Pennsylvania State University - [Penn State], Pennsylvania, State College - Accommodation

State College, PennsylvaniaLocation

UniversitySchool type

Estd1855established year

45218enrollment

Public

7.4/10

19 reviews

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Pennsylvania State University Accommodation: Students' Opinion

AI-Generated Summary based on 19 Reviews

First-year students are required to stay on campus, where accommodation costs around $4000 to $4512 per semester, with renovated halls offering facilities like a kitchenette, AC, and multiple study spaces. On-campus housing has limited capacity, and students must apply early. After the first year, students often prefer off-campus accommodations due to lower costs and privacy, with monthly rents ranging from $450 to $1900.

Fully furnished 4-bedroom apartments off-campus can cost around $600/month, while unfurnished options are approximately $450/month. Off-campus utilities add $200-500 monthly. Common neighborhoods for off-campus living are within a 5-7 mile radius of the school, with rents for 2-3 bedroom units ranging from $1.8k to $3.5k per month. Public transport is insufficient, so students often rely on cabs or friendly neighbors for commuting needs.

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Penn State University review

Likes

Like the academics

Dislikes

Dislike the lack of support going into the labour markets.

Accommodation

Off Campus

Facebook groups. Off-campus rent.

Facebook groups. Off-campus rent.

academic: 6/10

faculty: 6/10

infrastructure: 6/10

accomodation: 2/10

placement: 4/10

extracurricular: 4/10

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Soumyanil Adhikary

Pennsylvania State University( Enrolled 2022 )Chemistry PhD programAugust 12, 2025

10.0 /10

Review of the PhD program in Chemistry at the Penn State

Likes

Campus is pretty
Faculty ads staff in Chem Department are very helpful
We get a state of the art infrastructure and instruments

Dislikes

Settling in US was too hectic. In the first few months you have get SSN, open bank account and other official things along with the culture shock
You are too far from your family. Round trip to India is costly.
Public transportation to bigger cities is not that great

Accommodation

Off Campus

So for PhDs, accommodation and food are the only expenses. I live in a 2-bedroom apartment and I share it with one of my friends. We pay a rent of $1250 (including all the amenities), so per head it's around $625.

So for PhDs, accommodation and food are the only expenses. I live in a 2-bedroom apartment and I share it with one of my friends. We pay a rent of $1250 (including all the amenities), so per head it's around $625.

academic: 10/10

faculty: 10/10

infrastructure: 10/10

accomodation: 10/10

placement: 10/10

extracurricular: 10/10

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Vedant Pachhapur

Pennsylvania State University( Enrolled 2024 )B.S Computer ScienceAugust 8, 2025

7.3 /10

Penn State: University Park Review

Likes

Great Alumni community
Great social environment
Great amenities

Dislikes

There is a 50% chance that any one of your professors this semester could be terrible
Some departments are not run well due to bad faculty
The Computer Science Curriculum is quite outdated

Accommodation

Off Campus

I have not lived off campus yet. Details about on-campus accommodations can be found on the university's website.

I have not lived off campus yet. Details about on-campus accommodations can be found on the university's website.

academic: 6/10

faculty: 6/10

infrastructure: 8/10

accomodation: 8/10

placement: 8/10

extracurricular: 8/10

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Karthik Vinayagamurthi

Pennsylvania State University( Enrolled 2023 )B.S Computer ScienceMay 1, 2025

7.3 /10

My Bachelors in Pennsylvania State University

Likes

It has one of the biggest Alumni system in the entire US
There so many resources for your specific needs
It is easy to get jobs on-campus

Dislikes

The food is not that great on-campus
Housing can be expensive, even though it is a college town.
The gyms and libraries are not 24/7

Accommodation

Off Campus

There was a housing fair where estate agents came to show their housing accommodations during the first year. That is where I found my accommodation
My the monthly rent is 820 dollars, including water, gas and other utilities. There was a TV, fridge, microwave, washing machine and dryer included in my house when I rented it.
I did not find it hard to secure accommodation. However, some people could find it hard to get roommates to move in with.
I would suggest the State College Collective, The Pointe, and The Valley. It is a 12-minute bus ride from my college campus. Most Indians stay at the Pointe

