<p>Jagga9 – Hmmn…how old are your peers? In the adult professional world Penn State is most certainly taken very seriously. It is a major research university and my older daughter was lucky enough to participant in National Science foundation research projects beginning the summer after her freshman year. In her sophomore year she had a very well paid internship with a large company.</p>
<p>Penn State is a huge school so yes there are parties in Happy Valley. There are lots of happy kids at Penn State…and yes there is, I assume, under-age drinking, etc. It is, however, A HUGE school with many kids who don’t spend their lives drinking. While the branch campuses are much easier to get in the main campus in University Park can not be assumed to be a safety unless you have a solid GPA and solid SAT scores. It also is rather expensive for a public school…(it is not part of the State system…it is an independent public school.)</p>
<p>Penn State is the home of the worlds largest student run fund-raiser and what an amazing event to witness. [Home</a> | THON.org - Conquering Childhood Cancer](<a href=“http://www.thon.org/]Home”>http://www.thon.org/)</p>
<p>If any of your peers are hoping to be engineers then they may want to take a look at Penn State…it is a top-notch engineering school. Penn State also has a medical school (Hershey Medical) and a law school (Dickinson School of Law). I don’t know how Penn State is ranked in non-science related schools…but most of their science and engineering programs are ranked quite high and are most certainly well respected and, of course, taken seriously in the adult professional world.</p>
<p>As you may have guessed I am a Penn State alumni – BA and MS, am married to a Penn State engineer…the daughter of a Penn State professor (deceased) and the mother of a soon to be Penn State alumni! While I’m not much of a sports fan…I do, on occasion, along with most other alumni bleed blue and white! </p>
<p>I know it’s a personal preference thing…my younger daughter wanted to do something different and will not go to Penn State…nor Binghamton (another excellent school…she was accepted and invited to the Scholars program). She wants to blaze her own path!</p>
<p>There are many, many wonderful schools out there…and while Penn State certainly has it’s share of parties…it is Happy Valley after all…it also is a top-notch research university with many excellent programs, and most certainly, should be taken seriously!</p>
<p>I stand corrected Ms. I don’t know my peers think this because of the type of people who go there that we know. Though, I agree, it is indeed a great school. Jec learn something from her, try to be polite.</p>
<p>Hmmm…I wonder what “type of people who go there that we know” are like? I think you will find that it is probably not a good idea to make generalizations and stereotypes based on the small sample size that you’ve identified. </p>
<p>Penn State is an enormous university with many different types of people…certainly not diverse enough probably because of it’s location in Central Pennsylvania but there are many diverse groups at Penn State.</p>
<p>The world is a big place…and much more diverse, perhaps, than your current community…(maybe not if you live in New York City!) but it’s good to look at colleges objectively and shed your biases. Otherwise you may limit your choices and that may not serve you well.</p>
<p>elaniemay you are joking when you say penn state’s campus is beautiful and Binghamton needs work i hope. Im not saying Binghamton’s doesn’t need work but if it does then penn state needs a total overhaul. I got in there visited there before picking school but i felt like i was in a prison cell at the dorms. and the building were not that nice either. And im not a person that only been there once my best friend goes there as well as a few other friends and i go down 3-4 weekends a semester and no way is it a beautiful campus. </p>
<p>But to be honest guys its personal preference these schools are so similar academically that its what you like a HUGEEE school or medium size school. Penn state is a huge party school but Binghamton by no means is a boring school its very much a party school. I dont think you can go wrong with either one.</p>
<p>Total Overhaul?? Don’t think so. Sounds like bias to me. </p>
<p>PSU freshmen dorms are nothing to write home about. Small rooms - yes, very basic. </p>
<p>But the overall campus IS beautiful IMO. Lots of classy buidlings, towering elms, green areas and pedestrian-friendly walk ways. I saw it for the first time three years ago and I though it looked like a classic college campus…right out of a movie. The fact that it is bordered by a bustling college town also is nice. </p>
<p>Have not seen Bing. Went to SUNY Albany…now that campus is UGLY. And the food could make you ill too.</p>
<p>Penn State is not an ugly campus. Where did you visit? Did you go to the main campus? The campus is huge so maybe you limited your stay to East Halls where many of the freshmen are housed. Those buildings are admittedly ugly but many students forms life-long friendships in their years living in East Halls. There is definitely much partying amongst the students that live in East Halls. </p>
<p>My favorite dorms are West Halls in the center of campus. The original part of campus is beautiful with lots of open space for students to relax on the Old Main lawn or the HUB lawn. West Halls are beautiful. There are definitely some ugly buildings — the Hammond building for Engineers. During the week it is a pedestrian only campus …no cars permitted. </p>
<p>There are so many tulip and daffodil bulbs planted that the beauty of the campus really comes to life in the Spring. I’ve been on a bunch of college visits with my daughter this year and we’ve seen some not so attractive campuses…I always base my comparisons to the beautiful University Park campus.</p>
<p>Of course i visited the main campus. I liked binghamton’s campus much better. I don’t think either campus is beautiful. To me a beautiful campus is along the lines of Virginia Tech.</p>