Thoughts, advice, pros/cons of each of the different dorm areas? South sounds the nicest, East most fun, West quiet… how do they stack up?
ok, I’ll bite.
=> East - all freshman (which brings its own set of pros/cons), further walk from campus buildings, good dining hall options, close to the Business building. Many new and/or renovated buildings. Close to IM Building for sports/working out.
=> West - lots of upperclassmen, athletes, SLO’s. fewer freshman. Dorms are older, but larger rooms. Engineering students tend to live here if they stay on campus as upperclassmen.
=> North - lots of suites. great for Architecture and/or music. mix of freshmen and upperclass. smallest area, but people who are there love it. far from downtown.
=> Pollock - oldest buildings, close to downtown, HUB, classes. Rooms are unrenovated and need to be updated. About 50% freshmen. Some floors are SLO’s. Dining hall is almost all buffet style.
=> South - many renovated buildings. Very few freshmen, sororities have their floors and suites, so if not into Greek life, may be annoying. Schreyer kids are Atherton/McElwain, which used to be “Center” (along with Simmons), but now rolled into South. Food options are good.
BEST: Renovated East is ideal for most freshmen, IMHO. Transitioning to college can be tough, unless you are a big extrovert. It’s easy for students to feel lonely and isolated because the school can feel too big to many kids. Best to be around as many freshmen as possible who are all going through the difficult stage of trying to find their people and community. It’s easier to make friends in East because it’s all freshmen. The exception to this might be the engineering SLO in west. Engineering is brutal for the first year and many kids can’t handle it. Being near other engineering students will give them opportunities to study together and get through all the weed out classes together. East dorms are adjacent to the newly renovated IM bldg so students go workout there all the time. Recently renovated dining hall as well. Yes, it’s five to ten minutes longer to get to classes, but that helps keep the freshmen 15 down.
WORST: Pollack as they are old, dark, and run down and still have communal bathrooms and no air conditioning. Rooms are smaller so beds are angled in a way that one persons feet are near the other roommate’s head. Great dining and Convenient location, but that is about it. Again, this is just my opinion after having toured Pollack and North and having my own daughter in East.
Keep in mind, few students really hate where they live because they are just happy to not be at home. So life won’t come to an end if they end up in Pollack.
BTW, first year courses are all over campus so there isn’t a big need to align your dorm with the location of the college’s main building.
Here is a thread on housing at Penn State. http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/penn-state-university-park/2050634-lets-talk-about-housing-p1.html
It all comes down to what the student wants. Some areas have very few freshmen and students might feel a little lost living there.
Keep in mind that housing is not all the same price, either. None of it is so bad, or so good, that you want to forget your financials
My student lived in North, and adored it. No complaints about anything. I know freshman engineers who loved West because it tends to be full of upperclass engineering students who can be useful. I know students in Pollock who love it as well, because it’s closer to town and they had a job there. It just depends. Nobody should lose sleep over choosing.
Reminder that “close” and “far” are relative terms. North is probably 10 walking minutes further from College Ave. than Pollock. East Halls, for my money, are the least conveniently located (they don’t call it the tundra for nothing). It was about 20 here today, and waiting for a bus with room is not much more fun than walking. That being said, East also is home to the kosher/allergy friendly cafe, which is important for many students.
This is also true for the EMS SLO in West (Irvin Hall). My S is a freshman there and loves it. He has already locked in for next year. He agrees that the renovated East Hall rooms are spectacular, and its a freshman frenzy, but he is very happy to retreat to his quiet room at Irvin after spending time in East with freshman friends. Irvin Hall is old and has its quirks, but for EMS students, it’s a real community and it is very close to most classes on the west side of campus.
I know he’s going to want to get an apartment as a junior and senior but I’m sure he would be happy in Irvin all four years if he had to stay.
As a parent of an EMS student east to me is terrible. It just feels like a party dorm and son is not doing enough. I would have liked him to be with engineers. Plus classes and extra help sessions are too far.
My engineer daughter would agree. She went into McKee after freshman year and never looked back.
I will admit, as a local, East was the only dorm area we did not permit our students to choose. Certainly other people are very successful there, but we pulled our parent card and said “anyplace but there is fine”.
@4gsmom can i ask what would be a preferred Freshman Dorm for Engineering student? My son was accepted EA at UP.
I was in Pollock and I have to say I actually loved it! Yes the dorms are the smallest and unrenovated, however, the lack of air conditioning only was an issue during August/Early September. The bedrooms aren’t bad if you decorate, and the communal bathrooms aren’t that bad, you get used to it quickly. The vibe in Pollock cannot be beat, the people are diverse and friendly. Everyone knows everyone and is always willing to strike a conversation, we are always in common areas or with doors open waiting for someone to stop by. The location is amazing as well, so close to downtown and the Hub, plus it has what is considered to be one of the best dining halls on campus, and it is in close proximity to another dining commons (Redifer). Many people I know who previously lived in Pollock, then moved to another housing area really miss it. I highly recommend this housing area if you want diversity and a fun experience. Don’t be deterred by the lack of AC or the unrenovated dorms. It is such a hidden gem!
My daughter was (is still) a studious, quiet kid and I’m sure she would’ve preferred any of the engineering living communities - there’s one for women engineers; there’s one for first years (called FISE) and one called EASI. Being around other engineers her freshman year would’ve been really helpful - although she loved McKee her last 3 years. Great location on campus.
@Chazer that’s the magical question that I’m trying to help my son answer.
My daughter (a current engineering student) lived in McKee as part of Ehouse her first two years and loved it! Her only complaint was she wanted her own kitchen- she prefers to eat her own cooking. Location can’t be beat for Engineer classes- she definitely went back to the dorms in between classes. She had an injury Freshman year and her location was ideal to her mobility. She loved that the gym was across the street and the library next door. Plus she felt she knew more people then her friends in East (which often slept by her instead of traveling all the way back to their dorms)
Now she is questioning her brother’s choice too. He doesn’t know anyone else attending. He would love to be close to classes, studying too - but needs to do sports, workout, etc yes we know he can join teams but he also needs someone to just go shoot hoops with too (insert frisbee, baseball) we were thinking East might be best
Would love all thoughts
@skibunny2 My son is similar with sports (plans to tryout and play Club Ice Hockey) and is also a baseball player in high school and also loves to shoot hoops and snow ski, etc. We are a sports/outdoors family. We are visiting again on March 2-3 to hopefully check out more details since our last Summer visit now that my son is accepted. Penn State UP is still #1 on his list. # 2 is CU Boulder
@4gsmom thank you for the feedback.
@skibunny2 my girls are like your daughter in that a kitchen is important, would she have a suggestion as to best for that?
They also want studious, so need quiet (they are going in engineering). —- still haven’t committed to PSU, but, one of their top choices.
^ See where the Paterno Fellow group is housed.
What would be the best choice for an engineering student that wants peace and quiet to focus on studies but also wants a little fun?
@rickqwert , West. Definitely west. You want to be around other engineering students as it’s a tough program. Study groups help. If you don’t want to consider west, maybe try to be in the portion of non-honors students who live in Simmons/Atherton in south. Schreyers takes up less than 75% of that space. High stat, driven students who spend a lot of time studying.
Quick questions: Can freshman apply to ehouse or is that only for sophomore year on? Any advice on FISE living in Pollock? Also, my son has some health issues and living in a single room would be beneficial if possible (sleep for him is critical and he is a light sleeper). Is this even possible as a freshman? Any recommendations for a freshman engineering student that is not into partying and prefers a quieter dorm but also is very social?