There was a housing fair where estate agents came to show their housing accommodations during the first year. That is where I found my accommodation
My the monthly rent is 820 dollars, including water, gas and other utilities. There was a TV, fridge, microwave, washing machine and dryer included in my house when I rented it.
I did not find it hard to secure accommodation. However, some people could find it hard to get roommates to move in with.
I would suggest the State College Collective, The Pointe, and The Valley. It is a 12-minute bus ride from my college campus. Most Indians stay at the Pointe

academic: 6/10

faculty: 6/10

infrastructure: 10/10

accomodation: 8/10

placement: 4/10

extracurricular: 10/10

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Pranav N

Pennsylvania State University( Enrolled 2024 )B.S Computer ScienceMarch 12, 2025

9.0 /10

Pennsylvania State University: Journey so far!

Likes

Large, lively, and friendly campus life and community that always makes students feel a part of the college
Beautiful Campus and locations with the arboretum, wintery landscapes, line shrine, secret pond, etc.
Rich Culture, College traditions, and Unique History such as THON, State Pattys, etc.

Dislikes

Extremely high winds at times, making it very difficult to walk at times
Getting the exact class you want may be difficult due to the massive student class size
Expensive tuition and living costs, especially for off-campus

Accommodation

Off Campus

First years are required to use On-campus housing. The rent comes to $4000 per semester as I live in East Halls, which is renovated with a kitchenette, AC, and multiple study spaces.
There is wifi in each room with private bathrooms on each floor. The commons is less than a minute walk away with a computer lab, gaming room, market, and several dining options.

First years are required to use On-campus housing. The rent comes to $4000 per semester as I live in East Halls, which is renovated with a kitchenette, AC, and multiple study spaces.
There is wifi in each room with private bathrooms on each floor. The commons is less than a minute walk away with a computer lab, gaming room, market, and several dining options.

academic: 8/10

faculty: 8/10

infrastructure: 10/10

accomodation: 10/10

placement: 8/10

extracurricular: 10/10

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Utkarsh Vikram Singh

Pennsylvania State University( Enrolled 2024 )TOEFL Score : 116Master of Science [M.S], Computer ScienceMarch 7, 2025

5.2 /10

What to expect at Pennsylvania State University , University Park, State College

Likes

On campus opportunities are good so you don't have to work in mess or do labor intensive jobs
The campus is really big and it's very clean and beautiful
The football team of Penn State is amazing thus good football matches

Dislikes

They don't teach any industry related technologies and only focus on Machine Learning and computer fundaments
The course requires a lot of your time thus you can't really focus on jobs search
State College city is really cold and the weather is really harsh

Accommodation

Off Campus

You can go with university accommodation but it is a bit expensive, around 900–1100 dollars per month but off-campus is a bit cheap, 450–1200 dollars.
One can easily get off-campus accommodation by searching online. Too much paper work is required for leasing. One of the cheapest options can be Alight State College and the expensive ones can be The Point.

Monthly Expenses: USD$ 900

You can go with university accommodation but it is a bit expensive, around 900–1100 dollars per month but off-campus is a bit cheap, 450–1200 dollars.
One can easily get off-campus accommodation by searching online. Too much paper work is required for leasing. One of the cheapest options can be Alight State College and the expensive ones can be The Point.

academic: 5/10

faculty: 7/10

infrastructure: 10/10

accomodation: 7/10

placement: 2/10

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Yashovardhan Malhotra

Pennsylvania State University( Enrolled 2024 )IELTS Score : 9Master of Science [M.S], Computer ScienceMarch 6, 2025

7.8 /10

The Pennsylvania State University

Likes

It has a well renowned CS department.
The department is selective with a limited number of students.
Getting a student job is easy as compared to different universitites

Dislikes

Recently the federal funding has been paused for the university.
The city has nothing much to do other than the campus.
It gets super cold in the winters

Accommodation

Off Campus

You can look for apartments via Google or university living; the rent here is not high. You will find that mostly all Indians prefer to stay at Alight State College, so here you can build a strong community.
The rent here is 549$ per month plus you have to pay for utilities, which would range from 40$ in the summers to 100$ in the winters. I would recommend booking apartments as soon as you finalize the college as the rent goes up later.

