shubhamk Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 this is surprising ... no PSU community till now :shock: I am joining PhD Economics... anyone else joining PSU fall '09 .. I have already started calling people for housing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAPoliSciPhD Posted March 7, 2009 Share Posted March 7, 2009 There's a decent chance I'll be at Penn State Fall 'O9. Glad to see there's someone else on this board talking about this school! I'm not sure what to do about housing yet. I've done some looking online at the area. Have you been up there? What do you mean calling people for housing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shubhamk Posted March 8, 2009 Author Share Posted March 8, 2009 I am an international student...so i haven't visited the place yet ...but there are a couple of students from my University there...so I have contacted them for helping me out with housing...and also a few guys from the Economics Department which I am joining... What situation is emerging from there is: This year because of recession a lot of guys have still not got jobs so many of those guys won't be leaving the housing yet. This means scarce housing options for the new guys joining in fall!!! This is the primary reason am talking to people there who can book housing on my behalf. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paiged Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 There's a very good chance that I'll be at Penn State next fall in a psychology PhD program. I visited a few weeks ago, really enjoyed the campus and the people. We went on a housing tour as well, and got a lot of information about apartments and such. I want to live with (a) roommate(s) though, so it's the waiting game of making a decision and waiting for other people to do so as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shubhamk Posted March 10, 2009 Author Share Posted March 10, 2009 There's a very good chance that I'll be at Penn State next fall in a psychology PhD program. I visited a few weeks ago, really enjoyed the campus and the people. We went on a housing tour as well, and got a lot of information about apartments and such. I want to live with (a) roommate(s) though, so it's the waiting game of making a decision and waiting for other people to do so as well. pls share some of that info about apartments!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAPoliSciPhD Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 Yes, please do so! My visit weekend is at the end of this month. Are you rooming with people you know? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paiged Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 Ok, here's the places we looked at: Executive House Apartments (On www.apartmentsstatecollege.com ) Circlewood Apartments ( http://www.arpm.com/homes/details.php?id=64 ) Lion's Gate ( www.lionsgateapts.com ) and a bunch of places by Falk Realty Management ( www.falkrealty.net ) I've been looking on craigslist too. I don't know who I'll be living with-- we started a facebook group for the prospectives to see who is coming. I'm up to living with people other than those who live in my program. We'll see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAPoliSciPhD Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 What did you think of the places you saw? Anything that your first reaction was 'no way!' ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paiged Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 Executive House and Lion's Gate were both really nice... and I've gotten used to my quasi plush college pad that has a dishwasher and such. Executive house especially seems to have a lot of natural light, and also have balconies which is nice. Circlewood are big, but they lack the natural light thing-- though have LOTS of storage space. They're on the north side of campus, where as the others are on the south. The kitchens at Circlewood were the biggest, and smallest at Lion's Gate. They were all nice, it's just a matter of what things you value more. All of the above places do not allow undergrads, which is nice (though as a current undergrad, it feels funny to say that.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twocosmicfish Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 Warning about Lion's Gate - their apartments are almost never as nice as they initially seem, and they will rake you over the coals on your move-out inspection. I heartily recommend Falk realty - I lived in Colony Apartments (near the Hooter's) for 3 years while my gf lived at lion's gate. I had nicer apartment, for cheaper, and when I checked out they took off no money for the apartment condition and gave me the interest they earned on my deposit over 3 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nahiy Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 Hi all! I'll be joining the Statistics program this fall. I've also been checking out housing on the web, I've mainly seen two types: apartment communities, or else rooms in individual town houses. Can anyone compare these two types of housing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paiged Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 I've sent the e-mail officially accepting to go to Penn State, and am faxing in all the necessary sheets today after I get off work. Now... the hunting of finding a place to live begins! I think that I'll go back over the summer to look at stuff before I actually sign a lease. