So, for any Schreyer members or those who are going to be in the honors college at Penn State - I’m definitely looking to room in either Atherton or Simmons. If you stayed in Honors housing, which dorm did you choose and why? What were some of the perks that came with Honors housing?
Secondly, I found a schedule for NSO’s for regular PSU from last year - is there any major differences? Is there anything I should expect?
Thanks for the help!
Housing is generally quieter. Quiet hours are more extensive, and “courtesy hours” are 24/7. The rooms in Atherton are set up in a fairly average layout – your closet, desk, and bed on one side, your roommate’s on the other, bisected by the window at one end and the door straight across from it. I much prefer this layout (which you can move around if you want, but it’s decent) to my boyfriend’s college, where this year he’s sharing a closet and his bed faces his roommate’s desk.
Atherton is an extremely short walk from the HUB, which is kind of the center of campus. Five minutes to Pollock dining hall and Redifer dining hall (where your mail is), ten to West dining hall, fifteen to Forum (where you might have a class or two), ten to Willard (ditto). There is a computer lab on the first floor with Macs, PCs, two scanners, and printers. Laundry in the basement with several lounges. The first floor also has a silent study lounge and the non-silent Grandfather Clock Lounge. I chose Atherton because it’s slightly more central, but you literally just cross the street to get to Simmons, so it’s not that big of a difference.
Other perks: if you choose honors housing your first year, you are GUARANTEED it forevermore (as long as you apply for housing on time in subsequent years). That means no participation in the lottery system, no uncertainty about if you’ll have a place to live on campus. It’s there if you want to take it. Also, you can literally choose your own room down to the type, floor, and room number after your first year since it’s a Special Living Option. I chose my current room because I wanted to minimize stair-climbing and elevator-taking (fourth floor was brutal for move-in last year) and I wanted proximity to the new renovated bathrooms.