Penn State Housing

<p>So, I know that housing is mentioned in some of these threads, but I wanted to start one specifically directed toward Penn State's housing.</p>

<p>My name's Caleb and I just got accepted, and I was wondering what any current Penn State students think of the housing. The pictures and information on Penn State's website only shows so much, I just want to know opinions, or what you guys have heard about the dormitories.</p>

<p>Although I am not a current student (alumni, class of 2007) I doubt anything has changed drastically that I don’t know about. Coming in as a freshman, if you stay in east, pollock, or south halls, don’t expect the rooms to be amazing. I’ve seen all three, and they are pretty “standard” accommodations. By “standard” I mean what you see is what you get. The desks are in a fixed position, and the beds can’t really be moved around, unless you loft them. On the upside, these are the places where the vast majority of freshman live, so meeting people shouldn’t be a problem.</p>

<p>Most of North Halls was converted to suites in the last five years, so they are pretty new, at least on the inside. </p>

<p>West hall (Hamilton Hall) is where I stayed my freshman and sophomore year. They are the oldest dorms on campus, but they have a couple huge upsides. First, all of the closets and drawers are along one wall, and the rest of the room is pretty much open space. The beds, desks and micro-fridge are all movable, so you can pretty much do whatever you want with it. If you loft both beds, you can fit a full couch and a pig screen tv, and still have room to move around. Also, west halls has the best dining hall on campus. You have an advantage, if you live there, in that you can usually beat the rush for breakfast, lunch and dinner. But if you don’t it is relatively close to down town, and a few other dining areas on campus.</p>

<p>I guess the real questions you have to ask yourself is what kind of experience you want to have in you’re dorm room. Is it a place you want to hang out a lot, or is it somewhere you crash at the end of the day. Living in East probably won’t be quiet…ever, lol. But you will have plenty of people you’re age to hang out with. Living in pollock or south, you are close to down town, and at least a little closer to the rest of campus. If you live in west, you are around a lot of upperclassman, mostly in engineering, and some athletes. But you’re room has a lot of potential, and you are close to everything (except Beaver Stadium and the BJC, but those are both worth the walk/bus ride).</p>

<p>It also depends on what you are planning on majoring in…East is close to the new Business building, West is close to the Engineering Building, North is close the School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, and the Business Building. Pollock and South are both close to the HUB (the student union) so if you are involved in a lot of club activities, this is where most of the offices and meeting will be.</p>

<p>Sorry for the rant, but I hope this helps. If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask.</p>