Pennsylvania State University--University Park

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Students Say - Academics
Pennsylvania State University "offers an amazing education [and] a sense of community, family, and pride," its students tell us, and while students appreciate the "hundreds of classes to choose from (you can literally take any class you could ever dream of)" and the "endless opportunities for academic and personal growth," it's the "amazing sense of pride and tradition" that truly captivates most. As one student explains, "It's about...the feeling you get even when you come back to visit 20 years later. Once you're a Penn Stater, you're always a Penn Stater. You don't get the same feeling anywhere else. Believe me, I've looked." With "strong academics in the sciences, engineering, and business," PSU has the means to educate the go-getters of tomorrow, then help them find jobs through "a very strong alumni base" that students tell us is "the largest dues-paying alumni association in the world." Academics are "incredible," with "innumerable opportunities to connect with administrators and professors, although it is up to the student to take advantage of them." Online course management serv- ices "make keeping up to date in your classes really easy." All these options and opportunities have students bragging that PSU is "a Public Ivy." One with way better football.

Students Say - Campus Life
Once the weekend arrives it's either party time or rest-up time at Penn State, and students tell us that "it's usually party time." "Fraternities are very popular at Penn State for first-year students, and apartments and house parties go well with the upperclassmen." Students also tout University Park's "many places to go out to dinner" ("people go out to eat a lot!"), and close proximity to a "Target, Wal-Mart and movie theaters that can all be accessed by cheap buses that run on campus." In addition, students can attend "a ton of concerts that come through State College because the Bryce Jordan Center is the biggest arena between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia" and "free events sponsored by the Student Programming Association." "Almost every weekend there is a student group performing on campus, whether it be comedy, singing, or acting," one student reports. And then there's Nittany Lion football. As one student puts it, "Football is a way of life here." Many students are also active in philanthropy; THON, the school's annual dance marathon, is "the largest student-run philanthropy in the world, raising money for pediatric cancer research."

Students Say - Student Body
PSU is a big school with lots of different types of students, but there is definitely a predominant look on campus, which is "sweatpants and T-shirts. We like to be comfortable, relaxed, but always school spirited." Indeed, your typical PSU undergrad is "a diehard football fan" with "a plethora of pride for the school and lion." About one-quarter of the student body originates from outside Pennsylvania ("there's a large number of students from New Jersey"), with the majority of Keystone State natives coming "usually from either the Philadelphia or Pittsburgh area" as well as representing "middle-class white kids from central Pennsylvania." Whatever their geographical roots, the typical PSU undergrad "is someone who works hard during the week [and] is involved in activities on campus, but definitely wants to have a good time once the weekend comes." As one student puts it, "The libraries and study areas on campus are always packed but so are the streets downtown on weekends."

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