Out-of-State? Stay Far Away from PSU!

Colleges & Universities A-Z Penn State
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<p>wgordondan - Perhaps you needed to read a little more. </p>

<p>No one is denying that the things you and IH*PSU are complaining about aren’t problems. It’s just that they are not problems that are unique to Penn State. You will find these same problems at almost every large state university. </p>

<p>Where do you plan on transferring next year and what do you expect to be different?</p>

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<p><<and it’s=“” not=“” a=“” felony,=“” misdemeanor=“”>></and></p>

<p>Interesting. I don’t think that has been mentioned before.</p>

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<p>Yes after I posted I went back and read some more. And about the misdemeanor/felony, possession alone is a misdemeanor and most first time offenders will get to go through the ARD program to get the charges cleared from their record after 1 year of probation (if you get caught again during that year you are absolutely screwed though). Delivery or intent to sell is the felony…and I did not realize that PSU was considered a school zone. Also on this topic, there are snitches everywhere here, I thought everyone would be more chill but they will do anything to get their charges reduced. </p>

<p>@Grcxx3 - I have not looked into tranferring too much yet, as I will wait until after fall semester next year to apply. But I am most interested in UVA or UNC Chapel Hill (among others). My sister goes to UVA and I know that it is much different there, and I applied to UNC out of HS but got waitlisted but loved it there nonetheless. As far as what I expect to be different, certainly the academics. Both are considered more rigorous I believe but I know for a fact at UVA (and most likely UNC) that there are more opportunities to actually get into classes/activities that you want to do. PSU has a lot to offer, but it is not enough relative to the number of students here. On tours I was told “you can make a large university smaller, but you can’t make a small university larger.” This is true, and is a reason I want a larger school, but Penn State is simply too big for me.</p>

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<p>wgordondan…</p>

<p>I can’t say that I’ve never heard anything racist from anyone at Penn State, saying “People honestly are racist here” might lead someone to think that you see everyone there as racist. Making a generalization doesn’t help anyone. While it may surprise you, and others to hear such things, this is a school with 40,000 people. There are many people there with varying, and sometimes toxic beliefs. But they are not in the majority. Please don’t let you’re view of a few bad apples spoils someone else’s view of the whole bunch, especially if they haven’t had the opportunity to experience the culture themselves.</p>

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<p>Excellent point warrior1183. There are racist people everywhere - no escaping them.</p>

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<p>wgodrondan-I appreciate your courage in speaking out to support IH8. A lot of the people posting on this board are parents and in all honesty I think that students give us a better perspective. There are a lot of people with passion for PSU and that is great but nothing is as perfect as it seems and it is better to be aware of the negatives of a school when you are deciding. No school is right for everyone. I think that students who strongly value a diverse campus should check this thread out and carefully weigh the information here. It may or may not change someone’s mind but it is helpful to consider. I am not sure how all these parents can speak for the fact that PSU has the SAME problems that every big state U has.</p>

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<p>And I am not sure how the opinion of two or three students is gospel, either.</p>

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<p><<i am=“” not=“” sure=“” how=“” all=“” these=“” parents=“” can=“” speak=“” for=“” the=“” fact=“” that=“” psu=“” has=“” same=“” problems=“” every=“” big=“” state=“” u=“” has.=“”>></i></p><i am=“” not=“” sure=“” how=“” all=“” these=“” parents=“” can=“” speak=“” for=“” the=“” fact=“” that=“” psu=“” has=“” same=“” problems=“” every=“” big=“” state=“” u=“” has.=“”>

<p>TAs teaching lower level classes, professors more interested in research than teaching, cliquishness of in-state students, scheduling problems, the good/bad of fraternity parties, strict adherence to drinking laws, etc - are not unique to PSU. These are classic problems that exist - to a greater or lesser degree - at most major universities, especially large state flag-ships. Shoot - my mother, who was a HS college counselor for many years, covered most of these things when she taught her college seminars in the '70s. (Note - drinking age was 18 back then, so not so much a problem.) </p>

<p>As for diversity, 1moremom very clearly stated that no one has ever even pretended that PSU is an overly diverse campus. And I agree - if a very diverse campus is something that is critically important to a student - then PSU probably isn’t the right place. But I can think of a whole list of other schools that wouldn’t be right either. </p>

