Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus Top Questions

Penn State has a strong football tradition. Most people are from the NE US and are white. There is little diversity among students but the university does try to promote diversity. Another huge function is THON, which is run by the inter- fraternity council. A lot of Greeks and nongreeks participate and millions of dollars have been raised for childhood cancer research. I enjoy the size of Penn State, I wanted to go to a large university and Penn State fit right into that category.

i love going to psu, i couldn't imagine being anywhere else. i love the size of it. when i tell people i go to psu, they seem impressed. and sometimes jealous! on campus i spend most of my time in classrooms or at the hub. i love the college town atmosphere. i had a friend visit once and she said she felt like she was in a movie. i think that the administration does a good job. its hard to run a school this large. the biggest recent controversy on campus was probably all of the protests with the anti-sweatshop group. there is a ridiculous amount of school pride, and i love that about this school.

Its a little city in the middle of PA, so definitely "college town". Everythings great about PSU: the classes, teachers, students, environment...etc I always get a great reaction when I tell someone I attended PSU.

I like that psu is a really big school. Some of my friends who go to smaller schools think that they would feel lost if they went here but the truth is that psu has a small town feel even though it's so large. I run into people I know all the time, and I like not knowing everybody. It's fun meeting new people and making new friends.

Penn State is a Land Grant school (aka, "Big 10"). It's large, classes are large, students are mostly expected to navigate their educations and daily lives on their own. The town is an isolated, "college town", and after graduating and leaving I find truely was a "Happy Valley" Bubble. The advantages are that everywhere I've gone, even if people don't recognize "Penn State" (like out here on the west coast), they sure as hell recognize Joe Paterno, and that's pretty cool. I've never met anyone who doesn't root for Jo Pa. Also, of course, there's a very wide range of classes and activities, a huge slew of athletic facilities, incredible football fever, a beautiful campus, and a national reputation. Disadvantages, in my opinion, are the relative lack of diversity among students (lots of pretty well-off white middle class kids who all seem to fit in one of 6 different personality types), a general "I'm here only to get my degree" academic sentiment, general lack of personal attention/time from professors and counselors, a town that revolves around getting drunk, and a little bit of police overkill (lots of ticketing and focusing on drunken college students and "drug busts" for pot).

The best thing about Penn State is a toss up between the people and the football. Football Saturday is the best representation of the Penn State spirit. Lots of friends talking about the good times, meeting new people, eating drinking, having a great time with you love the most in world. People are so passionate about football. The team, the energy, Joe Pa, all inspire Penn State to excellence. My school is just right. i have a great group of friends, but there are 44.000 people on campus. it can be overwhelming only if it you let it. state college definitely cateers to the students. Without Penn State, State College won't exist. School pride is everywhere, it's rediculous. I think that's the thing penn state's known for, definitely our spirit.

the size of the school is just right. there is a lot of school pride. it is a college town.

Penn State is just right. I spend most of my time at the library. It is a college town.

Someone visiting PSU from a city school once said "This isn't a real place...this isn't the real world", and I think that's fairly accurate. It's essentially a miniature city in the middle of rural Pennsylvania tailored entirely to 40,000 college students. The large majority of "downtown" is made up of apartment complexes, bars, and restaurants, though you can find pretty much anything you need. Despite the size of the student body, the campus is small enough that you can walk anywhere you need to be in 10-15 minutes. During the day the HUB will be packed with students grabbing a bite to eat, having group meetings, or killing time in between classes. On a nice day you can find tons of people throwing the football or Frisbee around on the HUB or Old Main lawn, or grabbing a drink outside at the cafe. On a Friday or Saturday night the students leaving parties downtown will line up for $1 slices of Canyon pizza. The football games are something everyone on campus loves, even if you're not the biggest football fan. The tailgating always starts first thing in the morning and there will be tailgaters around the stadium as far as the eye can see. Nothing compares to a night game at Beaver Stadium. PSU students have an inordinate amount of school pride, and alum are constantly going back and visiting.

The atmosphere, the students, the professors, the buildings and the HUB. Just right. They are impressed. HUB, computer labs and the Pattee. College town. There is a lot of school pride. One frequent complain is tuition is too high, another is book cost.