Campus Life Overview

Living in a campus residence hall

Students at Cornell live on campus in one of our residence halls and generally share a room with one roommate who is assigned prior to arrival based on an interest survey completed by both roommates. Most halls have communal bathrooms on every floor and all but one of our residence halls are multi-gender by floor or by rooms. Bowman-Carter hall is a women-only residence option.

Your room will be furnished with a twin-size bed, desk and chair, and closet or wardrobe for your clothing. Dorm room sized refrigerators can be rented, as can linens for your bed. Each residence hall contains communal kitchens, a communal lobby space, kitchenette areas for cooking and storing food, a laundry room with free machines, and is secured by ID card access.

You will need to bring or purchase:

• Bedding (sheets, pillows, blankets) or rent from the campus linen service
• Clothing for fall, winter, and spring. Cornell experiences temperatures that range from below zero to over 100 degrees fahrenheit (-18 to +38 degrees celsius) in the same year.
• Personal care items, cleaning supplies and high efficiency (HE) laundry soap
• A personal computer or laptop that meets minimum requirements
• Pens, notebooks, calendars and other study materials. You will also be able to shop for your course books, Cornell branded everything, and these materials at the campus bookstore.
• Items to personalize your room or keep up with hobbies

Your residence hall floor will have a Resident Assistant (RA) who helps to build community on your floor and can help answer questions you may have. Residence life offers extended guidance about living on campus at Cornell.

Meals & dining options

You must choose a meal plan - either 20 meals per week in our dining hall, or 14 meals per week in the dining hall with $200 flex spend to use at Zamora's Market. Each plan is billed the same amount. The Hilltop Café serves breakfast (7:30- 9 a.m.), lunch (11 a.m. - 1 p.m.), and dinner (5-7 p.m.) daily Monday-Saturday and brunch (11 a.m.- 1p.m.) and dinner (5-7 p.m.) on Sundays.

The Hilltop Café caters to most common dietary restrictions in their daily offerings with gluten-free, dairy-free, vegetarian, vegan, and halal options. They also cater to a wide variety of tastes with comfort food, light fare, international cuisine, a soup and salad bar, wood-fired pizza, and a dessert bar.

Zamora’s is a market and grille option for hand-crafted coffee and tea drinks, breakfast, lunch and dinner sandwiches, baked goods, and convenience items. 

Transportation expectations

The entirety of campus is walkable with our pedestrian mall acting as the primary route from one edge of campus to the other. Bicycles are a great way to travel off campus in Mount Vernon as well as explore nearby nature trails and you can borrow a bike from the Purple Bikes program. You are also allowed to bring a car to campus and park in a designated parking lot if you wish to travel to the nearby cities of Cedar Rapids and Iowa City for activities–you can also often find a ride with a friend. 

Students who wish to travel more broadly might wish to bring a vehicle, rent a car, find bus services, or fly to their destination. Cornell is centrally located in the continental United States, but remember that the scale of the country means a trip to either coast is a 12-30 hour drive or a 2-6 hour direct flight.

When you first arrive in Iowa, our shuttle service is available to pick you up from the Eastern Iowa Airport (CID) and bring you and your belongings to campus.

Student organizations

Finding people to engage with at Cornell is going to be easy when you’re willing to reach out to others. The Office of Intercultural Life will help you get started with International Student Orientation the week before the full class of incoming students arrive. You’ll get to know the other international students who are starting the semester with you and learn all about the resources available to you at Cornell. Plus, you’ll have some fun along the way.

We also have an active International Student Organization that schedules student activities and engages with the rest of the college community, offering a window into the culture you had before attending Cornell that enriches your experience and the rest of our community.

And then there are all the other student groups and student government you can get involved in. 

Health and wellbeing

The Ebersole Health and Wellbeing Center offers services for physical health assessments and referrals, mental health counseling, and wellbeing consultations to help you find life balance, reduce stress, stay physically fit, and eat well. All international students are required to sign up for a Cornell health insurance plan that will cover any off-campus health needs or emergency health services.

Another member of our wellbeing team is the college chaplain who offers multi-faith services and support on campus and can help you connect with a religious community of your preference off-campus as well.

Questions?

Please contact us at +1 800.747.1112 or email international@cornellcollege.edu. We answer phones from 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Central Time for the United States (often labeled as Chicago in time conversion apps) unless other arrangements are made.