Day 1Syracuse: The fresh sod marks were still visible around the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications one day after Oprah was in town to ribbon-cut the facility’s $18 million makeover and addition of the Dick Clark Studios. Newhouse’s investment in technology toward new media is impressive, fitting, my tour guide told me, for “the top-ranked journalism school in the country” (this grad of NU’s Medill School took issue with that, but no matter). Newhouse, along with Syracuse’s programs in sports management, theatre and performing arts, and business are some of the best anywhere. The school of 14,000 undergrads has the 49,250-seat Carrier Dome (home of perennial powerhouse basketball’s Orange)
at its center, and the campus just has a buzz about it. Students look like they have somewhere to go and energy to spare, and my tour guide doesn’t even skirt the school’s famed party reputation. “We know how to have a good time here.”
Hobart & William Smith: The school, whose name derives from once-separate men’s and women’s colleges, is situated on Lake Seneca and features stunning views from some parts of campus (and a 60-foot boating vessel used for science classes). Rather than a core curriculum, HWS requires students to fulfill eight goals including skills and understanding of written and oral communication, quantitative reasoning, ethics, world cultures and artistic expression. Popular majors include econ, environmental studies, and architectural studies, and career services guarantees students at least one paid internship. This is a very athletic school, with top teams nationally in women’s soccer (D-III national champs), sailing, men’s lacrosse (D-I), rowing, and field hockey.
Day 2
Ithaca College: The college was founded almost 125 years ago as a music conservatory and its music and performing arts programs are still among its most popular and most prestigious. BFA’s are offered in Musical Theatre, Acting, Tech and Design, and you can also get a BS in Theatre Management but acceptance rates into those programs are much lower than for the college in general. Ditto for the departments of physical therapy, occupational therapy and athletic training. This test-optional school also has the top-notch Park School of Communications, which hooks students up with great internship opportunities (one of my guides had worked for NBC at the Sochi Olympics).
Cornell University: Also in the town of Ithaca, Cornell dominates locally, with almost 22,000 students (14,500+ undergrads). A number of its programs are top-10 in the country including it Dyson school of business, biological/agricultural engineering, nanotech, architecture and planning, and hotel management.
The international student population is large at 20 percent, and you can definitely feel that just walking around campus. Diversity is not hard to achieve when you get 43,000 applications per year. Cornell’s departments are divided among seven schools, and it’s best to apply to the one you really want to study in (as opposed to the one you think will give you the best chance of getting in—the overall acceptance rate is 14%). What sets Cornell apart from its other Ivy League counterparts? “Nature,” says an admissions rep. “If you want to pass a waterfall every day on the way to class, this might be for you. If you’re anti-waterfall, this might not be the place.” Trying to glean an edge for applying students, I asked about essays. What makes admissions cringe? “When they spell Cornell Y-A-L-E.”
Day 3:
Colgate University: Colgate and Hamilton College are only 25 minutes apart, but it’s best to remember that Colgate is in Hamilton, New York, and that Hamilton is actually not there (Clinton, New York). Colgate is proud of its liberal arts tradition and although it’s known for its formidable alumni network in sectors like finance, it is also strong across the board, with its English, History, Poli Sci, Biology, Neuroscience, and Peace and Conflict Studies majors among its most popular in addition to Econ. In recent years Colgate integrated its Career Services into Alumni Relations in a novel move, and they work together to offer internships, mentoring, and networking to students as early as sophomore year. Colgate is serious about preparing students for the real world, and its job placement outcomes compare with the best anywhere.
Hamilton College: At the end of my tour, the guide said to me (with complete sincerity), “Hamilton wasn’t my first choice, but I’m so happy I came here. I’m just so happy here.” From talking to others, that seems to be the consensus: Hamilton is bringing together the right kinds of students that fit its community; and they genuinely love being there. They’re intellectually curious and excited about learning. Hamilton’s academic hallmark is its Open Curriculum—students get to decide what courses they will take. “In a college of control freaks, this works quite well,” says our admissions rep. When I ask whether this isn’t a detriment to the undecided student, who might benefit from required courses in a required rotation of subjects, she charmingly disagrees. “It’s WHY you would choose Hamilton,” she says. “You get to wander the desert. Students who have the bumps and bruises have learned what they like and want. Advising the ones WHO KNOW–those are the hardest ones.”