1.) Penn State University is a popular campus, often a dream school for students.
The housing authorities know this and run with it. Be prepared to be pissed off by the ridiculousness of apartment searching and the price tag that may come with it. In October of my freshman year, my friends and I had to prepare our hunt for next year’s habitat. The climax of this came with an all nighter, camping out on Beaver Street in front of the housing office in line with hundreds of others to snag a spot. This was a stress filled night, one of manipulation and bribery as many tried to use different tactics to get a better place in line.
The real kicker is, even once your all squared away with a potential roof over your head, you may be paying upwards of 800 dollars a month for a single, or 400 a month to share a room with two others (in a room not suitable in size for such situations). Ah, the joys of overpopulation and extreme demand. My tip is to somehow find a way to avoid the in demand housing situation by hitting the black market for sublets and avoiding the most popular housing companies. And housing is only one of the pain points at Penn State University.
2.) If you have been lucky enough to have lived without setting foot in a Greyhound bus.
It is time to start getting yourself familiar with public transit as your main mode of trans-portal, avoid having a car on campus because it will cost an arm and a leg if the rent didn’t take them already. I am talking about hundreds a month, and this doesn’t include the towing expenses and parking tickets you are likely going to acquire.
Penn State has a bus station that gives affordable rides to many places in the state; I took it for 20 bucks many times. And as far as getting around campus goes, put a little health in your step by walking the sometimes 30 minutes to a classroom on this massive campus, or take the local and convenient Blue or White Loop. Besides, giving a little bit less money to big oil by reducing the use of your individual car should be celebrated!
3.) One morning you’ll be lounging on the lawn.
Despising the blinding sunlight as it amplifies your hangover, craving an Are U Hungry sub, when you’ll hear a little voice inside. And he is going to say, “Wake the BLEEP up”. The bubble of living at Penn State is a hard one to pop, and it is easy to lose yourself to selfish desires and ego induced partying. In a town wholly dedicated to the college, blue and white sweat dripping from every pore, it is imperative to remember that there is more to life than your current standing in the beer bong competition or who slept with who last night.
This is not to say don’t have a good time, it is merely just a reminder to keep in touch with the outside world, connect yourself to something other than yourself, and stay grounded or the wake up call is going to be a bit harsher and louder when you emerge from your four year daydream. This was one of the reasons I transferred out of Penn State University.
4.) Avoid setting yourself up for failure by settling for professors.
I had already taken Trigonometry in high school yet somehow failed out of my first semester freshman year simply because I couldn’t understand my professor’s accent. First off, take the precautions of doing your research ahead of time. Look online and ask around people love talking about their experiences. Second, be a bit more determined than I was and switch after the first frustrating week! Why settle when Trig teachers are plentiful on this huge campus. Lastly, don’t avoid office hours. Swallow your pride and put some time into one on one attention (I eventually learned this sophomore year and it saved me!) Your GPA and mental health will be happy you did.
5.) One regret I have is avoiding.
The immense opportunities available in terms of clubs, inter-murals, and volunteering opportunities. I didn’t take advantage because I was “too busy”. Granted, I was the only one of my friends with a job and a full course load, however, college is about being busy and frankly I could have done without a night or two of partying in place of some character building and service learning. Get your priorities straight and your values in line!One awesome thing is Penn State allows students to start their own student-run organizations. On a campus of 40,000 students, the interests are far and wide, so if you want to start a club dedicated to say, talking gibberish, you will no doubt find some loyal followers.
Carmen G Ruvie attended Penn State University in 2009 and has been vagabonding ever since. She holds a degree in Sustainable Community Development and hopes to inspire young folks to question everything