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nab190 Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 dunno about about grad housing, but i would look for a place as soon as possible. housing can be really hard to find in state college once you get into the summer months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cookies10 Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 I'm most likely accepting an offer (still trying to negotiate funding and waiting for nsf grfp). Anyone looking at the on-campus grad housing? I wasnt going to because I have issues living with 3 complete strangers, but if anyone else is in the same boat maybe we could talk and not be strangers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xerzewatt Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 I will accept PSU most likely too. I heard that on campus housing that the university provides is really expensive than off-campus housing that of course we have to find manually. Also I want to ask another thing. I am an international student and the school wanted bank statements even though they gave me TAship with funding obviously. In addition the ISS does not reply to my questions about these documents. What do you think about this situation? Why do they want them? Should I rush them to April 15 or it is only for visa? Any of course will I be able to live with 14,6K in state college? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nahiy Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 xerzewatt, 1. If the ISS office doesn't respond to your email, then just call them. That's a lot more efficient. 2. You can definitely live decently on your stipend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xerzewatt Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 xerzewatt, 1. If the ISS office doesn't respond to your email, then just call them. That's a lot more efficient. 2. You can definitely live decently on your stipend. Firstly thanks for reply. 1) It is kinda hard because I'm in Turkey so it is 8 hours different with PSU and also it costs too much. But I will try that next week I guess. 2) Thanks I'm relieved. When I see on campus housing and estimated meal rates of them it really freaked me out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jakrabite Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 Hi everybody. I'll be joining PSU in Fall 09. I faxed my acceptance recently as well. My friend at PSU tells me grad housing is not an option apparently. I was really hoping to stay on campus and am quite disappointed about this scene. Does anyone have any info about on campus housing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
engimo Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 Hi everybody. I'll be joining PSU in Fall 09. I faxed my acceptance recently as well. My friend at PSU tells me grad housing is not an option apparently. I was really hoping to stay on campus and am quite disappointed about this scene. Does anyone have any info about on campus housing? I have no idea why you would want to stay on campus. It's horrendously expensive and the conditions are not very good. If you're willing to walk a few blocks or take a bus, you can find a much better, cheaper place off-campus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jakrabite Posted April 10, 2009 Share Posted April 10, 2009 Alright. That makes more sense I guess. I'd prefer not staying too far from campus. How are you guys handling housing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xerzewatt Posted April 10, 2009 Share Posted April 10, 2009 I'm just checking on craigslist. Not decided yet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twocosmicfish Posted April 10, 2009 Share Posted April 10, 2009 I would recommend that you avoid campus housing - its small, regulated, noisy, and expensive. Unfortunately, that describes most student housing in the area. Being a small town, MOST apartments are sold towards a captive student customer base that lacks them jack up prices and keel-haul you on checkout. My wife spent 2 days cleaning her Lion's Gate apartment and was still torn up for $500 off her deposit. I would recommend Falk Realty from personal experience - I stayed in Colony Apartments for 3 years, the apartment was great, location was really good, rent was low... just cannot say enough good things about the place. They do not generally rent to undergrads, so it is also a bit quieter. It has been a few years - I left that apartment in 2001 - but I have heard it has not really changed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jakrabite Posted April 10, 2009 Share Posted April 10, 2009 Thanks for the input twocosmicfish. Will definitely check Falk Realty out. One last question, how much should I be expecting to shell out for half decent acco near the uni. All I need is a room to myself and a loo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xerzewatt Posted April 19, 2009 Share Posted April 19, 2009 Is there anyone looking for a housemate in state college? There are nice 2-3 bedroom houses which seriously reduces the amount of cost per person especially for utilities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twocosmicfish Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 Thanks for the input twocosmicfish. Will definitely check Falk Realty out. One last question, how much should I be expecting to shell out for half decent acco near the uni. All I need is a room to myself and a loo. Nowadays, I would expect to pay $500+ a month for an efficiency, $600+ a month for a 1-bedroom. You could find nicer for an extra $100, but you will not find anything cheaper from an apartment complex. You could drop that by $100-200 if you do not mind sharing a bathroom and renting a room in a house - there are a bunch of houses rented out to students a room at a time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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