New Student FAQs

First, congratulations and welcome to IC! Our office helps you get ready for your Ithaca College journey by supporting you through the process of completing the New Student Checklist. We're here all summer to answer your questions about the checklist and getting ready to come to Ithaca College, provide webinars and live chats with helpful hints, and send you e-newsletters with valuable IC information. 

If you need support at any time, please give our office a call at (607) 274-1908 or email us at nstp@ithaca.edu. We are happy to help walk you through everything you need to do to get started at Ithaca College. If we don't know the answer, we know who does!

All new students, first-years and transfers, must take the Math Placement Assessment regardless of any math courses that are transferred to Ithaca College or intended major(s). This is needed for placing you in classes for the Quantitative Literacy requirement for all students, as well as math-adjacent courses that may require the assessment. For more information, please visit the Math Placement Assessment page. 

For questions regarding academic advising, visit the New Student Academic Advising page.

Ithaca College does not require language courses for all students; only a select number of majors require language proficiency or courses. If you think you might be interested in taking classes in Spanish, French, German, or Italian, you will need to take the placement assessment. This assessment helps us determine the most appropriate class level for the current skills you have when you start or resume the language. Learn more on the Information and Resources for Language Placement page.

If you are a new, first-year student, you will need to complete the Academic Interests Survey on your New Student Checklist. Once complete, the academic advising team within your school will build a customized schedule for you. You will receive your schedule prior to attending Orientation (likely late July/early August). During Orientation at the end of August, you will have the opportunity to connect with advisors and make changes to your schedule as needed. 

If you are a new, transfer student, you will meet remotely with an academic advising professional prior to attending Orientation to discuss the credits you are transferring to IC and create your fall course schedule. You will receive an email from your respective Dean's office with instructions for scheduling a course-registration appointment.

For questions regarding academic advising, visit the New Student Academic Advising page.

Ithaca College currently accepts Advanced Placement Exams, CLEP exams, and International Baccalaureate Exams. These exam results will need to be sent to the Office of the Registrar directly from the testing agency. All results should be sent to the following address as soon as possible: 

Office of the Registrar
Ithaca College
953 Danby Rd., 
Ithaca, NY 14850

Ithaca College uses a set of liberal arts requirements that comprise the common academic experience of all IC students called the Integrative Core Curriculum (ICC). You can review these requirements online at: https://www.ithaca.edu/academics/integrative-core-curriculum/integrative-core-curriculum-requirements. 

The Office of New Student & Transition Programs is dedicated to making our Orientation programs as accessible as we possibly can. If you think there is something NSTP may be able to do to make the Fall 2025 Orientation program more inclusive for you, please send us an email at nstp@ithaca.edu or give us a call at (607) 274-1908 and we can discuss the ways we may be able to support your experience.

The Student Accessibility Services office is responsible for supporting students who need accommodations on campus. If you are interested in learning more about what support is available and/or getting the process started, you can give their office a call at (607) 274-1005 or send them an email at sas@ithaca.edu.

Approval for bringing an emotional support animal (ESA) to campus must be filed with Student Accessibility Services (SAS). For more details regarding what paperwork is required, who to contact, and more, please visit the SAS web page on the ESA Accommodation Request process.

Yes! All new students are required to attend orientation programs. 

If you are a new fall sport athlete (football, volleyball, soccer, cross country, golf, field hockey, or tennis), you will be required to attend Fall Athlete Orientation on Tuesday, August 19 along with certain required events during the regular orientation program August 21-24.

All other sports will be required to attend the regular orientation program. 

Bills for Fall Semester 2025 will be available to view on July 1, 2025, and payment is due by August 1, 2025. Keep an eye on your email, as Student Financial Services will be reaching out with updates.

Student Financial Services (SFS) has special guides designed to walk you through breaking down your financial aid award and understanding your letter. You can view them here:

• Domestic Student Guide
• International Student Guide

If you still have questions, you can Schedule an Appointment with a member of the SFS team. 

For more information regarding accepting financial aid packages, adding authorized payers, accessing your bill, payment plans, tax documents, and health insurance waivers, visit the Student Financial Services website how-to page at: https://www.ithaca.edu/tuition-financial-aid/how-to. 

For support with submitting your health forms, contact Cayuga Health at ICHealth@cayugahealth.org or call (607) 274-3177.

Per a New York State mandate, Ithaca College's Health Services are required to collect health information from all incoming students prior to their arrival on campus. Some of the required information includes:

• Health History Form
• Immunization Record
• Measles/Mumps/Rubella
• Meningitis Response Form
• TB Screen-Risk Form

For more information on requirements for new students, please visit the Student Health Services website at: https://www.ithaca.edu/student-health-services/new-students. 

Move-in for incoming students will be from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Wednesday, August 20, 2025 in the Athletics & Events Center. Students will be able to check-in for Orientation and Housing, as well as pick up keys and student ID cards. 

