normal people (read me) think is just a normal store, has a very good assortment of vegetables and various vegan food stuffs. The other stores (PC Fresh and Tops) has an ok assortment of those things as well Restaurant-wise - Ithaca has lots of restaurants and most places offer veg alternatives. There is a famous veg. restaurant called Moosewoods which is well-liked and hyped (Ithaca has lots of old and young hippie-types) so you can always go there. I would say that it might be as easy finding a veg meal in Ithaca as in a hipster neighborhood of a European city. Less alternatives but easy. On campus - you can always pick up a vegan/veg lunch alternative (for around 7-10$). I eat out about once a month, never go to wegmans and my food bill is perfectly manageable and I really splurge on vegetables and fruits to make sure I eat well.

My girlfriend went to Berkeley for a single term but I never visited so I can't really answer but Ithaca has awesome natural scenery. Beebe lake is gorgeous, the hikes into the various state parks are amazing and you hike the Finger Lakes trail going through Ithaca and connecting into the APT further east. I do long runs (10-25km) and it really never gets boring as the scenery is inspiring and refreshing. If you want bike up the hill then I would suggest looking into something close to the lake front or Cayuga heights-area. South hill is Ithaca College-area and Townies, West is just dead ends. The hill really is the biggest issue into biking but you can always put your bike on the bus and hitch a ride up.

I am sorry but I would strongly disagree with a lot of this. Not that I think that the solomon west is an amazing location but there are buses to and from central campus and heading into downtown twice every hour and you will be living very close to the ithaca mall and triphammar mall. The location is not that bad but if you want to live downtown then it is not the thing. In summer - you can bike to Cornell in 20 minutes from that location so it's not far out and Suburban Ithaca is actually kinda neat and is not "suburbia" proper. And living there will not affect your social life if you want one.