It’s ok to be Undecided about your major!

While applying to Universities you have the opportunity to choose the specific College within the University that you would like to attend. For example, if you want to be a marketing major you would apply to the College of Business. When I was applying to schools I thought I wanted to be a business major but was not sure. I was still looking for a major I would fall in love with. Because I wanted more time to explore the many majors Penn State had to offer, I applied as an undecided student.

Choosing to be an undecided student at Penn State was one of the best decisions I have made.  Being in the Division of Undergraduate Studies gave me the opportunity to look at a variety of different majors and ask my advisor questions about the majors. The college was very active and would send me lots of emails informing me about different majors and colleges offered at Penn State.

After spending a lot of time searching different majors on the University Bulletin, I found my major. Just a few weeks ago I talked to my advisor at the Division of Undergraduate Studies and switched to the College of Health and Human Development. My major is Recreation Parks and Tourism Management with a concentration in Commercial and Community Recreation.  It took me hours of searching to even find that this major existed but I quickly fell in love with the type of work I do and classes that I take.

I hope you find your dream major and your dream job. Just remember that it’s ok to not to know what you want to do with the rest of your life! It is a huge decision that cannot be made overnight. Going into the College of the Division of Undergraduate Studies is a great way to explore all types of majors and career paths.

Penn State University Bulletin

http://bulletins.psu.edu/bulletins/bluebook/

Division of Undergraduate Studies

http://dus.psu.edu/

Where do most freshmen live?

Most freshmen live in East Halls; the only upperclassmen that live in East are the residence assistants (RA’s). The second most popular area for freshmen is Pollock Halls.  There are very few freshmen that live in West, South and North residence halls. If you are not doing a special housing option, I would suggest living in East Halls or Pollock because there are a lot of freshmen there who are eager to make friends.

(Information about residence areas)

http://www.hfs.psu.edu/housing/housing/residence-areas/index.cfm

(Information on special living options)

http://www.hfs.psu.edu/housing/housing/special-living-options.cfm

(East Residence Halls)

How does the laundry system work?

Laundry is located in different places according to the residence building. Most  facilities are located on every other floor but some have one large laundry room in the basement. You pay for laundry through Lions Cash which is on your Penn State ID card. It is currently $1.50 for the washer and $0.50 for the dryer.  The washer takes around 30 minutes give or take for the type of cycle and the dryer takes around 50 minutes.

(Lion Cash information)

http://www.idcard.psu.edu/IDCard/LionCash/index.cfm

Should I bring a bike?

I love having my bike on campus- it saves me a lot of time! Penn State University Park is very large campus; a bike makes it a lot easier to get to all of my classes on time without feeling rushed. Some of my friends do not feel comfortable biking around campus because they are afraid they will run into people but most students get used to riding through campus. So depending on where your classes are on campus you might want to bring your bike. If you decide you want to bring a bike on campus make sure to get your bike registered and bring a bike lock.

(Bike Registration)

http://www.transportation.psu.edu/transportation/alt-Transportation/bicycles/registration.cfm

Should I bring a fan?

YES! No matter where you are on campus or the time of year you will want a fan! Most housing on campus does not have air-conditioning, so a fan is needed for those hot days in August. Also, I have not experienced winter at State College yet, however, my brother says sometimes the heater is so hot that he opened his window freshman year.

If you have any questions that are not here please E-mail me and I will try to either respond directly to you or will post the question and answer on my blog page.

chrissypsu@gmail.com

As students are looking into applying to Penn State there will be a question they will have to answer on the application form. Summer or Fall. When I was applying to Penn State I had talked to my parents and figured that summer was the way to go for me. I hope this overview of summer life at Penn State can help future students make the decision on when to start attending Penn State.

 Classes- The classes students take in LEAP (the Learning Edge Academic Program) is a little different than normal summer session, which is also an option for freshman students. LEAP provides the service of smoothing the transition between high school and college.  I honestly think it really did help. I had two classes that had the same group of kids in it. Therefore, everyone had the same deadlines, tests and projects due. There were many study sessions and practicing of the speeches in the HUB the night before a test or speech was happening. Also, a part of being in leap that is different from normal summer session is that leap students get mentors. These mentors kept the groups involved and updated in activities that were happening all summer long. College is a lot different from high school curriculum and there is a lot more expected of the students. So getting thrown into 2 classes instead of 5 could be the right choice for some students.

Social Life- Summer session is only around six weeks long. Therefore, most students decide only to go home once or stay the whole summer at University Park. There is usually more free time in the summer sessions because leapers are only taking two classes. There is more time to hang out with people and there is always something to do! I knew people who worked out all the time, people who got jobs, joined the groups that were there in the summer, explored campus and went to the many places down town. In addition, the weather is really nice in the summer so there are a lot of pick-up games of volleyball and basketball that anyone can usually join in on.

