Cornell University Pre-Orientation Program: Outdoor Odyssey (formerly Wilderness Reflections)

Are you ready for Cornell University? Join other incoming students for a short trip before coming to Cornell. You'll make 8 new friends and meet two awesome upperclassman. Sign up in February. Just don't miss your chance!

Category:

Education

Tags:

• cornell
• odyssey
• outdoor
• eduation
• wilderness
• reflection
• university
• ithaca
• orientation
• freshman
• preorientation
• transition
• college

[sirtfdon]

I've taken many students climbing, hiking, paddling, and on interpretive trips for less than even this. Publish a budget and let us see where more than 75% of the money is going. The rest is marketing. Fortunately, only about 5% of incoming students waste their money on this.

[sirtfdon]

A typical fee of $400. No money to the guides (you may count "leadership" training as significant -- as an academic I regard it as baloney). Food costs for the various trips: about $10 per day (this comes from trip leaders). Transport costs: negligible for local "trips", gas costs to more distant domains may be $30 apiece. That comes out to a maximum of $70 for a reasonable "at-cost" fee. Where does the rest go?

[gapster99]

@sirtfdon However, guides receive months of free training (other outdoor organizations charge for training), subsidized medical training (guides are required to have WFA or WFR), the ability to take COE courses at a discounted rated to develop their outdoor leadership and other benefits. I guided three Odyssey courses for "free" and would do it again in a heart beat. Outdoor Odyssey is a wonderful program at Cornell that is doing very important work!

[gapster99]

@sirtfdon The focus of each program is different. COE courses are educational in nature, teaching skills. Odyssey trips teaches skills, but are focused more on helping new Cornell students transition to college life by connecting one another. I have seen lasting friendships created in a few short days. It's amazing what happens out there. Yes, students guides do not walk away with a pay check similar to orientation volunteers.

[gapster99]

@sirtfdon as an almuni and producer of this video, i thought i should clarify some of your misinformation. First, Outdoor Odyssey is not a money making operation, in fact for years it operated at a deficit as it tried to keep the trips as inexpensive as possible. I would disagree that they are "functionally same to their commercial offerings" and an instructor who has taught both for Odyssey (WR when I was at Cornell) and COE.

[sirtfdon]

Be aware that the second student interviewed now retracts his statements. The organization is "student run" in name only -- all the money goes to Cornell Outdoor Education, a business-like enterprise, which is why these trips cost so much. In fact these tours are functionally identical to their commercial offerings in the rest of the year, except as a special bonus they don't pay the student guides. Come to Cornell, meet friends, go camping. The rest is irrelevant.