<p>im a soph next :)
The bathrooms are so-so it matters how the other ppl on your floor are ;)</p>
<p>CH121s, have you been in a supp room before? if so, what usually goes on in there?</p>
<p>Also, are there many international students at psu that you know? I am going to the college of science next fall.</p>
<p>nah I dint live in supp. but there is one on my floor, and they dont mind it too much (especially since they moved the beds around.) I havent really talked to many international students on campus. They are probably around, but there are people here that I wouldnt be able to tell if they are int. or not</p>
<p>I live in Pollock and at first I didnt' like the dorms that much but now i'm used to it. Bathrooms suck though.</p>
<p>
I agree with this. I was really disappointed with the honors dorms we were shown when we toured two years ago. Maybe they are better now, but they were pretty sad then. I think we saw lower level rooms. There were pipes running all along the hallway ceilings, the rooms were tiny and very dark (bring extra lamps) and they quite frankly had a weird musty smell (maybe like old damp plaster?). This might have been student pride at work, but there were crudely painted murals on the hallway walls. The furniture was worn and the beds were the old metal tubing type. The bathrooms were similar, as I remember. This is in sharp contrast to the offices and meeting areas of the Honors College, which were quite beautiful and new. Maybe the student dorms are due for an overhaul?</p>
<p>lkf - my son lives in Simmons (one of the honors dorms) and he really likes it. He says some of the dorm rooms ARE very small but he's in a large double with lots of space. He says it's one of the largest rooms on campus based on comparsions with his buddies in other dorms. (Someone told me that they show the small rooms on the tours so that no one gets dissapointed when they show up). The halls and rooms are are certainly old looking and could probably use some renovation - but they seemed clean and functional. The dining hall in the dorm is a huge plus, along with mail service and really nice common study and social areas. The computer lab in Atherton (across the street) is large and well equipped. The location is fabulous - right near the HUB, White Building and downtown State College. So, it's not pefect and certainly not as nice as the new dorms offered to honors students at places like Univ of Arizona. Still pretty good though compared to other options. Maybe they'll use some of the recent 25 million grant to do some upgrades.</p>
<p>I remember being really impressed by the food services at PSU! And the central dorm location is a huge benefit on such a large campus! I loved the honors program, but we all really expected a little more from the living quarters than what we were shown. As you mentioned, maybe they showed us the worst of what was available. I hope for future students that they throw a little money their way.</p>
<p>Actually they are renovating North Halls into suites. Look really nice from the photos...but it will result in fewer rooms overall.
Regarding Simmons - I lived there for 4 years and graduated 25 years ago. When we dropped off my son for his freshman year in East halls a few years ago and walked by Simmons on our way into town for books, I had to walk through and see if anything had changed. I was real surprised to see that the bathrooms looked exactly the same (and they seemed old when I was there!)
Also, Simmons was built with nice sized singles and doubles but they made some of the doubles into triples and some of the singles into doubles long ago - I was in a small double my freshman year in 77 - yes it was tiny - one closet and one set of drawers for two - so don't think this housing shortage is something new.
I think they should be building more housing - they put up Eastview Terrace but it is for Juniors and Seniors only who have not moved off campus. They need more regular dorms.</p>
<p>rlm - yes, those singles turned into doubles at Simmons had us worried after we saw them. For those of you who get into and decide to go with the honors program, call
and ask for a "real" double before the assignments are made. Can't hurt.<br>
Not sure why they are focusing on improving junior and senior dorms - there are so many opportunities for those students to live off campus. Although, from what I've seen on other campuses, it seems that freshman usually get the worst dorms (expensive schools like WF, Duke and Lehigh showed us very small, shabby looking rooms). If anyone is looking for fancy dorms, I understand that GW has good ones - but tuition and board is 55K per year :-)</p>