<p>Yes and no. The coffee shop isn't anything like starbucks, either, but I guess it gets the coffee done.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.libraries.psu.edu/hours/up.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.libraries.psu.edu/hours/up.html</a>
Here are the hours. The link on the right has special hours for study days/exams.</p>
<p>Thanks! My kid is trying to choose between schools -- it's getting to the desperation point of looking at really nitty picky things. By the end of April, I foresee we'll be playing rock paper scissors to make a decision....</p>
<p>How is the food at PSU???</p>
<p>Is it terribly difficult to pull of a GPA above a 3.5 at PSU- because I hope to get into med-school?</p>
<p>Does PSU Hershey Med School take a large amount of PSU applicants into their medical school?</p>
<p>My health nut son loves the food. Many choices, many places to eat.
Average GPA at PSU UP is a 3.0
No idea on med school but the stats might be on the med school site.</p>
<p>lrn, it is very difficult. Being a huge public school, PSU has very harsh grading curves that make it almost impossible to get an A. Some of the english classes, for example, will only give out an A for students who score above the 95% mark. Other classes will only allow an A for students who get A's on every exam for that class. Also, PSU is trying to cut down on grade inflation, so several departments are being asked to be more rigorous, but I don't know how long this will last. The thing is that the letter grade you get is based on on many points you accumulated for a certain class. So, a student who goes to class everyday but does poorly on two exams might have, say, 360 points and get a B. Whereas another student who barely goes to class might know the material and ace every test, getting an A. What i am trying to say is that only the numbers matter, so if you are an excellent student whom the professor adores but who happened to do poorly on a single exam, you are screwed. It would be nice to see a more personal approach where the professor actually weighs in the student's effort and attitude in class.</p>
<p>BTW, most professors also don't curve your grade, making it even tougher on the student.</p>
<p>Its not incredibly difficult to get a 3.5....all u have to do is work hard and manage your time and you'll get good grades (even in Engineering).</p>
<p>"It would be nice to see a more personal approach where the professor actually weighs in the student's effort and attitude in class".
Sounds like you would be happier at a smaller school. Bottom line is that most large schools (even prestigious schools like Cornell and Penn) have huge intro classes without much personal attention. In any case, things usually get better for upperclassman - classes get much smaller.
Re GPA: I can't say that your experience fits with what my son and his friends report. His group of friends works hard and are in a mix of majors (business, eng, science). All got GPAs of 3.7 or higher in first semester. My son is in the honors program but not all of his friends are.
In any case, professors at most Universities use curves - and I understand they're brutal in some schools ( Cornell - even Wake Forest). Yes, numbers are what counts, especially in the early years. It's not just PSU.</p>
<p>Actually, I am considering a mid-sized(<=15,000) state school for next year. Hopefully, everything will work out.</p>
<p>frasi - check it out carefully. I went to a <= 15,000 state school (SUNY Albany). The classes were HUGE and the professors were apathetic (and not always fair). Only good thing was that I wasn't paying much money (in state). And I had a nice group of friends and had fun.
In the end, I turned out fine though. It's really about YOU.
Good luck.</p>
<p>Also keep in mind frasi that you have only been at PSU a month. It takes time to get acclimated to the place, find friends and your niche.</p>
<p>^ hah, funny that you know my situation.
However, my main reason for tranfering is because of the money. Education wise, I don't think the 20K difference is worth it over a SUNY school, at which I am instate.</p>
<p>Yes Frasi, I think anyone who reads your posts knows of your situation and it was apparent from the start that you were unhappy with PSU. I agree with the previous poster that you haven't been there long enough to become acclimated. Join some organizations, philanthropic, cultural or intramurals. Attend some of the lectures, sporting events or just go out and have some fun. Good luck to you with the rest of the semester and if you are intent on transferring best of luck with that, but please stop all of the negativity. You paint an unfair picture to prospective students. It might help if you spent less time posting and more time reaching out to other students.</p>
<p>Some objective info from a Fall 2006 Pulse Survey of new students at PSU:
96.3% said if they were starting college again, they would “probably” or “definitely” choose to attend Penn State.
Also, over 80% reported that they felt very much welcomed by the university. </p>
<p>Yes, there are unhappy students everywhere. But it certainly looks like the great majority are happy at PSU. And no, they are not all party animals with no interest in education. My son and his friends are (and always have been) excellent students - and they love it there.</p>
<p>The engineering website says their grad school waives the GRE for PSU students with good gpa and/or letters of recommendations. What gpa is considered "good" for them? Their mean gpa of accepted students is 3.5.</p>
<p>It says "occasionally" with "high GPA" which is probably 4.0 and being well known to the instructors. Also encourages taking GRE if you are looking for financial aid.
<a href="http://www.aero.psu.edu/grads/prospective/gre.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.aero.psu.edu/grads/prospective/gre.html</a></p>
<p>Yeah, it just so happens that I approach a number of things with a pessimistic light--it's my personality, but I am working on it. The thing is I haven't found a niche here yet and that may be because I haven't reached out much or because I was a "transfer" and haven't been here long enough. Thank you for the support. Right now, going to a SUNY is just a back up plan(assuming I get in) if I decide that staying here is too much of a burden for my parents or that I would fit in better over there.</p>
<p>Is taking five 400 level AERSP courses in one semester for 15 credits difficult to do? The "400" scares me.</p>
<p>Is that recommended? It sounds like it would be difficult.</p>
<p>I was just looking through their sample co-op schedule. I see the last semester containing a lot of 400 level courses. All those 300 level courses scare me too.</p>