Dorm Life- Dorm life is nice and easy there is a specific meal plan that everyone has to buy for summer. That meal plan gives you the ability to eat 3 meals a day at the dinning commons and have money left over for summer. The dorm room that I stayed in for LEAP was in South residence area, they are very nice and only a short walk to downtown. Most important aspect of summer dorm life is BRING A FAN!! The dorms I stayed in did not have air conditioning. So make sure you have a good fan or you might just want to sleep in the HUB and steal some air conditioning.

Campus in the Summer- The campus in the summer is a bit different than from the fall. Some of the main difference is the amount of people on campus. There is a lot more room just because there are not 40,000 students just wandering around. Also, there are a lot of kids summer camps that go on and a lot of them eat in some of the same dinning commons as the students. Most important thing that happens in the summer besides for classes is Arts Fest. At Arts Fest there is a massive amount of art venders who go down town State College and on campus to sell and display their art.

I truly believe my summer at Penn State was the best summer of my life! I would suggest it to anyone, especially if you are uneasy about starting college because LEAP does a great job at getting your feet wet.

Professors are a huge part of your college experience.  I have had a decent amount of professors at Penn State University Park and I have had many different experiences with all these professors. 

Characteristics I found most Professors have:

Passion for what they teach

I am currently taking PPATH120 “A Fungal Jungle”. I have never seen someone get more excited about fungi than my two Professors. They described fungi by sometimes calling them beautiful, pretty, cute, etc. Personally I do not care too much for fungi but they have really opened my eyes to the world of fungi. Also, seeing them so excited about the subject makes class a lot more interesting.

The rest of my teachers are also completely immerged in their field of study. They always want students coming to office hours so they can talk more about their subject. For example, my philosophy teacher loves when students ask her questions or when they want to have an in-depth conversation about philosophy.  It is kind of like when a 13 year girl who is obsessed with Justin Bieber, never passes up an opportunity to talk about him.

They are very Intelligent

These professors are extremely well educated and have great backgrounds in their fields. All but one of my Professors has their doctorate degree in their field of study. Most of them have spent large amounts of time in their field. Some are currently researching different ideas and theories at Penn State.

Easy to talk to

Just because they give you tests and grade your papers does not mean they are hard to talk to. All teachers have office hours which is a set time where professors have an open door policy for students to come in and ask questions.  I have gone to office hours before and have gotten a lot of one-on-one time to go over class material that I did not understand.

The best advice I can give you about teachers is to look them up on the website Rate my Professor. This website has helped me countless times to find great professors. All in all, I have really enjoyed the professors on campus and look forward to taking more classes with these outstanding individuals.

http://www.ratemyprofessors.com/SelectTeacher.jsp?sid=758

PPATH120 “A Fungal Jungle” Class

PPATH120 “A Fungal Jungle” Class

There were a few reasons I decided to attend Penn State they are as followed Penn State Football, THON and the academics. 

What is THON?

I believed that THON website www.thon.org  has the best description of what THON is really all about.

“The Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon is a year-long fundraising and awareness campaign for the fight against pediatric cancer. This effort engages more than 15,000 students across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in hopes of finding a cure. The year culminates with a 46 hour no-sitting, no-sleeping dance marathon known as THON Weekend. This event is held at Penn State’s Bryce Jordan Center each year in the month February. In 2013, THON raised a record-breaking $12.37 million and was able to donate 96% of funds raised directly to the Four Diamonds Fund”( Penn State Dance Marathon).

When I asked upper classman to explain THON they were at a loss of words. They told me when you see the pictures, watch the video it is incredible but you still cannot understand what THON is till you experience it. The best description I heard was from my friend Will who is now a sophomore, he simply said “it’s magical”.

Finding My Org!

As a freshman I was very excited to get involved in THON as most other student who knows about it are. Of course the first week of school I was sick so I barley went to the activities fair and did not really find an organization that raised money for THON that I really fell in love with. However, I did find my group A-7. It was all because my brother’s friend David (Phibbs) who graduated in the spring of 2013. He was back in town for the first football game of the season and was going to go to an A-7 social after the game.  He came to my family’s tailgate and before I know it I was invited to a social for this club I never knew existed.  All of a sudden I started to go to meetings and I am now active member of A-7.

A-7 is not the only group you can join if you want to participate in THON. All Sororities and Frats have their own fundraising for THON and most other organizations on campus do as well.

Here are some websites for different organizations that raise money for THON:

http://a7forthekids.org/

http://atlasftk.org/

http://www.springfieldftk.com/

“Penn State Dance Marathon.” Penn State Dance Marathon. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Oct. 2013. <http://thon.org>.