<p>Hi Jolynne, my son only came home for Thanksgiving and winter break, but that worked out fine. We live in Lawrenceville so it takes us 4 hours to go there. we went to see him parents weekend and one football game. so far we have picked him up both times to come home because he's a cyclists and needs to bring his bike home to ride with his team. so its worked out ok. as far as activities go I'm sure there are many non drinking things to do. Many sporting events to go to. There is late night Penn State where they play games but his dorm is big on video games. The boys really seem to be into Halo. and for my son his big night out is McDonalds! LOL. His most exciting night so far was when PSU won over Ohio State in footballl and they all rioted downtown. but that is fine he's there to get an education and I know have fun but we are not paying 34K to just have fun. best of luck!</p>
<p>"You really would choose PS/UP over Cornell?"</p>
<p>I also had a good friend that chose Penn State UP over Cornell. Plus, I knew someone that decided to transfer to University Park from Cornell. The good friend went to smeal, which is ranked 21 in the country by US News. I don't remember what the guys major was that transferred. They both seemed very happy with the decision. Happy Valley is a special place and Penn State UP is a great school.</p>
<p>JolynneSmyth...
We're from NJ too and my son was accepted into UP, Smeal for fall. With regard to the whole partying thing,my concern was the opposite of yours. So far there's been no problem issues in HS, but college (away from home and parents) can be another whole thing. A friend of mine whose son is at PSU UP put it in perspective for me when she said it this way: "Your son will be attending a school with 30,000 other kids. That means that he will be able to find people who don't drink at all, drink moderately or are big time partiers. It's not like he's at a small school where he may not be able to find others with things in common with him or he may feel like he doesn't fit in because of the way he decides to socialize." I do know of kids who transferred from smaller schools after their freshman year because they felt that if they did not want to go out drinking on weekends they basically didn't have much to do. I've already started the discussion with my son that he'd better find those who fall into the category of real moderation because we're expecting to see academic achievement and he'll be at a local community college faster then he can blink if he doesn't pull his weight.
Also, I saw something in the housing options about healthy living dorms or something like that where kids have decided to live with other kids who aren't into partying. You could check into that.</p>
<p>I just had dinner with a good friend tonight who's son goes to Cornell. Our boys are Eagle Scouts together. He's having a hard time there. He's an engineering major. My son is at PSU as a International relations major. but apparentely our HS was not as advanced in math as some other HS. Her son also got into PSU but chose Cornell for the name and since his mom whet there. Its very competative and she told him and is not sure if its even the right school for him. but I guess it depends what you want out of life to be honest. as a lot of us know in the end it all depends on who you know! ( how many of you got your job by networking?, I did and am still there 25 years later at one of the top publishing companies in the world) and from experience money does not bring happiness, but yes do the best at what you can do AND also have fun in life. You never know when its going to be taken away from you. I know my son will have fun at PSU and unforgettable memories and very supportive parents.</p>
<p>"My son chose PSU over Cornell. He loves PSU and has had fantastic summer internships and will graduate with zero debt. Wonderful decision!" - Knitkneelionmom</p>
<p>Knitkneelionmom: I love the idea of zero debt! And healthy living dorms!</p>
<p>i'm glad my parents weren't as hardcore about college stuff as you all seem to be...</p>
<p>And you are on CC because...?</p>