Getting home (Rochester, NY) from Penn State, University Park?

<p>So, if I am accepted to Penn State and I decide to go, I'm in a bit of a problematic situation. I do not know how I would be able to get home for the breaks and such.</p>

<p>At first, I thought I would just get a car and that would be it. However, I've realized that freshmen cannot park on campus. That's a problem.</p>

<p>I looked for Amtrak, there aren't any trains that go into State College. I looked at Greyhound and there isn't a route that goes from State College to Rochester, NY.</p>

<p>I know there is an airport, and I priced a round trip ticket. It can range anywhere from $500 to $1,000, which is ridiculous.</p>

<p>Honestly, I have no idea as to how I would get home if I went to Penn State. It really sucks that they don't offer parking for Freshmen. Any ideas? It's much appreciated :P.</p>

<p>Park off campus. Drive home.</p>

<p>But, where can you park off campus?? Are there lots for that?</p>

<p>^^^
Check the paper…ask people. People sometimes rent their garages, driveways, barns…whatever. How about self-storage lots for cars / campers? The farther from PSU that you are willing to park the cheaper. Remember you just need to be able to commute from PSU to where your car is and back. C’mon, pretend that you are going to be an independent young adult living on your own…you can do this.</p>

<p>Many of the larger rental properties (e.g. the former rooming houses on College Avenue which are just a few blocks from campus) are required by zoning to have some number parking spaces available to rent to tenants. (On street parking is very limited.) Generally there are some tenants who don’t have cars so the landlords rent the leftover spots to people like you. There always seem to be signs up, but you could get in touch with one of the local rental agencies to verify availability.</p>

<p>Thanks for all of your suggestions. I don’t know what you mean by “pretend that you are going to be an independent young adult living on your own,” but I want to be able to have the opportunity to be able to visit my family and friends back home during times off like everyone else. I was hoping that there would be a train or bus that would be available, but it seems as though having a car and going to someone for parking is the best solution.</p>

<p>also I am willing to bet that there must be a ride board or something to that effect and that you could ride back to Rochester with an upperclassman.</p>

<p>

I mean the solution to your problem has been given to you. You should be able to handle the rest with anymore “hand holding”. Good Luck.</p>

<p>Yeah the ride board would be nice to have. Thank you for your suggestions.</p>

<p>I don’t think asking a question about parking shows myself as someone who is requesting “hand holding”, but thanks again for your suggestions. The self storage lots for cars sounds like a very good idea. I appreciate it.</p>

<p>summerdude, ignore the useless snide comments of those who can’t help themselves from throwing around their nasty opinions. Most CC’ers answer OP’s positively without ad lib criticism & sarcasm.</p>

<p>Dear summerdude- There are buses that go from State College to NYC . The Fullerton bus company goes into Port Authority NY and the other buses go into Chinatown. There are trains that go from Penn station NY to Rochester. There are also buses that go from Port Authority to Rochester. The cost is about 50 dollars. one way.Penn station is not far from Port Authority. The cost of the bus is about $45.00 dollars one way. My son has taken the Fullerton bus several times and has no complaints with it. So total cost is about 200 dollars round trip. The trip from state college to port authority is about 5 hours and then to rochester another 5 hours if you take the bus( I don’t know how long on amtrak-but I would imagine less time) In any cas a long trip. Search around there might be other options. Good luck</p>

<p>summerdude: Ignore the useless and snide remarks of those that have contributed nothing of value to your original question. They’re mostly mouth and very little help.</p>

<p>I don’t see why you can’t park on the side of the street off campus.</p>

<p>Most of those spots are either metered or belong to someone.</p>

<p>And beyond the metered areas parking is generally limited to two hours.</p>

<p>The bus company is Fullington-- [Fullington</a> Trailways](<a href=“http://tickets.fullingtontours.com/]Fullington”>http://tickets.fullingtontours.com/). Dragon Deluxe is the Chinatown bus company.</p>

<p>There are cheaper flights . I checked for you and found direct flights - time wise 3 and a half hours cost with tax $388.00 A litle more than the bus but a whole lot quicker. Penn State is a huge school- you might found out after you get there that there are people from your home town or close by who have cars or alternate ways to come home.</p>

<p>There are definitely ways to get home. People driving will post in common areas if they have seats, also sometimes you can find something on ULoop (a PSU sharing website). There are buses to Rochester, but they will take you 12 hours to get there because you have to change buses a few times. As far as cars, you’re correct that you cannot have a car until you are a sophomore (28 credits). Many of the apartments downtown sell their extra spots but you have to be willing to pay (my apartment building is $1000 for the year). I’m not sure about any place to park off campus (not downtown). Ask around your neighborhood (grocery stores, gas stations, etc.) to see if anyone knows someone nearby who goes to PSU and would give you a ride (you may have to drive a bit to get to someone but even thats not bad).</p>

<p>You may want to check with the Penn State alumni association for your area. My daughter (a freshman from Massachusetts) is able to take a bus chartered by the CT alumni association round trip from State College to Newton, MA for $132 round trip. Only Penn State students are on the bus and only a few stops (in her case 2 stops in CT and one in MA).</p>