<p>I wish wgodrondan luck if he chooses to transfer schools. It’s not an easy thing to do, but he has accepted the fact that he isn’t happy and is considering his options. But just a note - based on the stats from the College Board website -when it comes to % of in-state/OOS students, UVA and UNC are far worse than PSU. UVA is definitely more diverse (UNC is about like PSU), but I would guess that the diversity of the families from the DC area definitely helps.</p>

<p>Another note - I find it interesting that both IH8PSU and wgodrondan are both complaining about being able to get into classes and both are accounting majors. Do other colleges (Engr, Sci, etc) handle things differently?</p>
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<p>@IH8PSU and wgro,</p>

<p>Thanks for your guys’ honest input. I think most people get offended really easily when it’s obvious that no school is flawless, so thanks for the honesty. As for me, I’m from Seattle, Washington and I LOVED State College/Penn State. I grew up in all places from rural to suburbs and then to the city, so State College was not bad for me at all. I love the school spirit and I don’t know about you, but the entering class for 2015 seemed lively and great: I’ve met patiers to non-patiers, book worms, movie/music geeks, band geeks, dancers, etc. I think Penn State is a great place and everyone should at least give this place a chance. As for the racist thing, you’re bound to run into racist people in a bubble in central PA. But know that most students are likely from the bigger city and are less racist. I saw plenty of Asians, Middle Eastern, and European communities at this school.</p>

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<p>wgordondan, I also wish you well (though I wouldn’t say it takes any amount of courage to post on an anonymous forum). If you are serious about transferring you’ll need to work hard to keep your grades up and I recommend also identifying a couple schools that are a little less selective than UVA and UNC. It is typically harder to get in as a transfer than as an freshman. Have you considered any private schools? Some would say they would be similar in atmosphere to UVA and the tuition would not necessarily be higher than UVA OOS (if that matters). If your grades are competitive for those schools, you might also consider meeting with someone in SHC. While you probably think you are not interested, it would only take an hour or so and perhaps if you learned more you would consider it.</p>

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<p>wgodrondan- since you are in-state for PA I would recommend that you check out Pitt. Pitt is quite a bit smaller than PSU and I think you would find it more diverse.</p>

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<p>pampm59 - I don’t know anything about Pitt (other than my stepfather went there many years ago) - but according to the College Board website - the stats for IS/OOS and racial mix/diversity are about the same as PSU.</p>

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<p>Apparently some people find the first-hand experiences, opinions, and insights of people who have actually recently attended Penn State to be valuable, and some do not. Nothing posted on an internet forum is gospel, but this kind of candid, first-hand discussion from current students or recent graduates is not too common around here from what I’ve seen. The vast majority of posts are by parents. If you think that you will gain a more complete and realistic view of Penn State by only listening to the positive things that the school, students who were entirely 100% happy there, and parents who have an incomplete view of Penn State have to say, I guess that’s your right, but it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.</p>

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<p>I am an alum, and my daughter is a freshamn. She has read this thread and her experience is nothing like the OP’s. Shouldn’t that count, too?</p>

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<p>First, just let me restate something I said in my first post – I had a great experience at PSU and would highly recommend the school overall. I do not “H8” PSU. But like any institution, Penn State has its share of problems, and this thread does an excellent job at probing most of these. I wouldn’t try and refute any of the negatives which were discussed in this thread, because I think they are all valid points. The big question is how relevant they are to each person. For example, I think the way minor marijuana possession is dealt with at Penn State is disgusting from an ethical perspective. But seeing as I don’t smoke, the impact of this problem on me is not that great, and it didn’t affect my time at Penn State. Certainly each person reading this thread can come to a conclusion regarding how the issues discussed here will, or will not, affect his or her own potential experience at Penn State.</p>

<p>Of course your positive experiences with Penn State as an alum and a parent of a current student “count” and are valid. But in a way, they are not particularly useful in this thread in the way that some of the more critical opinions are. It is easy to find out why people love Penn State. You can talk to the vast majority of students and alums, look at the school’s official materials, or read most of what is written online and find out these things. It is not nearly as easy to find a detailed discussion of what is wrong or unpleasant about Penn State, and this thread provides that perspective.</p>

<p>Additionally, it is worth noting that you have not taken your positive experiences with Penn State and used them to further a constructive discussion, but instead posted a series of somewhat cranky one liners.</p>

