Whilst it's pretty obvious my dorm room is definitely not the most aesthetically pleasing ( we just removed our sexy christmas decorations), nor coordinated I remember I had so many questions about what type of room I would be moving into at Penn State so I thought it would be cool to share mine !
The type of room you have ( single, double or triple) is dependent on your own preference and demand from other students. Similarly which block of dorms you live in - East, South, West, North or Pollock is a mixture of personal choice and luck. You will get to select a preference but most exchange students just end up in whatever hall Penn State can fit them in. Furthermore, living in a triple is the cheapest option whereas single rooms are much more expensive and harder to get placed in.
East halls is primarily for freshers and is known to be the party blocks, where all types of chaos goes down. North, West and South are usually reserved for older students ( i.e. not freshmen) and are much quieter which better, renovated facilities. Pollock has a mix of freshmen and older students and although smaller than South or West has a good location. Every hall has their own dining hall and other shops and stands where you can purchase food to go.
My experience of living in halls here is very different than that in NZ. My hall at Penn State has about 700 students in it and it is no where near as social as my first year hall at VUW. In New Zealand the people on your floor become your closest friends, who you stick with for the whole year. Over here being on the same floor or hall as someone doesn't mean you'll have an instant group of friends. In fact most people won't really make an effort to make friends with the people on their floor ( unless you're in a freshmen hall) because everyone already has their own group of friends anyway.
Some other things to note is Penn State is a dry campus - technically meaning you're not allowed to drink or store alcohol in your room. The enforcement of this rule however is relatively lax. The floors are all unisex which is actually makes it very comfortable and the bathrooms much more tidier. Speaking of bathrooms don't expect 5 star quality - the bathroom on my floor has a certain prison like feel to it and privacy was definitely not taken into consideration when they were built.
Living in the dorms means you live right on campus, food available almost 24/7 and a room which is always warm no matter how bleak the Pennsylvania winter ( FYI we're currently having a blizzard).
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| My desk and bed |
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| View from my side of the room feat. Elle |
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| Mirror and drawers which I share with my roomie. |
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