As the new semester begins and students begin a new schedule with new classes, students may welcome a new living environment. For many, this means life off campus.
From housing right off campus to apartments that require a bus to get to campus, students can live anywhere with friends or start living alone, without Penn State supervision.
But these new experiences also come with a lot of surprises, according to Penn State students.
Vishal Janapati noted that relationships with friends changed in unexpected ways.
“Living with other roommates can be friendly on campus, but you also learn very different things there,” said Janapati, a junior in biomedical engineering.
Nonetheless, Janapati also shared the positive aspects of life that come with living off campus.
“I realize that I have more responsibility, but also more freedom,” Janapati said.
This increase in both freedom and responsibility is a feeling shared by many students, such as Jake Paul and Zhang Wu Tang, when they talk about how they handle situations managing personal and financial obligations. bottom.
“With more freedom comes more responsibility that you have to take on yourself, which is a big alarm bell, especially when it comes to cooking your own meals,” said Paul, Jr. Civil Engineering. “If you get hungry, you can’t always walk to the dining room in one minute.”
Tan, a junior electrical engineer, said the most unexpected thing for him was “keeping all expenses and living expenses under control.”
“I didn’t realize how different bills like electricity and water bills really add up and could change what you can actually spend on other things,” Tan said. I got
Ashley Parson noted how easy the transition was when it came to managing time and moving around.
“I was really surprised at how easy it was to get to and from the bus.
Despite Person’s comments about the convenience of the CATA system, some students, like Chloe Sobel, noted that living off-campus was also inconvenient.
“I was surprised that [were] It is not a school-provided or funded learning space. “With so many people living downtown, I think it would be useful to have a community space for students to work. [HUB-Robeson Center] — but off-campus.
Michael Vasquez, who used to be a resident assistant at East Halls, said he felt “relaxed” off campus.
“One of the things that surprised me about leaving campus was the difference in the feeling of being able to leave. [to go] Go home,” said Vasquez, a junior biochemist. “Very peaceful.”
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