<p>I am currently a freshman at Penn state, as the semester comes to a close let me know what questions you have about your 1st year.</p>
<p>MODERATOR'S NOTE: Anyone can ask or answer questions in this thread. </p>
<p>Hi Dylan, it’s very nice of you to offer to answer our questions! Actually I got into Penn State, but I’m still in the middle of making school decisions. It would be great if you can tell me if Penn State has a great international student body or not. Is it true that at Penn State you can see Chinese students nearly everywhere?</p>
<p>Victoria1997: I have to say Penn state is surprisingly diverse. That is one of the awesome things about going to a big school, you will meet a lot of people from all over the US and the world. We probably don’t have the greatest diversity as we are mostly a white student body but it never seems like when you are here. You can find a group of friends just like you here. Hope that helped. </p>
<p>By the numbers PSU is about 70% white, but a lot of times it doesn’t seem that way. I believe we were ranked one of the top universities in the country in terms of international enrollment though, theres certainly plenty of international students as well. </p>
<p>Yeah thanks!</p>
<p>Oh btw, how long does it take from University Park to downtown or a big city?</p>
<p>Depending on where you are on campus it takes about 30 seconds to 15 minutes. walking to get downtown. Big cities are Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Harrisburg which take a few hours to get to.</p>
<p>Who is the best professor to take Math 110 with? A requirement for Smeal.</p>
<p>ratemyprofessor will be your best friend. I took it with Hager and i thought he was awful but he may be the only one that teaches that class. I suggest looking up profs names on ratemyprofessor the reviews can be really helpful, but take them with a grain of salt. </p>
<p>What was your dorm situation like this year? Where did you live and what did you think of it?</p>
<p>Hager for 110 is probably better than Ping (who you can’t understand) but you really have to teach yourself the class though because hes a really smart guy, but hes a terrible teacher. If you have had calculus before and were good at it, you should be okay. </p>
<p>I currently live in east, and overall i didn’t mind it. I can say you will have the freshman experience no matter where you live. I lived and a double on a coed floor. Any specific questions about dorms/dorm life? </p>
<p>@DylanK how did you pay for it? That’s my main question. I’m an in-state student who has about $20,000 to pay. Any scholarships/grants OUTSIDE of PSU? And if you had to, where did you loan from?</p>
<p>@ronredd96 I have to be honest I am not the best person to answer this at all. I have a few friends who got some scholarships, but that is something Penn State is awful at. A lot of people have to take loans out, if I were you i suggest talking to someone from the Student Aid office they can help you.</p>
<p><a href=“http://studentaid.psu.edu/”>http://studentaid.psu.edu/</a></p>
<p>Sorry I can’t help further I didn’t need a loan or get any scholarships. </p>
<p>$20,000 in loans is WAY too much for 1 year at PSU. If you have to take out that much in loans for your freshman year, PSU is just simply too expensive for you. Your starting salary out of college will not be able to support $80k+ in loans for your undergrad degree</p>
<p>@Etuck24 after grants its around $15,000. But I understand that penn state costs a pretty penny, but it gives me the best chance to become successful. Im also in a WAY better predicament than the out of state students. If Im taking out a loan from Sallie Mae lets say, do I do a one time large loan? Or continue to do so yearly? Im sure I can loan $15,000 a year being in state when out of state kids are loaning $40,000</p>
<p>Heres the thing - Most OOS kids who go here are very well off. They’re not taking out loans for this. 15,000 in loans is still just too much, in my opinion, for an in state school. Do people take more than that? Sure. But thats why there’s 7 million people in default on their loans across the country. If you were to take out private loans, I believe you do it per year, as tuition/aid may change from year to year. </p>
<p>Tuition will rise 3-4% every year. Housing will too. 15K in loans – probably 65+ total even IF you graduate in 4 years – is the minimum you’ll need, most likely. I don’t think students, on their own, even qualify for that much, someone needs to co-sign or they are using Parent PLUS loans. It is nuts to take on that much debt. Penn State doesn’t have some magic employment wand! </p>
<p>Greenbutton is right. There is a limit to how much students can borrow; you would need a cosigner beyond that amount. (Google Stafford Loans for starters.) One rule of thumb is that the total of your student loans should not be higher than your estimated annual salary upon graduation. If you are planning on an engineering degree that is in high demand, $60K might be reasonable. If you’re planning on majoring in communications it would not.</p>
<p>bump bump …</p>