“So You Don’t Have To”: A Visit to Elmira College

As promised, I will use this space to share my experiences visiting colleges with you. Hopefully you will find these notes useful. If you like the schools I discuss you should do everything you can to visit on your own, but this should tide you over until you can.

In late July I had the opportunity to spend a night and a day at Elmira College in New York’s Finger Lakes region participating in an Open House for prospective students and also getting to spend a lot of time with members of the Admissions office, who were happy to tell me everything I wanted to learn about their school.  I was extremely impressed with Elmira; out of all of the schools I have visited in my career I would say that Elmira is one of less than five colleges that I would recommend to everyone without hesitation.

Elmira College is home to 1,200 students, two-thirds of whom are women. The college is definitely looking to increase the number of male students, and they hope that the addition of a baseball team (which will begin play in 2014-15) will help raise the numbers.  Elmira College students come from 35 states and 31 countries, though about 50% come from New York and many more come from the Northeastern states. Elmira welcomes international students, and makes an effort to help them adjust to college life with a special orientation program.  Currently international students comprise about 9% of the student body.  Along those lines, Elmira is one of the few American colleges that offers scholarships to international students.

• Australia

• the Bahamas

• Brazil

• the Galapagos Islands

• the Grand Canyon

• Ireland

• Japan

• Nepal

• New York City

• Turkey

and many others.  If students do not want to travel, there are many courses to take on campus, but approximately 40% of Elmira students study abroad at some point in their careers.

Elmira is generous with granting Advanced Placement credit, and they allow some courses to count for multiple majors. As a result, many students graduate with more than one major, or a major and a minor. Details of the requirements for graduation are on Elmira’s website, but I did want to take some time to point out three aspects that I found interesting: “the Core”, the Freshman Writing Course, and “Encore”.

Every new student takes “the Core”, an interdisciplinary course that combines social science, natural science and the humanities into a multi-cultural exploration of major ideas in human history.  In Term I students take “When Worlds Collide”, and in Term II “Order and Chaos”.  I am generally opposed to “required courses”, but I like it when colleges do programs like this one.  Every new student will be taking a similar class (though led by different professors, and thus reading different material), so they have something in common.  During their first two terms new students also take a course on writing. The class meets three days per week, including a 30-minute long private session between student and teacher. The writing program is designed to improve everyone’s writing, and is individually tailored to each student’s needs.  I like this because it guarantees that after the first year, Elmira students will have no excuse for poor writing.

Elmira also has a program that is unique in my experience.  While many colleges and universities strive to inculcate an understanding and appreciation of the arts, Elmira’s Encore program takes it a step further.  During the first two years, Elmira students are required to attend 6 music, theatre and/or dance performances per term, and to write a 3-5 page paper.  Artists are brought to campus (many from New York City) and give talks and master classes along with their performances so that students will learn about the craft, as well as the art.  All performances on campus are free, and Elmira students can attend shows at the downtown Clemens Center for $5, which is a deep discount from ticket prices for the general public.

The library holds a quarter of a million volumes, and is home to a very large computing center. They have also recently acquired ten e-readers loaded with current titles that students can sign out for two weeks.  According to my tour guide, the library is a very popular place, and nearly everyone uses it regularly. In fact, the majority of freshman dorms are clustered near the library to make it easier for students to study.  The library also hosts the Center for Mark Twain Studies. The entryway to the library holds stickers noting that it is a “Safe Zone” for LBGTQ community members. A later conversation with some students revealed that they found Elmira to be a tolerant place that welcomed all manner of diversity.

As mentioned above, all students (except those whose parents live in the city of Elmira) must live on campus all four years.  Freshman dorms are typical, with smallish double rooms.  Following the first year, student housing is determined by lottery, with the exception of “the Cottages”(pictured at right). These apartment style dwellings are assigned based on points.  Students earn points for participating in the life of the college (one earns points for being on a team, joining a club, etc. More points are awarded if one is a leader of an organization).  After talking to so many people, this seems like a very “Elmira” thing; the college encourages student involvement.  As Casey Smith, a member of the class of 2015 told me, “The clubs are what keep me here” and “it’s hard to not be a leader at Elmira”.

Elmira College is a “selective” institution, admitting about 75% of every year’s applicants.  That said, the Admissions staff works very hard to make sure that they create a class of 300 students who will make the most of the chances the college offers.  In addition to the SAT or ACT (scores average in the mid 500’s in all three SAT categories and 25 in the ACT) and the Common Application, Elmira strongly encourages interviews.  The day I was there about 75 families attended the Open House and tour, and at least half of the students took advantage of the chance to be interviewed.  The Admissions staff makes a concerted effort to get to know the applicants, and if they believe that the “fit” is right, they will go to bat to help students get accepted.  Zack Ciaramitaro, a member of the class of 2014 and a leader of the Student Activities Board told me that the “very personal approach” of the Admissions Office made him feel like he mattered, which is what led him to choose Elmira over other colleges. The regular admissions process is handled on a rolling basis, with decisions being issued beginning in early October.  Students who are interested in Elmira are encouraged to apply as early as possible. Those students who are convinced that Elmira is their first choice can apply to one of two binding Early Decision programs.  ED I has a deadline of November 15th (with notification by December 15th) and ED II has a January 15th deadline (with notification by January 31st).

Elmira offers substantial merit scholarships and a very interesting incentive scholarship.  The Honor Scholarships are designed to attract high achieving students.  Class valedictorians and salutatorians can receive full-tuition awards, renewable for three years.  Other scholarships are available for students who combine good GPA’s with above average test scores. The program must work, because the college claims that 13% of the student body were ranked number one or two in their high school graduating classes.  Also of note, out of state students who visit Elmira before January of their senior year will receive a $3000 annual scholarship upon admission.  This is a pretty hefty return on the investment it takes to travel to Elmira.  My school is only a two hour drive from Elmira, so you better believe I will be encouraging my students to make the trip to this fall’s Open House!

I was knocked out by Elmira College.  This is a place that has been well-managed and everything seems to have been done for a reason.  The newest dormitory (Meier Hall, pictured above) is impeccably built, and features details (like a fitness room in the basement, soundproofed music rehearsal rooms, and a study area next to the laundry room) that could only have come from students.  Even the picnic tables dotting the campus come from student input requesting more seating areas. I also loved Elmira’s commitment to long-standing traditions–their new non-denominational chapel is covered with stained-glass windows depicting each one.  For instance, students are given a beanie hat on their first day of orientation bearing their year of graduation.  They wear the beanies throughout orientation (culminating in a tug of war versus the seniors) and then wear them again the night before they graduate.  Having attended a college with nearly no traditions, I find customs like this to be quite charming.

Elmira College is a good place for people who seek challenge and the opportunity to become better students and to be exposed to a wide array of educational and cultural opportunities.  For students seeking a small college where they can have close, mentoring relationships with their professors, Elmira should be high on the list.  Students interested in sports (several teams are highly competitive, and the women’s ice hockey team just won the national championship), community service (there is a 60-hour service requirement) and leadership (opportunities abound long before one’s senior year) would do well to consider Elmira.   Seek out Elmira’s representative if they visit your school or local college fair, or schedule a visit to see the campus if you think you are interested.  I think you will be impressed. Please share your thoughts about Elmira in the comments below, and good luck on your college search!