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<p>I think we need to remember what the OP’s title of this thread was … “Out-of-State? Stay Far Away from PSU!”…</p>

<p>The point I am getting at here, is that after reading the original post, and most of them from the OP on the first page, I didn’t get the impression the OP was simple offering up an alternative opinion. I got the impression the OP was implying the Penn State was a terrible place, and that no-one should ever go there.</p>

<p>As an Alumni I feel I have every right to defend the University I know and love. Each of us are capable of forming our own opinions based on what we read here, but I don’t think we can classify SOME of the negative posts as simply “offering up a different opinion.”</p>

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<p>grcxx3- I have been to both campuses (PSU and Pitt) and my impression of the Pitt student body as more diverse is drawn from those visits; it may not be more diverse statistically but it seemed more accepting of diversity if you understand what I’m saying.</p>

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<p>pamom59 - I understand what you’re saying. Probably an “urban vs rural” thing. You’ll get the same thing other places.</p>

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<p><<i got=“” the=“” impression=“” op=“” was=“” implying=“” penn=“” state=“” a=“” terrible=“” place,=“” and=“” that=“” no-one=“” should=“” ever=“” go=“” there,=“”>></i></p><i got=“” the=“” impression=“” op=“” was=“” implying=“” penn=“” state=“” a=“” terrible=“” place,=“” and=“” that=“” no-one=“” should=“” ever=“” go=“” there,=“”>

<p>That’s the impression I got as well. I’m not an alum (geez, I’m a southern belle!). My DH - who is from PA - is not an alum. We have no close family members who are alums. Our DS is the only connection we have to the school. Is it a perfect place? Of course not. Like any school - it’s not a good fit for everyone. DS went in with full knowledge of the various pros and cons and he has made it work. </p>

<p>And I really need to add…for people complaining about racism, bigotry, lack of tolerance, etc - I found the derogatory comments about people from southern states to be really incredible.</p>
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<p>OP, you have made a lot of generalizations. First, your assertion
that everyone hangs out with their high school friends. My in-state
daughter hangs with no high school friends, and about seven of her
classmates are at Penn State plus many others from her high school in
other graduating classes. </p>

<p>You don’t like the bar scene and say the laws are strict. Stupid or
not, they are laws, right? And you get detained and the police are
called when you use your fake ID? You could avoid the bars until you
are 21 and the whole issue disappears. Felony charges for drugs in
PA? Not Penn State’s fault. Don’t smoke a joint on campus and avoid
having that problem. And frat parties everywhere are repulsive, it’s
their nature.</p>

<p>We are from the “Alabama” (as you called it) part of Pennsylvania.<br>
There are quite a few of us that don’t live in Philadelphia or
Pittsburgh, but for the record, I grew up in the Philadelphia area.
We are not racists, homophobes or whatever else you care to think. We
are not making moonshine out in the woods or marrying our cousins. We
are well-educated people who don’t fit your stereotype. You might even
like us if you came to visit. We won’t sit around all night making
racist comments, promise. We have no Confederate flag decals on our cars. A whole lot of people here voted for Obama.
We read the papers, watch TV and have the internet. We actually
leave the state and go to other states and other countries.</p>

<p>So you were a 4-year varsity athlete? So was my daughter, my son will
be, too. My daughter was a two-sport captain and vice-president of her
class for three years. So what? You had a reputation as a heavy
partier? That’s a good thing? Penn State is not the party school you
hoped it would be? So what?</p>

<p>My daughter has had some TAs, some full professors. Some she likes,
some she doesn’t. Her grades are good and she is learning.</p>

<p>You said “quite frankly I feel that I am better than this place and I have no problem admitting that.” Alrighty. </p>

<p>There are many, many students at Penn State. Thirty percent or so are from
out of state. Most thrive.</p>

<p>When I tried to figure out your exact gripe, it seems that you are
unhappy with Penn State, Pennsylvanians and Pennsylvania and maybe
Alabama. Oh, and law enforcement. I think the only way to fix that is
to live somewhere else.</p>

<p>I think your unhappiness and blame is focused in the wrong places. I
am sorry that you are not having a good experience in a place that many
love. It’s a shame that you didn’t leave when you discovered Penn
State wasn’t for you. What a waste of your college experience.</p>

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<p>This thread needs a serious renaming.</p>

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<p>slipjig, GET SOME!!!</p>