Students return for 2019-20 academic year

Summer break is winding down and students are returning to campus. 

Fall athletes have already started moving in and final preparations are underway for new Cornellians.

The new class represents 33 states and seven foreign countries. They have a wide range of talents and experiences, including students who founded a clothing company, directed a local children’s theatre camp, volunteered to build houses in Appalachia for four years, worked as the editor-in-chief of the school newspaper, and multiple Eagle Scouts.

“We’re so excited to welcome everyone to campus,” said Director of Residence Life Steven Strope. “Each move-in day brings a new energy to the Hilltop. It’s so much fun to see the joy on returning students’ faces when they reconnect with their friends. We love helping the new students start the first chapter in their Cornell story.”

New Student Orientation (NSO) for first-year students begins on Wednesday, Aug. 21. It’s a tradition for athletes who are already on campus to help first-year students move into their residence halls. A family schedule and a move-in day map are available for that first day. 

The Cornell community is welcome to attend New Student Convocation at 4 p.m. on Aug. 21, which will be held outside of College Hall (rain location: King Chapel) to mark the official beginning of the students’ Cornell experience.

Transfer students move in for their orientation program on Friday, Aug. 23. Students will be in a group with other transfer students and will partake in several activities that will help them learn more about Cornell and the experiences they can anticipate having on campus.

The Intercultural Life Office is also welcoming students for the International Student Orientation and Each One Teach One programs, which help provide successful strategies to navigate the course curriculum and extracurricular activities. 

Residence halls open to the remaining returning students at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 24. Check-in will run from 9 a.m.–9 p.m. on both Saturday, Aug. 24, and Sunday, Aug. 25. 

Following all of the orientation programming and move-in processes, students will get to work during Block 1 of the school year on Aug. 26. First-year students will be the first to experience a common First-Year Seminar (FYS) during Block 1. 

All FYS courses, called Whole Picture: Diving into the Deep, will share a common syllabus, encouraging creative and critical thinking about works from a variety of disciplines. Although all 19 sections will have their own professors, students across sections will focus on cultivating careful reading, discussion, and writing skills. Academic support services and resources, as well as a student success component, will be introduced to the students, emphasizing personal well-being, social connectedness, and academic preparedness.

The common FYS is part of Cornell’s newly adopted Ingenuity curriculum.