<p>my sons are looking at pitt, penn state and OSU. they were wondering how someone would compare the three dorms and food.</p>
<p>Although I would not recommend choosing a college based on dorms or food, I will offer what insight I have.
I have toured 6 major universities in the past year and I would have to say that Penn State has the worst dorms by far of those 6.
OSU has refurbished several of their dorms already and are refurbishing the rest now. They are also building new dorms; as they are making living in dorms mandatory for TWO years, beginning with the class entering in the fall of 2015.
I have not been to Pitt.
I think the food is fairly similar at most schools, with many more options than only the basic cafeteria style of 20+ years ago. </p>
<p>We always say that some other colleges get students BECAUSE of their dorms. Penn State gets them in spite of their dorms! PSU has the old style dorms at Main Campus for the most part. There are some newer dorms and I believe some suite style dorms but those are only for upper classmen. The Freshman dorms…most likely East or Pollock are the old style, bathroom in the hallway, cement block type of dorms. The food options do seem nice though.<br>
I haven’t been to OSU or Pitt’s dorms so I can’t say anything about them. But I do live in Pittsburgh - so I can tell you that PSU’s dorms are on a defined campus and Pitt’s dorms are in the middle of an urban area, if any of that matters to you. </p>
<p>One of the reasons I didn’t like PSU was because of the dorms. It was for me the biggest downer. Old…old…old. Now, some of the upper classmen newer updated dorms are nicer. </p>
<p>We chose not to be in East. It was a really good choice now looking back and wondering if he would have missed out in the “Freshmen East dorms”.</p>
<p>When I saw the room we toured with beds basically with one kid’s foot/head no more than 15" from the next kids head turned my stomach. I hated it! Cramped I tell you. We toured Pollack.</p>
<p>My son is up there and in one of those rooms in Mifflin ( which I think is also a Pollack dorm?). </p>
<p>My mistake. On move in day, the other person’s foot is no less than 12" from the other kids head/ feet once the bedding and all is in, unless the other kid wants to sleep with their head at the door way entrance. The door barely opens without hitting the bed over and over, especially if you use risers.</p>
<p>All this ranting and guess what? It’s completely fine with my son and his roommate in the room. No problems that seem concerning as i take it. etc. </p>
<p>Me: Seriously, were the dorms this small when I went to school or is it that I didn’t know better? </p>
<p>As for food. I think it is roughly the same everywhere. Once you get use to the main dining food it all repeats over and over. Hey, I don’t cook a different meal 365 days a year, either. We have some weekly main meals at home, too. So, he gets it.</p>
<p>However, at PSU, apparently West has the best food. This is where the kids go for a better meal. I hear East has the worst. They don’t like Pollack commons. They don’t eat most of their meals in the dining halls. Many other choices on campus and off. Lion bucks/meal dollars get used up fast.</p>
<p>I’ve also heard that about West. My son actually lived there and I was surprised at how big the room was; I heard that the complex was originally built for grad students. Both students had large built-in dressers and sizable closets. Plenty of space between the beds. Also very conveniently located for an engineering student.</p>
<p>You might take a look at the Special Living Options–
<a href=“Home Page | LiveOn”>Home Page | LiveOn;
They are a good way to make the big university feel a little smaller. PSU tries to put students into an SLO if they ask for it which can help get you placed in a dorm you like.</p>
<p>I went to Penn State a long time ago, but I know most of the dorms haven’t changed much, and I’m pretty sure mine, Heister, is the same. I don’t remember it being as cramped as being 15" from your roomate, but compared to some of the fancy dorms out there today, sure, the dorms aren’t as nice. They are standard two kids to a room, bath down the hall. And you know what? I think that arrangement is great for a freshman, because everyone leaves their doors open, they walk down the hall, and everyone meets everyone.</p>
<p>If you’re at a school you like, with great academics and friends and activities, who cares how fancy your room is? Pitt, OSU and Penn State are different from each other in terms of atmosphere, etc. I would recommend they base their decision on that. The dorms won’t really determine their happiness at all.</p>
<p>@Sanserif I just replied on the class of 2015 thread to you not realizing that you WENT to psu! So you know the town and apartment situation just fine. 
</p>
<p>You’ll likely move off campus after your first year anyway (14,000 on campus spots for students, 40,000 students) - so just consider this for likely only a 1 year accommodation. </p>