Ask Me Anything

[cosmicfish]

<p>Hope you don’t mind, but I’ll toss in some answers as well…</p>

<p>

1.How do minors affect life later on? Do they hold any weight in the world at large? Are they worth it? Is it smarter to pick a minor with closer relations to your major, in say mathematics, than philosophy?

Very little, if at all. A minor can steer your initial career choices, or make it a little easier to change fields going into grad school, but they are of generally little value and not usually worth going out of your way for.</p>

<p>

2. Have any interactions with Schreyer’s Honor’s College affected your time in college, beneficially, maliciously? What benefit does such an honor hold in the ‘real world’?

Few people outside PSU will know SHC, but it provides a ton of benefits that are very visible - better chances at good classes, opportunities for advanced study and research, etc. The added cost is primarily time spent in honors classes and doing a thesis, but the SHC grad I know thought it was worthwhile even after graduation.</p>

<p>

3. I’ve read some on your advice on choosing Honors College, and you’ve been extraordinarily helpful. Now for the stupid question: What benefit of Honors Courses actually exists academically? How does it translate into professional life?

Honors classes just go into more depth than regular classes. This means more of a time commitment, but also means that you retain more and are better prepared for more advanced study or work in those fields. Honors classes in non-major classes will likely have little bearing on your academic or professional careers.</p>

<p>

5. Roommates: What were the major life lessons learned concerning them? Any good stories ? Or simple advice?

If you take the random offerings, life can be tough. At the same time, living with a friend can either strengthen or destroy your friendship. Personally, I recommend living alone, but that’s me.</p>

<p>

6. Did you develop a workout/nutrition routine at college? How difficult is it to stay healthy at UP?

It is easy to create such a routine, but also easy to destroy it. College encourages a lot of time spent sitting reading or at a computer - if you don’t make a deliberate effort to eat healthy and exercise you WILL see that “Freshman 15” come your way. There are a lot of resources for you, you just have to make a conscious effort to use them.</p>

<p>

7. How did you go about creating study-groups? Was it all just sort of bonding pre-post class or in Recitation perhaps? I don’t know if there’s a kind of eBlackboard-esque type of format that people communicate electronically thoughout the class?

I usually grabbed people I knew from previous classes or groups, along with others in the class who looked competent, friendly, and/or nearby. I am not sure if there are any electronic tools for this right now.</p>

<p>

9. Favorite places to study on campus?

Pattee library - quiet.
HUB - loud, but convenient to food.
Glassed in section a end of Hammond building, quiet when available.
Computer labs - most used, and if you are an engineer generally quiet and convenient.</p>

[Tsotanga]

<p>Thank you very much for your answers cosmic. Of course, I invite any and all to pitch in :D. A little knowledge of the ins-and-outs is really quite valuable.</p>

[Duke26]

<p>Thanks cosmicfish for answering all those.</p>

<p>I’d also add in the Stacks as a good study place, I feel bad for sneezing in there.</p>

[Duke26]

<p>Highly recommend reading all of these. And bookmarking this website for future use, it’s essentially the unofficial PSU news source.</p>

<p>[Freshmen</a> 101: On-Campus Life - Onward State](<a href=“http://onwardstate.com/2011/08/08/freshmen-101-on-campus-life/]Freshmen”>Freshmen 101: On-Campus Life)</p>

[Duke26]

<p>BbBuUuMmMpPp</p>

[caramello12]

<p>Do you know when the Involvement Fair is this year?</p>

[Duke26]

<p>Sorry for being so late with this.</p>

<p>I can’t seem to find an exact date to it, though I doubt it’s out yet. Read the Collegian or walk through the HUB and you’ll figure it out soon enough.</p>

[Duke26]

<p>Bump bump bump</p>

[kpattz]

<p>I just applied, and I put down Summer session just in case. I really think I could get in without, but I want to be safe. So does that mean that if I’m accepted I’m automatically put in Summer? So if I wanted to skip summer session I could? Like…if they thought I was good enough that Summer could be optional for me? I hope you get what I’m saying.</p>

[Duke26]

<p>Ok that’s what I did, better safe than sorry.</p>

<p>If you’re accepted, they’ll tell you if you’re accepted for Fall or Summer. By the sound of it, you’ll just get sent straight to Fall admission.</p>

<p>Idk what you mean by “if they thought I was good enough that Summer could be optional for me,” especially since you think you’ll get into Fall.</p>

[kpattz]

<p>You answered my question, I was just talking circles around myself trying to explain it.</p>

[Duke26]

<p>HELP ME PROCRASTINATE</p>

<p>bump</p>

[pamom59]

<p>Duke 26 I’ll help! I have a friend whose D is a freshman at Penn State, and is from OOS. She is having a hard time adjusting and finding that the girls in her dorm are not so nice to her and prefer to hang with girls they already know from high school. Do you find this is a common situation for OOS students at Penn State and do you have any advice for this freshman?</p>

[slipjig]

<p>I have some advice. My daughter is in-state and last year her roommate was Chinese and her suitemates both from New Jersey. They were not the slightest bit interested in hanging out with her. So, she joined some clubs, played intramural sports and also met a nice girl on her floor from DC. She hangs with no one from her high school and there are quite of her classmates there. She needs to go out and make some friends.</p>

[Duke26]

<p>Well said slipjig. </p>

<p>To build off of that, tell her to be slightly more outgoing than she usually would be in classes and around her dorm. The first step to meeting people and making friends is to actually talk to them. If she’s good/struggling in a certain class, maybe she can reach out for possibly tutoring/receiving help from someone else in the class. Boom friends.</p>

[Lindsayc]

<p>Does Pennstate accept letters of recommendation? (not the honors college).</p>

[Duke26]

<p>I mean, they accept them, yes, but don’t really look at them. </p>

<p>When you have tens of thousands of applications to look at, you can’t afford to read LORs. It might be something they look at if they think you’re on the edge, but I really don’t think they’ll help you much/at all.</p>

[greenbutton]

<p>@pamom – another, often overlooked, place to meet people when you are not outgoing is groups run from the Pasquerilla Center (the faith center) and the Wesley center downtown on College — it’s a coffeehouse run by that church, but it isn’t a religious organization, it’s sorta a 'Safe haven" with friendly adults, upperclassmen, etc. who can help connect her on a smaller scale and point her in a direction. It’s a nice choice for those feeling overwhelmed and in need of a little TLC.</p>

<p>And yes, this is a common problem. 40K students. It’s hard to get started making friends. JOIN something!</p>

[deadwonders]

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1209651-penn-state-chance-me-weak-student.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1209651-penn-state-chance-me-weak-student.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>chance me~?</p>

<p>it’s great your helping this many people. do you think i have a chance at UP summer session with my stats…</p>

<p>the bubble chart puts me at the yellow.</p>

[Lindsayc]

<p>Question about the personal statement. Do you think admissions office are looking for a statement on why we chose this college and what we love about it, or telling a personal story of something you overcome that made you a better person to differentiate yourself.</p>