@HelenH I can tell you from first hand knowledge and experience that PSU is a huge party school - ESPECIALLY on game day. Tailgating starts at 8am and can go as late as 4am. My son went up there for a game a couple months ago and also said guys were drunk in his friends dorm and vomit all over the bathroom.
PSU is the second-most expensive public school in the country (Pitt is first) and even its branch campuses (campii?) are no bargain. PA in general is awful for higher ed costs.
We are in-state and I guess I’ll be That Person and comment that the scandals and the reaction to them turned us off so much that there’s no way we would have applied, even if we could have afforded it.
I would also add that a senior at my D’s school started there a year ago - our high school is very small with classes about 75 total per grade - and the girl hated it and transferred to a smaller school at the end of her first year. Anecdotal, I know, but I would make sure your kid loves the whole big state U atmosphere 
Good luck, stay warm and enjoy your visit!
@gatormama makes a good point about the size of the school. It’s not right for everyone. People who struggle to make friends will need to get outside their comfort zone and join clubs/activities to find their niche. The size can be intimidating and there’s always a batch of students that feel lonely despite being in such a large university. I’ve heard others comment (and agree) that PSU is what you make of it. Lots of partying and drinking–like other big state universities—but you don’t have to do that. Greek life is predominantly off-campus, so if you don’t want it, don’t go. There’s so much to do in State College…performance, service organizations, club sports, THON, etc. My daughter can’t drink but has gotten involved in plenty of activities that don’t involve alcohol.
Not commenting on the scandals other than to say that I don’t allow the horrible actions of a few to characterize the entire PSU experience. Many big schools have scandals (Ohio State, Michigan State, UNC, etc.) We learn, improve, and move on.
Thank you for all the info. Very helpful. Are there any dorms that are all girls or and dorms that offer an all girls floor. Very poor decision for universities to combine male/female on same floor. In my opinion they’re asking for trouble.
To answer your question:
1) PSU offers a world class education.
I’m confused by @gatormama comments since her child doesn’t go there, didn’t want to go there and the anecdotal experience of one kid her kid knew is hardly evidence of anything. The question was why DO people want to go to Penn State…not why don’t they.
There are lots of reasons why someone wouldn’t want to go to Penn State. The size isn’t for everyone and that is a valid point. But the drinking? I don’t know. Neither of my kids are huge partiers and they’ve done very well at Penn State. Will there be drunk kids around? Yes. Name one college where there isn’t.
Does tailgaiting start early? Yep. But it’s also in the corner of campus and you don’t even have to go to the games if you don’t want. THAT is the great thing about Penn State in my opinion. It is big enough that there is something for everyone and you can make it what you want it. You can absolutely have a very great experience at Penn State and not be a partier. I know many for whom that’s the case. I also know kids who’ve gone to small religious schools who ended up in the hospital with alcohol poisoning. You can make ANY school a party school.
My niece is also at Penn State. She’s a junior. Has never had a drink. She is a very religious/spiritual girl and she found her niche with MANY clubs and activities - I am not sure how she gets everything done. She is in Kenya this semester on a semester abroad program. She has not only survived Penn State, she has absolutely thrived.
There will always be kids for whom Penn State is not the right fit due to size, distance, whatever. And those kids shouldn’t apply or go then. The scandals from SEVEN years ago and the actions of a few should have nothing to do with it. Not one person involved in that scandal is even at Penn State anymore.
Penn State is what you make it. The good news is, there is something for everyone BECAUSE of that size.
Jlhpsu - nothing wrong with people sharing negatives also. The OP is going to visit, but it’s good to get many perspectives. And intere that when she mentioned scandal I immediately thought of the tragic death of Tim Piazza 2 years ago, not the Sandusky mess.
@leigh22 @Gatormama as a parent who is weighing all factors in making a decision to choose a campus for my daughter, hearing all feedback is very helpful
Negatives as well as positives. We all know that all comments here are just opinions
I think all thoughts should be welcome here
@HelenH most definitely my daughter has a lot of fun there are comedy shows, they go out to dinner, concerts, yes football games (she just tailgates in less partying lots), hockey, but she will tell you to join a ton of clubs and find people like you - they are everywhere- and she has friends that party too. Now to answer your question on housing I think it might be best to ask others that question. My daughter is in a SLO and is in West dorms. No she doesn’t have an all female floor but her side are females. I never witnessed drunk people running around the dorms nor did she but I would think that could happen. There are SLO’s specifically for those that don’t want to drink if that is her focus (not sure where they are located). Again just want to state my daughter has an extremely full social calendar without crazy partying, but she did actively search for people like her from day one.
@HelenH I also want to point out that she is OOS and knew no one that was going to PSU.
@skibunny2 Thank you so much for your feedback. You were very helpful.
