Breathing a sigh of relief as my feet graced the top of yet another hill, something sparkly caught my eye. The sun was beaming down on Cayuga Lake, New York’s longest finger lake, creating a beautiful backdrop for Ithaca College.

This picturesque image was not only breathtaking, but also misleading. I visited IC in June, when not a speck of snow was left over from the harsh winter season.  Now as we enter Autumn, mother nature will bless (or burden) the residents of Ithaca with snow as soon as November while we residents of Pennsylvania are still enjoying the satisfying sound of crisp leaves under our boots. Bottom line, if you aspire to be one of Ithaca’s 6,400 undergrads, hopefully you like hot chocolate.

The Bustling town of Ithaca, called The Commons, provides a hipster-esque feel with its vintage clothing stores and quaint coffee shops. The Commons separate Ithaca’s campus from Cornell’s stomping grounds, and the two schools offer a mutual exchange program in which students can take up to four credits each semester at the opposite school.

For students enrolled at Ithaca, however, this exchange program is convenient, but not necessary, because Ithaca College has outstanding communications, theater, music, and business programs. In the 2012 edition of the Princeton Review, Ithaca was ranked number three for best college radio and number eighteen for best college theater.

Ithaca’s high rankings match up to its prestigious alumni, such as Robert Iger, president and CEO of The Walt Disney Company; David Boreanez, actor (Buffy the Vampire Slayer); and Barbara Gaines, an executive producer of The Late Show with David Letterman. According to Brian Kissig, a 2012 graduate of North Penn High School and current student at Ithaca College, “the school is in very close contact with successful alumni” and “the faculty there is also very motivated and insures that students will have all the opportunities they can get.”

The high educational standards and rich benefits of Ithaca College might just be worth investing in a Snuggie to brave the cold. That is, if you have any money left over after paying for tuition, a pricey $32,000, plus $11,800 for room and board.

Although IC isn’t known for its affordability or nice weather, it provides students with the skills and experience needed to succeed in the future. Cayuga Lake isn’t the only thing that shines in Ithaca.

For more information, visit www.ithaca.edu