Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus Top Questions

The most common response I get from people when I say I go to Penn State is,"Wow, main campus, that's awesome, how do you like it?" When I say,"yes, main campus and I love it" they question me more about my major, my living situation, and the football season. People always seem excited to talk me about Penn State and I am more then happy to answer any questions they have. As for school pride, I can't think of a school that has more. The students here are proud to say they go to Penn State and the alumni I know can't wait to come back. Students wear shirts that say 'I bleed blue and white' and there is nothing prouder then proclaiming that you bleed your school colors. A well-known quote among Penn State students says "It's becoming a part of something that becomes a part of you." Students become a part of something at Penn State. Penn State is more than just a university, it's a way of living. Once students get accustomed to the Penn State way of life, it stays with them forever. We do not just become part of the Penn State community, the spirit of Penn State becomes a part of who we are.

The best thing about Penn State is the school spirit. Even though it's a huge school, love for the Blue and White and the Nittany Lions makes it seem like a smaller community. There is nothing quite like cheering on a home football game with over 100,000 other fans. I'll always remember "State Patty's Day" last year. Saint Patrick's Day fell during PSU's spring break, so the student body banded together to create their own holiday. It was amazing to see everyone wearing green and celebrating on a random day in March. To make it even better, the tradition is continuing this year even though St. Patty's Day won't fall during spring break.

The best thing about Penn State is its abundance of possibilities. These possibilities are not only a result of the staggering number of majors, clubs, and organizations, but also the number of its students. I am constantly meeting new people here, and because of this have developed a large network of friends that I know I will keep throughout my life. This constant possiblity of meeting new people makes Penn State's size idyllic. Some people consider the size of the campus daunting, however getting from class to class is not at all as difficult as some people perceive it to be. Due to Penn State's size, its students tend to stay on or near campus in between classes. Many people gather at the Hub to watch the news on the big screen, read the campus paper, catch up on work, find out about upcoming events, buy tickets, get involved, eat, meet with friends,etc. Students also take their laptops and books downtown where they do their work in cafés like Webster’s, Irving’s or Saint’s. Recently, I've been spending a lot of my free time at Webster's, where I've met a great deal of interesting people. Although the college town may appear to be small, it has a wide variety of restaurants, bars, and stores.

When I hear the phrase: Big Picture, four years at PSU flash past my eyes. A mixture of football games, boring classes, fun classes, great friends, and all in all the best memories of my life generally define my time at PSU. If I had to change one thing about coming to PSU, it'd be how I went about choosing my major. I came to PSU as "undecided" thinking I had all the time in the world to pick my major. I took classes for History, Business, Psychology and finally found happiness in English, second semester of my sophomore year! I am now a senior taking 19.5 credits, which is not the best situation to be in. Just take the time to sit down and consider all of your options, and consult the helpful advisers that the college for undecided students assigns to you. Believe me, you won't regret it when you only have to take 12 credits your last semester at PSU! If you're looking for a "college town", you're looking for downtown State College. Yes, our downtown/adjacent city is called State College, you can look it up if you don't believe me. As you drive westbound on College Avenue, you'll see PSUs campus on the right and possibly the most picturesque, "cute" college town on your left. Small clothing boutiques, bookstores, bars, pizza joints, burger joints, herds of students, you name it, all line the streets of downtown state college. Students can't help but smile as they stroll down the red brick sidewalks with friends, knowing they're safe and amongst family. We're known as Happy Valley, for a reason! As winter rolls around, you'll stare out your window and wonder: "Why did I come here again?" To say that we have bad winters, is an understatement. It gets cold, windy, snowy, rainy, cloudy, and sometimes all at the same time! I will be frank and say, I didn't come here for the weather. If you like the sun, stay away;if you can handle harsh weather, I can guarantee the positives outweigh the negatives. As I'm sure you can tell, I've had mostly great things to say about my school. The pride that students leave PSU with is tremendous. I saw this pride on my first football weekend, as I walked past miles and miles of alumni tailgates. There's a magic about PSU that keeps bringing people back, and that is the big picture!

When I mention to anyone (family, co-workers, acquaintances) that I go to Penn State the first question out of their mouth is, “How often do you get wasted (sometimes this is replaced with schwasted)?” I laugh it off. Yes, I’m in college. I’m twenty-one. I drink. I just think that’s part of the college atmosphere. That’s not all I (or any of my friends) do though. We all work hard for our grades and paychecks. Otherwise we wouldn’t be here, right? I go back and forth on the size of the school. For example, when I’m riding the White Loop crammed with freshmen and being pushed back and forth because of the overstuffed space, I think why did they let all these people in? But usually I think the size of the student body is perfect. The student population is small enough to carve your own niche of friends and acquaintances, and large enough sort of “blend in” should you choose to. I hear my friends complain that the “college town” part of Penn State isn’t very good at all. There are too many bars(!), not enough variety of businesses and a lack of student jobs. I have to agree with that. I like to try new places so the plethora of bars and restaurants are fine by me, but I do wish there were more businesses downtown like: a quality movie theater, more retail clothing stores, and a larger scale grocery store. That’s sort of a fickle request, but it would open up more jobs and commerce for college students.

