James Dalton's Scholarship Report

Preparations for this first Summer Scholarship to Cornell ran over the few months before Summer sessions began in June. Thanks to everyone at the Cornell UK Centre and Cornell Abroad in Ithaca, things ran very smoothly. However as it was the first year of the scholarship scheme, the odd hiccup did occur. Nothing serious but to point them out will be useful in helping things run smoothly for next year.

Before I left for Cornell, I was under the impression that for a six week summer course foreign students only need a tourist visa; this was not the case. I found this out at the last minute but I was able to get an appointment at the American Embassy just in time. It would be a good idea for next year's student to apply for a student visa well in advance, even if the Cornell Summer Sessions prospectus states that you don't need one. As I also found out, the American Embassy can get very busy.

I flew to New York on Friday the 25th of June and found myself staying right in the middle of Manhattan island, a wonderful experience. Liz Simpson gave me a highly useful list of contact addresses in both New York and Ithaca. I made my way to Ithaca in good time for classes on the Monday. My travel was problem free.

Accommodation was in Clara Dickson Hall on North campus and was excellent. North campus is a good place to stay because there is a much more varied group of students here than on the predominantly prefreshman West campus. Rooms and facilities were of a high standard.

Registration provided no problems so I then organised my dining plan for the summer. I had been allocated $640 for dining which, for the six weeks of classes, was more than adequate. I organised for a 50 credit meal plan at a cost of $280 (much cheaper than paying for food meal by meal) and I placed $100 into a Summer Bucks account; this account was used for snacks or for vending machines. Next year's student must be careful not to pay too much into these meal or Summer Bucks plans as the money is strictly non-refundable. If you wish to eat a full three meals per day (which I did not), then a 100 credit meal plan would be advisable. I was able to top up my Summer Bucks account and pay for meals off campus with the rest of the money. The Moosewood Restaurant was particularly good and its cookbook made a good birthday present for my mother! I think that for purely food requirements, $600 is a suitable amount. It is a good idea to spend some time trying to gauge the best meal plan for yourself before rushing in to pay for the meal tickets.

Classes started on the Monday and generally I was very impressed with the standard of both courses. One thing I hadn't expected was paying for textbooks. I am not used to courses that revolve around particular books and future students should be prepared to spend at least $100 on course books. It is a lot of money but I am never averse to spending money on books!

The course in advertising and public relations was for an hour a day and had no mid-term exams and little homework, though it did involve a very large project and presentation at the end of the course. It was an introductory course and our project was to devise a real-life advertising and public relations campaign for local law firm Adams, Theissen, May and Rossiter. We were awarded an A+ for our project.

My second course was an introduction to film analysis. The quality of this course was superb and I found myself having classes in the impressive Theatre Arts Centre at Cornell. This was a tough but fascinating course that included a variety of films, often quite obscure. The course involved a lot of reading, 3 hours of class 4 days a week and three 3-hour examinations. Both classes were of a small size and the teaching was very good, though standards in the film class were perhaps a little better than those in the advertising class. These were courses in fields that I knew very little about; I found them both useful and enjoyable. My two courses together amounted to seven credits; I think this is an acceptable amount of work, any more would be a little too much.

As I'm sure you all know, the process of learning at Cornell is very different from the system I am used to. I found it fascinating to compare Warwick with Cornell. There were many differences such as hours in class; I had nearly twice as much class time per week at Cornell as I do at Warwick. Academic facilities at Cornell were very impressive. Cornell's 14 libraries put Warwick to shame! I was only able to scratch the academic surface of facilities at Cornell.

With regard to payment of tuition and accommodation fees, there were a few problems. There was some difficulty in getting the money from the money transfer to my Bursar's account. I know that the money arrived and after repeated phone calls, I was told that yes they'd located it and it would take a little time to reach my bursar's account. I have since written to the university and feel that there will be no further problems, though I have received two bills asking for payment of fees. I am sure this will sort itself out.

Outside classes I was able to follow a number of activities. In my first week I was invited to join a local football team in the Ithaca United League. I was amazed at how popular football (or soccer) was. We finished bottom of the league but through the team I met some wonderful people that included students and local people. I was even able to see a baseball game at Binghampton. At the baseball game, I felt I should try a Chili and Cheese Hot Dog and the whole thing seemed to stick with me until well after the game - but it seemed a necessary part of the occasion! Outside of sport, I was treated to a very enjoyable 4th of July weekend and got a taste of summertime in Ithaca.

My time at Cornell was also my first visit to the United States. There are of course similarities with the U.K. but there is also a big culture shock. This summer gave me an insight into this and to the many differences between Warwick and Cornell. Thanks to the Cornell Club of London I have received a first class experience of both a college and a college town in the eastern United States. On top of this, I had the pleasure of meeting some wonderful people. My address book was filled with names from as far away as Croatia and Chile.

I hope that next year's scholarship is as successful and enjoyable as mine has been.

James Dalton, 1993

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