The Place to Be!

Introduction
I chose Penn State because I was looking for a campus with a lot of school spirit - big open spaces and lots of people. After looking at all of the Big 10 Schools, I felt that Happy Valley felt like home. I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life, so a college with over 100 majors sounded like a great option. If you're ambitious, outgoing and independent, you'll fit right in here. This is not the school where professors will be holding your hand and checking up on you. While being shy might make life here a bit more difficult (and a lot less fun), it's hard to be completely anti-social.

Campus Life and Social Life
Some of my favorite memories have been football games. Even if you don't like football or don't even understand football: get season tickets. I went from completely clueless to a die-hard fan by the end of my freshman year. We have the second biggest stadium in the country and the feeling that you get when you're with 110,000 screaming fans is unbelievable.
There's no shortage of partying here - if you're underage, it's apartment parties and fraternity parties - this is not the type of college town where Fake IDs can get you in (but will get you a citation!). Being Greek, I found that the pre- "invite only" parties before 11:00 are a lot more fun than the crazy open ones later at night (For the 11:00 open parties, if you're not Greek, and you're a guy or going out with a bunch of guys, good luck getting your entire group of friends into the party.). The only way you'll get in is if you're in the sorority that's invited or you're dating one of the brothers. Greek Life, however, has a lot more to offer than just VIP party lists - with over 50 fraternities and 20 sororities, being in the Greek Community gives you leadership options and great way to make a huge campus smaller. As soon as you're Greek, it seems like you know every other person you see.
Even if you're not into Greek Life - there are tons of activities to get involved in - from Intramural Sports Teams to the Parrot Head Club/Fans of Jimmy Buffet. If you find what you love, and find people that share your passion, it's a great way to be connected and find friends.
Staying fit is a big deal for Penn Staters - and the lines at the gym reflect that. There's a new gym opening in the fall, so there's hope that those lines will lessen, but if you want to go at the prime times (3:30pm-7:00), expect to wait from anywhere from 15-45 minutes. However, gyms open early (7:00am) and close late (midnight).
What isn't great about the social scene is the State College Police's enforcement to bring down the "party school" image - while I understand they're there to do their jobs - and if you're underage it's obviously illegal, the number of citations and arrests given have gone way up since my freshman year. I've had friends that have gotten underage citations for passing a beer to an of-age friend at a tailgate. If you're drinking underage, there is a great chance for serious consequences.
If you're not into drinking, there's plenty of people that feel the same way you do - you just have to look for them. There's a movie theater downtown ($5 movie tickets!), lots of restaurants, shops, and I can't remember a time when I didn't see a bunch of people hanging out watching movies on the weekends. Whether you want to go all out partying or staying in, you can choose what your weekend is like. This is definitely not a commuter school - other neighboring schools come to PSU for the weekend for the social scene! Academics
While some people complain that they can't get in touch with professors, I've found the exact opposite. For every hour professors teach in class, they must have an hour in their office for office hours - so if no one takes advantage, they have to sit there and play mindsweeper - they are not allowed to do research during this time. However, in a class of 300+ people, you have to take the initative and go to office hours and make yourself known. The same goes for your advisors. I make it a point to schedule a meeting with her once a semester and she's helped make sure I graduate on time. However, if you don't make that a priority, they're never going to know you. I've had great TAs that I found better than some professors, and I've had TAs that don't have a clue what they're doing - I found that in the college of math and college of science that the TAs normally do not have English as their first language.
Workload has been manageable - what makes it hard is prioritizing work before your social life -- I think that's the reason why many people stay a 5th and 6th year!

Student Body
Most students are from Pennsylvania - divided up to "Pittsburgh" "Philadelphia" and "Harrisburg." However, there are tons of people from New Jersey and Westchester County and Long Island, NY. I've also met quite a few people from Connecticut and Ohio as well. Most of the students here are white middle-class kids, and while there's diversity, there's not as much as most people would hope. If you think of Penn State as a high school, it's the kids that are a) The popular kids and b) The over-achiever kids, but not necessarily the nerds c) The athletes. All of the "other types" are here, but sometimes they seem pretty hidden.

In Closing...
Penn State has been amazing - I can't believe how fast the years have gone by and I wouldn't trade the memories for anything. However, I went from "kinda-like" to " absolutely love" when I made the decision to get involved and meet people outside my residence hall. Penn State can be anything you make of it - so make it the best!