One of the best aspects of PSU is that it’s located in a true college town. State College, Pennsylvania is Penn State; everything in town is aimed toward the students. Students can walk almost anywhere, and this is beneficial for when you spend a spring afternoon at Mad Mex downing the 5-shots-of-tequila margaritas or want to make your way home from the frats at 2 AM. Although State College isn’t exactly a shopping or restaurant mecca, it has enough to keep us satisfied. There is a ridiculous amount of school pride, especially when it comes to our football team. Our 81-year-old head coach Joe Paterno is somewhat of a legend, and Beaver Stadium packs in over 100,000 for every game. Football Saturdays at PSU are phenomenal if you like the all-American college scene. Let me give you a run-through. It’s late September and the weather is chilly but it’s still warm enough to wear your “I TAILGATE WITH THE BEST” t-shirt. Your alarm goes off at 10 AM. Your head is pounding from Friday night’s festivities, and getting up at this time would be unheard of on any other Saturday. But with the 3 PM kickoff time, you have to make it to the field soon for at least four full hours of tailgating. You walk to the field outside of the stadium with your friends, and the sun is beginning to peek out from behind the clouds. Until kickoff, you move from one tailgate spot to the next, whether it’s a fraternity’s or an organization’s, drinking warm beer and socializing. If your parents aren’t tailgating, at least one friend of yours has parents that are, so you stop by their tailgate to eat food that is, at this point, the best you’ve ever tasted. You head into the stadium and sing, jump, and cheer until it begins to get dark and the game is over. You go home, nap, shower, and go back out to celebrate the win. Throughout the evening, cowbells can be heard and screaming fans gather in “Beaver Canyon,” a place between campus and the frats. Football players can be found here too, basking in the attention and glory. PSU is a big university, but it becomes less and less intimidating as you get used to it. It’s easy to make friends on your floor when you are a freshman living in one of the dorms, and since there are so many extracurricular activities here, it is hard not to meet people. The love that people have for this school usually never goes away. I often hear about seniors getting job offers because someone who reviewed their application happened to be an alum, and he/she forwarded it to someone higher up, and so on….

Penn State has the largest Alumni Association in the nation. When I tell people I go to Penn State, the response is usually, "Me too!" Especially living in Pennsylvania, where Penn State is a popular school to attend, I have always been very proud to name drop. While Penn State has a million aspects to glorify, one of the most charming details is the "White Loop." The White Loop is a bus, but an unexpected, extraordinary experience. On weekends the freshman ride the bus to the frats, they travel for a half hour going through campus and down town singing Journey songs, chanting cheers, and making new friends in moments. It is not only a literal form of social mobility, but it is always on time. It is reliable, like Penn State and the friends you make here.

The best thing about Penn State is its ability to be so malleable. You can absolutely make it anything you want. If you're the type of person who wants to slip through the cracks, you can make that happen very easily. However, if you want to get to know the professors and students in your classes, you can make that happen as well. We have a couple hundred student run organizations, so chances are that you can find one that suits you well, if that's what you want. If not, no one's forcing you to be involved. The main campus has 40,000 students. It's easy to be just a number or to be known by professors and peers; it really is all in what you want. You'd be surprised how many people know your school. All you have to do is say something about Penn State to elicit a "WE ARE!". I spend much of my time at the HUB. It's one of the main buildings on campus, and has a bookstore, multiple eateries, and plenty of study areas among other things. It's in the middle of campus, so it's a great place to hang out between classes. It even has a movie theater inside, which is used at least every weekend for Late Night - a program used to detour students from drinking. They have cheap food, a movie that is not yet released on DVD, games, and events going on from Thursday to Sunday nights. Besides just hanging out at the HUB, there's plenty to do in State College on the weekends. It is a true college town. We have a bus system running from the back edge of campus to the town all day and during much of the night. Of course there are the bars and frats, but we also have numerous coffee shops, clothing stores, memorabilia stores, you name it. The whole town (as the name suggests) focuses around the university. While there may be some locals who are not affiliated with the university in any way, I have yet to find one. Chances are the only people you'll see around town are between the ages of 18 and 30, and a professor every once in a while. Like I mentioned, football is huge at Penn State, but so are many other varsity sports. Both men's and women's volleyball are doing very well, as is soccer, lacrosse, basketball, baseball, and hockey. We love our teams and our school. It is not uncommon to see more people at a hockey game on a Friday night than there are at a frat. Either way, whether you're at a sporting event or not, you can guarantee to hear "WE ARE" and reply "PENN STATE" just about every day. The one major problem here is parking. There are few lots and even less spaces to park down town. It is far easier to take a bus to wherever you're going than to have a car here. I have a car, but I rarely use it. It is parked about two miles from campus off a bus route, and I haven't used it for about three weeks. It really is more hassle than it's worth. It's nice when you really need it in an emergency or whatever, but other than that it's just not worth it.

