<p>D is heading to PSU for summer session, and will be living in Pollack Halls. She will be in East Halls for the fall/spring semesters.</p>
<p>Can a current or former student tell me specifically what to buy in terms of a bed riser that provides sufficient space beneath the bed for decent storage. I'm not sure how much space there is under the bed without risers, so am curious to know how high of a riser to get. If you have a spefic brand recommendation and a link, that would be great.</p>
<p>Daughter is a freshman in East halls…We got her bed risers at Ross Stores…TJ maxx carry them too…Also, bed bath and beyond. They are all standard size. I picked the black ones…hope this helps</p>
<p>I am currently a freshman now who participated in summer session in 2011 and will be a mentor for leap this summer! I have not used bed risers yet and I have quite a bit of stuff! I live in Pollock now, but lived in East until October! I don’t think bed risers are necessary in east because in a lot of the dorms there are storage shelves of some sort attached to the wall! I have two long plastic containers under my bed now and a three drawer thing under my desk! It’s all about how much stuff you have and what works for you! </p>
<p>Just make sure for summer that you have fans! I recommend at least a box fan and some other fan! Between me and my roommate we had 4 fans and we were still hot! The dorms become very hot! Just be prepared!</p>
<p>Thanks nitnat and skovo93. I went ahead and purchased the bed risers, and we’ll see if they’re necessary based on the amount of storage available in Pollock and East Hall rooms. I’m glad you mentioned the wall storage shelf skovo93. I was a freshman in East Halls/McKean Hall in 1980. I remember a shelf unit attached to the wall running alongside the bed, but did not see one in any of the sample rooms we were shown during the accepted student visits. Maybe some of the halls/rooms have them and some don’t? </p>
<p>I appreciate your comments about how hot the dorms are in the summer, my D is concerned about that. During your experience, did you know anyone who used one of these portable AC units that use water and cold packs? Just curious if you knew of any rooms where students had one of those units and how effective they were, or if everyone you knew just sucked it and dealt with it using fans. I’m assuming that it does tend to cool down significantly overnight, correct?</p>
<p>I’ve heard of people that have gotten the AC things from like target or Walmart… I know we aren’t supposed to have them but people bring them. I know it’s really easy to get AC in your room though. You can go through eliving and do it! Can have allergist or doctor or someone sign it. Personally I rarely did homework in my room during summer! The HUB and business buildings are air conditioned and do the trick! I am going to be a mentor this summer and I am not going to have allergist sign off on AC even after how hot it was last summer! It is definitely bearable!</p>
<p>What about a fan for the beginning of fall? It can get pretty warm in Sept. Also, when we looked at the dorms last summer there was a shelf that ran along one side of the bed about 3 or 4 inches above the mattress, making the bed about the width of a sleeping bag. Do you move the bed away from the shelf? It seemed like a weird place to put a shelf.</p>
<p>I did move my bed out a bit in east! It honestly (at least to me) didn’t seem small! I curl into a ball when I sleep though! That is something you just adjust though! I kept my fan when I moved in! It can still be extremely hot up here for a bit!</p>
<p>A small fan you can clamp to the bed frame is really handy when it’s hot and you want to sleep, and a nice complement to a box fan. Part of the problem is the windows are little, so it’s hard to get the air moving. As mentioned, there are plenty of a/c locations on campus for everything but sleeping. It is hot in the summer but not usually unbearable for more than a week or so. (Arts Fest!) And I would not rely on getting a doctor excuse for a window unit; they are being more and more picky about medical excuses.</p>