If you are participating in Jumpstart, or are a Fall Athlete or International student, your move-in will be on Monday, August 18, 2025. 

All new students living on campus will receive an email with their specific move-in timeslot, either 9 a.m. - noon or noon - 3 p.m. Visit https://www.ithaca.edu/office-residential-life/living-campus/move for more information about new student move-in.

The Office of Residential Life does not currently have any floor or ground plans of the residence hall rooms, however, they do have a 360 View and a recorded video tour available on their website. You can find these tours by visiting https://www.ithaca.edu/office-residential-life/living-campus/residence-halls.

Yes! You are able to send packages to campus before you get to campus. Packages must be sent between July 14 and August 1, and will be placed in the student's room before they arrive. Please don't send anything after August1 until the week your student is scheduled to arrive. At that point regular-sized packages will go to the mail lockers and oversized packages need to be picked up by the student at the Mail Center. Do not forget to include "Incoming Fall Student" when addressing the package!

Use the following format when addressing your packages:

<insert Student's Full Name>
INCOMING FALL STUDENT
953 Danby Rd
<insert Residence Hall and Room Number> (make sure to include both or there will be delays, especially at the start of the semester)
Ithaca, NY 14850

What to bring to campus will vary based on your own personal needs and what you might need to feel comfortable here at Ithaca College. If you would like suggestions for a general list of things to bring, the Office of Residential Life has put together a helpful packing list of things to bring with you!

You can view your New Student Checklist through your IC Connect Portal. It will become available to all newly enrolled students, beginning April 7.

Most of the items on the New Student Checklist are self-reported* and do not automatically get marked as complete when you are done with them. If there is an item on your checklist that you have already completed but still shows up as incomplete, you can log in to the checklist and click on the "I did this!" button that is associated with that checklist item. 

*A few items on your New Student Checklist WILL show as complete automatically when you finish them, since these forms are contained within the IC Connect system: Academic Interests Survey, Orientation Registration Form, Orientation Fee Waiver Request Form, and Health Certification Forms. Please note that the Health Certification Forms will only show as complete once Health Center staff have verified all of your documents.

Attending Orientation is mandatory for all new first-year and transfer students. There will be important informational sessions to help prepare you for your time at Ithaca College, as well as social events to participate in. There is something for everyone at orientation, and you won't want to miss out! Attending the events at Orientation is the best way to make your first friends here at Ithaca College and become part of the IC community.

Yes! We appreciate that transfer students are coming to us with more experience, including college orientations. Our orientation program is specifically designed to help you transition smoothly into our unique campus environment. Transfer students are assigned small groups with other transfers to go through orientation together, and an Orientation Leader (OL) who is also a transfer student. You'll also have transfer-specific sessions, meet peers and faculty from your specific school, and be able to join in the fun social events designed to help you find a sense of belonging at IC. 

You can register for orientation through your New Student Checklist. To access the New Student Checklist, you will need to log in to your IC Connect account. There will be an item on your checklist that provides the link and more information regarding how to register.

Fall Orientation is a 5-day program designed to support students' transition to the Ithaca College community. We are guided by the commitment to facilitating opportunities for social connections and belonging, creating culturally-responsive educational opportunities for new students, supporting the academic transition, providing resources to families and supporters through this transition, forging community connections within the broader Ithaca community, and fostering a sense of pride and school spirit as an IC student. 

Our programs include sessions that provide insight into academics, campus resources, finding affinity groups, social events, and so much more. Students will be required to scan in at every session with their student ID cards, and many sessions include opportunities to win great prizes (prizes may include items such as: iPad with pencil, Nintendo Switch, AirPods, Amazon Echo Dot, Keurig Coffee Maker, VR Headsets, etc.)! 

Orientation for Fall 2025 will take place between Wednesday, August 20 and Sunday, August 24. All students, including those living off campus, will be required to check-in between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. on the 20th (unless they are an Early Arrival student with Jumpstart, International Programs, or Athletics; these students check in on Monday, August 18, also between 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.). 

During orientation sessions, orientation staff will be taking attendance by swiping students IDs. Attendance will be tracked at all orientation events. If you have a question or concerns about a session, please call NSTP at (607) 274-1908 or send us an email at nstp@ithaca.edu as soon as possible. 

Many of the events on the Orientation schedule are considered required events (i.e. Student Welcome, Academic sessions, small group meetings, etc.) that you will need to attend. Others, like the socials and affinity events, are considered optional. We strongly suggest attending at least one social event, as these are designed specifically to help new students make connections with their peers. 

We recognize that Orientation events can be very overwhelming for some folks (and even for our Orientation staff as well). Some elements that are large-scale and loud unfortunately cannot be helped, but we are sure to include self-care/quiet rooms where students can step out for a moment to decompress, and we are working on a sensory guide version of the schedule for this Fall so students can know which events may be more overstimulating than others. Additionally, there will be options to share this information with our staff on the Orientation Registration form so your Orientation Leader can be aware and better support you during the program.