Penn State is a huge campus, with over 40,000 students who live in this "Happy Valley." It is a beautiful campus as well. And State College, PA, is the perfect example of a college town. I think when I moved here I was amazed that there were few children and elderly folks. The town is built around this university, but it gives you an amazing feeling to be surrounded by so many kids the same age as you. It's like a playground for college kids. Penn State prides itself on bleeding "blue and white" (translation: an enormous amount of school pride). I don't think you can be anywhere in the state of Pennsylvania without seeing someone's car with a lion paw bumper sticker or the vanity license plates reading something like "PSU GRL." I remember when I was getting ready to go to college and my mom kept buying me Penn State gear. I mean, she went a bit overboard. She bought pens, stickers, bed sheets, pillows, notebooks, pajama pants, toothbrush holders, a book bag. When she came home with a PSU laundry basket, I put my foot down. I didn't want people at school to think I was obsessed with Penn State. When I actually moved here, I discovered there is no such thing as being too in love with Penn State. Needless to say, I was a bit disappointed I had my mom return the laundry basket. My three years thus far at Penn State have been an amazing ride. Yet I still look back with fond memories at freshman year. Sure, we all pick on freshmen once we graduate to the next class, but I think we all want to relive that first year on campus. I came from a tiny high school (graduating class: 119), so I knew that it was going to be a big transition. I remember walking into my dorm room and meeting my new roommate for the first time; the cute, preppy girl standing there with her equally cute, preppy friend. When my dad and I went back downstairs to get more boxes, I burst out crying. How was she going to like me? Me, the girl who walked in there in a Zeppelin t-shirt with a guitar case in one hand and tie-dye poster in the other, humming a CSNY tune. How is that girl ever going to relate to me? "That girl" ended up being one of my best friends and shattered all the illusions about people I had built up in my prior nineteen years. Being a freshman at Penn State is one of the best experiences I would ever bestow on anyone. My entire tiny life was nothing compared to that first year here. Secretly drinking in the dorms, learning that a B isn't the end of the world, finding your own voice among 40,000 others, meeting people who turn your entire world on its head. Penn State has a lot to offer both inside and outside the classroom, but it’s really the students here who make a difference. Like I said before, we all bleed blue and white.

Ah, Penn State. Creamery Ice cream, it's cheap, amazing and the fat content is so high that they are not allowed to sell it anywhere but the Penn State Creamery, yummmmmy. Penn State is also a pretty diverse campus. The people you meet are from a wide variety of different backgrounds and a lot are pretty weird too. It makes for some interesting friday nights. The campus is also beautiful... especially on the 3 days a year that it isn't snowing or raining : ) Penn State's campus is HUGE. It probably takes about 25 minutes to walk from one end of campus to another, and you can guarantee that you'll have to do that walk in less than 15 minutes between classes at least once a semester. It's inevitable. And, despite the "ginormous" campus (if you will), you do see a lot more people that you know than you would expect. So, when you roll out of bed on Monday in your cookie monster PJ's and slippers without brushing your hair or teeth, expect to see that hot crush you have from your Tuesday/Thursday class as you pass the HUB. Also inevitable. Oh and the HUB is a definite major hang out and meeting place. But, if you're meeting a study group at the HUB, don't expect to get much more accomplished than people watching and gossip. State College is definitely a college town, when the students leaver, there is probably around 1,000 people with a State College address (that is a random number of course). We have a Hooters and $1.00 pizza (it's only good when you're drunk though, trust me) - but what more could you ask for? One experience I will always remember from Penn State is when we wore Virginia Tech colors to our home football game to support the tragedy at VT. It's amazing how well Penn State can pull together for a cause and seeing that crimson and orange "S" in the crowd was awesome! On a less somber note, however, it is also amazing how 40,000 students can pull together to change a national holiday: STATE Patty's Day anyone? You can't get 40,000 students to vote for the president of the United States but you can get them to change a holiday. Hmm, maybe we should serve alcohol at the polls. The biggest recent controversy on campus was also about VT. A few students seemed to find humor in dressing up as Virginia Tech victims for Halloween. I don't believe I have ever felt so ashamed to tell someone I attended Penn State as I did in the weeks following Halloween of 2007. The biggest student complaint: TUITION. Penn State is the highest tuition of any state school in the country, and they don't really give us shit. We pay extra for football tickets and gym memberships - and the cost of everything still goes up every year.