Five Things I Wish I Had Known Before Attending York College of Pennsylvania

When I moved 200 miles away from my childhood home in Upstate New York to an unfamiliar state at age 17, I had no idea what I was in for. I was fresh out of high school and ready to taste a real city and a legitimate Bachelor’s program for Professional Writing. Thus, beautiful cherry blossom trees were enough incentive for me to choose the York College of Pennsylvania. When I first received a tour of the college, I was blown away. I’ve always been a sucker for visuals. I don’t remember much of the actual tour except for the very animated tour guide I was too busy taking in the beautiful foliage placed strategically around the campus and the tall, mesmerizing, window-laden buildings.

The tour took us through a street full of gorgeous little houses. At the time, it seemed like quite a trek, but after I became a student the walk between what was known as “west campus” and “main campus” became just another corridor of the college. Main campus consisted mainly of classrooms, student services buildings, and the freshman dorm halls. West Campus was used for upperclassmen amenities and the impressive Grumbacher Fitness Center. As a freshman sardined with 50 other girls on a single floor of the freshman hall, I could tell immediately that West Campus was an upgrade. I wish I had known that, and these five other things before attending York College of PA.

1.) Only fourth-year students are permitted to live off campus at YCP.

Nice as they were, however, the upperclassmen dorms were a bit on the expensive side. Even as a senior, “school approved housing” was the only other option. This was a bit of a joke, considering most of said housing was on Jackson Street, also known as the “party street.” Though it is only two streets away from main campus, it’s pretty easy to steer clear of if you aren’t looking for it. But on Friday and Saturday nights, you can almost smell the weed and alcohol from the dorms. Jackson Street was the border between the nice, shiny college, and the questionable city of York.

2.) York City as a whole isn’t a very safe place.

Every college has its share of crime, but it seemed as if there was a “Timely Warning Notification” at least once a week, reporting that a student had been robbed right near campus, and usually on Jackson Street. The warnings were usually mild in nature, but there were a few instances I can remember where a knife or gun was involved. The school is not without precautions, however, and I do admit that the campus safety police are vigilant. I would often see them on my walks at night. The college also began installing booths at all of the vehicle entrances into the college in an attempt to regulate questionable traffic.

3.) And then there was the food.

They fool you when you come for a school visit; a lesson quickly learned among new students. They put out the quality selection for parents, guests, and school tours, and then for the rest of the semester (except for holidays; they weren’t that cruel) it was “Cardboard City.” I honestly wish I would have known that buying my own food instead of a meal plan would have saved a lot of money and taste buds. The one saving grace is the West Campus food court. An ice cream machine, a “grille” with quality junk food, and a recognizable salad bar made a world of difference. I wasn’t picky and I ate the food at the main food court and didn’t complain much because there was at least a good selection most days. But the difference between the two dining halls was laughable.

Interested in York College of PA? Read more of Jamie’s experience in her 5 Things to Avoid at YCP.

4.) YCP should have been named “York Wetlands College.”

Some of the students joke that a curse being cast over the campus long ago is the only logical explanation for the unreasonable amount of precipitation. I wouldn’t be surprised if I have a pair of shoes somewhere that still aren’t fully dried from the week-long rain showers. If you hate wet socks, I would reconsider visiting the campus in the fall or spring. Luckily, the only body of water near campus is the tiny river running between the freshman dorms and the rest of Main Campus. Something unique to the college, the “inverted bridge,” is a piece of road that actually runs under the river.

It is a nice idea in theory, but with the frequency the road is closed due to flooding, a bit impractical. Its medium size and variety of buildings for each area of study does give York College a very cozy, community-like feel. Every major has a specific area in which they can go to study or seek academic aid. Writers have the writing cave in the basement of the humanities building, engineers have a beautiful, repurposed shop all their own, musicians and the artists have multiple rooms and galleries in Wolf Hall, thespians have a large part of the Humanities building with two stages, science majors have a state-of-the-art ecology building and a handful of personalized labs, and sports majors have the grand, expansive Grumbacher Center.

5.) The Tuition Inflation.

As a private school, price isn’t something that should shock anyone. It went up at least $1,000 every year that I attended. On YCP’s behalf, I will say that they did put the money back into the college and to good use. Since I graduated, they have held more charity volunteer drives than ever before, built upon the gorgeous ecology center, developed the art and landscape in and around the college, and added more buildings and amenities for all of the students. They’ve even added a fair selection to the dining hall since I’ve been gone, giving the students more options for a variety of different dietary needs. Taste-wise, it has been upgraded to a flavored “Cardboard City.”

Jamie Lyn Sawczyszyn graduated from York College of Pennsylvania in 2013 with a Bachelor’s in Professional Writing. She is currently planning to move to Philadelphia to expand on her education while teaching ballroom dancing in her spare time.