Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus Top Questions

They who are proud to go to their university and feel tremendous pride. Most are enthusiastic about their major(s) and desire to have careers they enjoy upon graduating. They feel comfortable enough to express their views in the classroom and with their friends. Many of them go the extra mile to attain hands-on experience in their fields of interests. They often do extra-curricular activities to relieve stress, but they still make a point of getting their work done in a timely fashion. Most are friendly, kind and want to give of themselves as much as possible.

The students at Penn State are generally very happy and focused on academics, fun, and community service. With so many student organizations, it easy for individuals to find their niche, and as a result, most students quickly mold into a group of a friends. Through the many areas of involvement [sports, philanthropy, greek life, etc] students consistently interact with other student groups and help each other to promote programs and grow together.

It would be impossible to describe the students at Penn State; it is such a diverse group of students. There are students from all over the country and all over the world. There are students from all different kinds of religions and backgrounds. With the amount of students and varying interests, I think it would be really hard for someone to feel out of place once they found their niche. However, if you don't make an attempt to explore what is available to you throughout the entire campus and reach out to new people, it might be a different story. Most students wear casual clothing to class, even sweatpants and sweatshirts. There are not dress codes for class, at least I never had one, unless you are doing a presentation. You really can wear whatever you like. Some people dress up in a suit (rare), others wear a hoodie and sweatpants - it is all preference.

Some are passionate and some are there because its pratically a free ride.

Penn State students are hard working, creative and dillgient people who take pride in the excellence and reputation of their school.

Our student population is incredibly diverse. We have students of a great range of races. In almost every class, there are at least 6 varying nationalities. Students are also religiously diverse. We have Christians, Agnostics, Atheists, Muslims, Buddhists, Jews, etc. We also have correlating student organizations as well as an LGBT chapter. PennState is a very accepting and open campus. We haven't had many run-ins of religious or racial oppression. Occasionally you'll find groups lined up by our central location on campus known as the Hub protesting certain events, political campaigns, or religious morals, but they've never cause a large problems. Socially, these diverse groups blend. It's very easy to find an Asian befriending and Italian and an athlete to befriend a mathlete. Clothes no longer define economic status. However, Northface jackets still seem to be the prominent choice for outerwear. Other than that, you'll find students showing up in sweatpants to class. You'll also find students showing up with pink hair.

Honestly, our school is not as diverse as other schools. I am not sure why this is. Almost every African-American student seems to be a collegiate athlete (but as there are many sports, there is a fairly large population). We seem to also have a decent amount of students of Asian decent. Overall, however, I do feel like our school lacks diversity. However, I do know that we have a very strong LGBT presence on campus. There are many clubs and organizations that help make LGBT community feel welcome on campus. There is even a gay fraternity that was recently created. The LGBT community does a fantastic job during pride week with its various programs and support group offerings. If there are four tables of students in the dining hall, they would each be different. One would be the sorority girls and fraternity boys. These seem to be the stereotypical pretty people who never leave each others sides. Then there would be the athlete table. Student athletes are very easy to spot as they always are wearing Penn State Nike apparel and are in fantastic shape. We also have a large population of agriculture students, so they would be the next table. They all seem to wear camouflage Penn state ball caps or some form of camouflage on them. Finally, the last table would be the typical Penn State student table. These are the average students that sit with their group of friends. These tend to be the groups of friends that meet freshmen year and remain best friends throughout college. It usually consists of a group of about 15-20 students that are a mix of male and female and usually one or two couples. Almost all students from Penn State are from Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, anywhere in New Jersey, Long Island, then a handful from the Washington D.C. area and various towns in New York. Penn State seems to be about 4 hours away from most large cities, which makes a nice road trip. There is not a lot of diversity in terms of out of state students. I am from Chicago, and I know about 10 other students from the midwest and a handful of students from other states such as Florida and California. Most students wear sweat pants to class, although some students do wear jeans and nice shirts. A lot of girls wear leggings and baggy t-shirts while the boys tend to wear sweatpants and a t-shirt. Anything but high heels for girls seems to be acceptable. I definitely feel like most Penn State students financially fall in the range of middle class to upper middle class. There are some students who are very weatlhy and also some that do not have very much money, but most students seem to have enough money to support themselves in school. Penn State is not known for its scholarships and is also a fairly expensive instate school.

I'm not going to lie, Penn State is considered a party school...and if this scares you, don't let it. I am not interested in a big party scene myself, and I've had nights where I've been up at 3 in the morning eating pizza, playing twister, and watching movies in a dorm basement with friends from work. There are ways to have fun and you certainly won't run into it frequently if you aren't looking. There really are enough different types of students, that you will find a comfort zone. For example, I met my best friends through the jobs I've had, and through a blue band audition (even though I didn't make it.) Two totally different groups, and yet the experiences have been great in meeting new people.

The student body is diverse, which is why I love it here. There are students of different racial, religious, and socio-economic backgrounds. There are international students, transfer students from commonwealth campuses, and students who grew up in State College.

My classmates are dedicated and committed to the foundations of a quality education.