Rather spend summer at the beach or getting ahead at school? One reason many students choose Ithaca is the accelerated degree options for health science programs like occupational therapy (OT) and physical therapy (PT). While all students know what the school year can feel like on South Hill, the Ithaca College summer experience looks very different for the students that stay.
Thinking about spending a summer in Ithaca or is the extended stay required for your major? Here’s everything you need to know from four PT students there right now:
Housing varies
After talking to all four students, it is evident that summer housing and how you feel about it can greatly vary. Rising seniors, Ben Damsky and Joe Brenner, lived in the same Circle apartment prior to this summer, but now have extremely different opinions about their on-campus summer dorms.
Staying in Terrace 8, Damsky describes his room as potentially the worst part of his experience so far – a small single for around $200 a week with no air conditioning. However, just feet away, Brenner loves his housing situation; highlighting the benefits of close parking, the view, lounge, and AC in Terrace 13, that makes it “a great terrace.”
Also entering her grad stage of the PT program, Reese Ruegamer explains that a house off-campus with her friends has been both convenient and fun, loving being “in Ithaca itself.” Staying on Hudson Street, she said some benefits of her house are the accessibility to school, her job in the Commons, First Dam, and the ability to feel more part of the city, not just school.
This being said, if you find yourself staying in Ithaca for the summer, housing is something important to plan for and consider before your stay. Doing your research about off campus options or aiming for specific on-campus locations can make the summer more enjoyable.
Workload is intense but rewarding
Most of the students who stay at IC during the summer are involved in one of the clinical health programs. In the physical therapy six-year clinical doctorate program, the summer before senior year that students spend at school marks the beginning of their graduate years and a graduate-level workload.
Still, all interviewed students described the anatomy-fixed content to be both challenging yet rewarding.
Interested in pursuing pediatric physical therapy post-grad, rising senior, Devin Sylvia, said that despite being difficult, the summer cadaver lab and classes are “making [her] fall more in love with the major of physical therapy and giving [her] insight into what [she will] be doing in the future.”
Similarly, Damsky said, “getting to work with the real human body, not just learning off of models, really enhances my knowledge of what’s going on with us… and gives me a better idea of how our bodies work.”
Part of the reason students describe the workload as manageable are the professors and TAs. Holding a 5/5 rating on Rate My Professors, Dr. Jim Yaggie, who is currently conducting the cadaver lab and Human Anatomy course, has been praised for his humor, care for students, and teaching style. The students generally feel well-supported by Ithaca’s summer faculty even with a heavy workload.
Break?
With a lot on their plates educationally, it is hard to find time for other activities. Nonetheless, the students at IC are still trying to make the most of their summer break when they have the time to.
As expected, the dams are favored by many of the students, but other Ithaca activities to enjoy in the summer include visiting gorges, hiking, picnics with friends, the farmers’ market, and taking all the city of Ithaca has to offer beyond campus.
The students all allude to the summer beauty of Ithaca that may be overlooked by the cold winters, and explain that these activities have greatly boosted their experiences in the last couple of months.
pros and cons to an Ithaca summer
One benefit all students pointed out was the opportunity to get closer to their cohort. Sylvia describes her increased connection with her cohort as her favorite part of the summer, making it feel like more of collective experience.
Being from the West Coast, Ruegamer has not only been able to see more of her college friends from outside of her major, but has become closer with those in it, even living with some of them at the moment.
Another pro that Brenner describes is the hands-on nature of the summer content. Like the others he feels that his gained knowledge will be extremely useful to him in the future and that he will easily “be able to apply it to [his] professional career.”
The main obstacles students described were the busy schedules and limited campus facility hours. While they understand their reason for being at school, it cannot go without being said that the time commitment of classes and studying has allowed for little recreational time or time at home with family.
On-campus students had a harder time with limited dining hall and fitness center hours. Often have conflicting schedules in the afternoon, they are forced to choose between eating and working out on busier class days.
Considering all of the aforementioned points, the four physical therapy students gave the IC summer experience an average rating of eight out of ten, emphasizing that a summer semester is worthwhile.
While in-person courses may not be the best option if not required, or if you do not have friends also staying on campus, those who do plan to spend a summer there have much to look forward to and learn from!