The summer months radiate an endless supply of pool days with friends and long nights spent outside. Many students alike travel back home for the summer, but what if the pool days and long nights were spent in the happiest of valleys – happy valley that is. Spending the summer at Penn State is more than having a shorter to no line at Berkey Creamery or having the HUB-Robeson Center to yourself. Summer session is about experiencing the campus differently, exploring new classes with smaller sizes and meeting new people you’ll share the same experience with. Why leave the happiest of valleys when you can call it your home for the summer?
One On One
Summer session comes in waves of three, starting with Maymester – a month long summer session spent at Penn State during the month of May. The next two sessions are both six-week-long sessions, where students will have more time to spend on campus. Taking classes over the summer provides students an opportunity to explore a new area of study, catch up or get ahead. The class sizes are a fraction of Thomas 100, which is well known to be a bit overwhelming at times. Students who want a more one on one engagement with other students and the professors may have just found their solution.
We’re All In This Together
Meeting new people can be a difficult experience for many students, especially in a new environment. But don’t let the panicking begin. First year students are placed in all freshman dorming floors, so all the students on your floor will be brand new to the campus looking for friends just like you! Penn State also offers a LEAP program that provides first year students an opportunity to be put in classes with the same group of students, also known as a pride, along with a guided mentor to help along the way. Whether you decide to be a part of a LEAP program or not, classes during the summer are small in size, making it that much easier to meet some great friends. The bonus to this all you may ask? You get to come into fall semester (where thousands of more students will be walking Pollock Road) already having a great group of friends by your side.
Happy Memories In Happy Valley
Penn State’s campus during the summer months is quite different than during the school year. The brick walkways are less packed, seats always seem to be open in the HUB and you can always find a spot in the library, which is a rare occasion during midterm and finals week. For first year students, this is an amazing opportunity to learn the campus and all it has to offer. With a fraction of the students there and the smaller class sizes, adjusting to college becomes that much easier. Surrounded by many other students all sharing the same experience, your summer on campus will seem to come to a close just as soon as it all began – of course with many happy memories in between.