@Leigh22 @ziveli513 Negative perspectives are welcome from actual students and parents who have experience with the university in any capacity. An opinion on why one didn’t even apply to Penn State makes no sense in this context. Why do we care why someone chose not to even apply? Why is that feedback valid? Am I going to go onto the Ohio State or Temple board just to say I don’t like Ohio State or Temple and would never apply there, even though I have no personal experience with either? That would be weird, right?
I’m all for letting people know the positives AND negatives associated with Penn State (which I often do). But having just random people who didn’t go to Penn State, who’s child didn’t even apply or go to Penn State and has no personal experience with the University chime in with their opinion on why people shouldn’t go to Penn State, and have anyone take that opinion as having any worth (when it’s based on nothing), is just odd in my opinion.
There’s lots of reasons NOT to go to Penn State, and people who don’t want to go to Penn State top that list. That can be true for literally every college in the country. Don’t like it? Don’t apply. The question here is why DO people like to go to Penn State, asked by a parent who’s child has been accepted and is visiting.
Penn State is located in the geographic center of Pennsylvania. State College is a huge college town & is not near any other cities. Football is huge & wrestling is the best in the country.
I cannot think of any other university that has a similar overall vibe. (In contrast, for example, many universities in the South offer more similarities to other large Southern schools than dissimilarities.)
Definitely a party school, but large enough to offer alternative activities.
Both Penn State–UP & the University of Pittsburgh lack diversity.
P.S. Although I never attended PSU, dozens of my friends & two longtime girlfriends did. I have only spent a few long weekends on campus many years ago. I think that it would be helpful to know to which other schools PSU students applied. I think that many also apply to Rutgers-NB, for example.
@Leigh22 as a legacy family who loves penn state and has visited many times I too thought of the sad story of Tim piazza when psu scandals were mentioned
Just 2 years ago and still resonates as cautionary tale for all college bound students anywhere
I think that’s why all opinions and thoughts are useful imo
As for why so many want to go to psu certainly for in state it is extremely popular
And visible
Almost every other car here in Lancaster pa has a blue paw print, my d included
Sheer fame makes it appealing to a pa kid
Penn State has a lot of serious students. There is a large engineering school and a large, well respected business school. But kids at all rural colleges & universities drink.
P.S. After some thought, I think that Purdue University is similar in many respects to PSU-University Park.
PSU also has a highly regarded Honors College/Program that is worth investigating.
IMO, not a random person. The post was by someone who’s in-state ¶. As a Californian, why can’t I comment on UC’s and CSU’s, even though my kid doesn’t attend one? My tax dollars, so I hope I can voice my opinion.
I have no opinion on PSU, except to say my best friend and his wife loved it. And so does their kid. 
@sushiritto It makes no sense to me that you’d want to comment on schools that you have no personal experience with. I have tons of local schools around me. I pay to all of the PA state schools. Does not mean I know a thing about attending one or having a child attend one. I can’t imagine going onto one of those boards and having an opinion that means anything just because I might live near it . The only thing I could possibly offer is the campus layout. If you want to comment on your taxes…that’s another board. (FYI - Penn State only gets 5% of their funding from the state because it’s NOT a state school). If you’ve not gone to a school and you’ve not had a child attend a school and you’ve never even gone through the application process for a school, it seems ridiculously arrogant to comment on what you don’t like about that school to someone considering going. the opinion is strictly uneducated by definition. Why is that valuable to the OP who is visiting and wants to know what people like about the school?
I don’t know. Seems weird to me, but maybe only me.
Based on admission yield figures, PSU tends to be more popular among accepted male students (who enroll at a 30% rate) than for females (26%).
https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=Pennsylvania+State+university&s=all&id=214777#admsns
Regarding housing, if you don’t want drunk, loud guys…
Avoid East Hall.
Most dorms are single sex by wing and/or by floor.
Look for Living Learning communities, called SLOs at Penn State. There should be a substance free dorm and/or a Quiet dorm. “Academics based” SLO’s will likely be quieter/more studious.
If you’re thinking of a Liberal arts major, apply for Paterno Fellows Housing in the Schreyer Dorm. There’s even a sound proof study room 
Ask what activities were taking place on and around campus the past weekend: free film? Card/board game tournament? Under 21 concert? Trip somewhere?
In my experience, kids who say ‘there’s nothing to do but drink’ are just showing their own lack of interest in much else, because all campuses try to offer things to do on weekends.
@sushiritto agreed. Here In pa penn state looms large, almost everyone knows someone who went there or has attended many an awesome psu football game or heard first hand accounts of all kinds of stories about dorm and campus life
The more posts the merrier I say
And gatormama and others offered their thoughts in a friendly way
Friendly is one of the rules here on cc
I think readers can certainly weigh the value of a post for themselves
Glad your best friend and his wife loved it and their kid too