Monthly Expenses: USD$ 1,000

You can look for apartments via Google or university living; the rent here is not high. You will find that mostly all Indians prefer to stay at Alight State College, so here you can build a strong community.
The rent here is 549$ per month plus you have to pay for utilities, which would range from 40$ in the summers to 100$ in the winters. I would recommend booking apartments as soon as you finalize the college as the rent goes up later.

academic: 7/10

faculty: 10/10

infrastructure: 10/10

accomodation: 10/10

placement: 10/10

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Tanish Kinkar

Pennsylvania State University( Enrolled 2024 )M.Sc InformaticsMarch 3, 2025

9.3 /10

Opinions on : Pennsylvania State University

Likes

The campus is really beautiful.
The college town is very safe.
The college is well renowned for no issues in visa interview/ immigration.

Dislikes

The fees are still high even though it is a state university.
The selection of courses are a bit limited.
The college being in college town gets ghosted in the winter and summer breaks.

Accommodation

Off Campus

I found the accommodation online with the help of my seniors. My monthly rent is 600 dollars. The included facilities are wifi, bus pass, electricity. Recommendations for future students is to start finding places as soon as you get the admit.
The good places tend to run out. So be proactive, connect with people and get your living situation sorted out with the help of current/ existing students.

I found the accommodation online with the help of my seniors. My monthly rent is 600 dollars. The included facilities are wifi, bus pass, electricity. Recommendations for future students is to start finding places as soon as you get the admit.
The good places tend to run out. So be proactive, connect with people and get your living situation sorted out with the help of current/ existing students.

academic: 8/10

faculty: 10/10

infrastructure: 10/10

accomodation: 10/10

placement: 8/10

extracurricular: 10/10

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Adithya Reddy Baddam

Pennsylvania State University( Enrolled 2022 )B.S Mechanical EngineeringMarch 3, 2025

9.3 /10

Pennsylvania State University : Honest Opinion

Likes

The Size of the campus 19051$
The diversity across the campus you have people from all around world
The various options for extra curriculars

Dislikes

Sizes of class for some courses exceed 500-600 students per class
Some classes are very poorly structured
Main campus has very little to do like places to visit or hangout we only have clubs, lasertag and bowling

Accommodation

Off Campus

I live on campus and there is a website where you need to apply for living on campus. You don't have a monthly rent for on campus, you pay it semester wise and i have already listed that before.
The challenges were not getting the roommate I wanted and also not getting the building I wanted but later I could exchange for the room in a different building so it wasn't a problem.
Make sure to know which side of the campus you wanna live on this is the only advice i'll give because some dorms might be further for engineering students and closer for different majors so. I live on campus so all of my classes are a max of 10 minutes walk from my dorm and the indian students are split equally between on campus and off campus.

I live on campus and there is a website where you need to apply for living on campus. You don't have a monthly rent for on campus, you pay it semester wise and i have already listed that before.
The challenges were not getting the roommate I wanted and also not getting the building I wanted but later I could exchange for the room in a different building so it wasn't a problem.
Make sure to know which side of the campus you wanna live on this is the only advice i'll give because some dorms might be further for engineering students and closer for different majors so. I live on campus so all of my classes are a max of 10 minutes walk from my dorm and the indian students are split equally between on campus and off campus.

academic: 10/10

faculty: 10/10

infrastructure: 10/10

accomodation: 8/10

placement: 8/10

extracurricular: 10/10

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Aditya Phadnis

Pennsylvania State University( Enrolled 2024 )Master Computer and Information Science (Data Science Option) on-campus [id: 110643]February 27, 2025

9.3 /10

Pennsylvania State University: POV

Likes

Flexibility in choosing courses.
Ability to try out whatever courses I wanted for the first week, without them affecting my grades or billing.
Huge push towards research, leading to collaboration with professors and fellow students.

Dislikes

Slightly on the costlier side.
Lack of RA opportunities.
Too many research oriented and too few industry oriented courses when it comes to HCI.

Accommodation

Off Campus

Got in touch with my current flatmates just a week after getting the admit. They introduced me to our current place.
Monthly rent is 610. The flat is fully furnished and contains washer, drier, oven, microwave, fridge, dishwasher. Facilities include gym, clubhouse, swimming pool, free bus pass.
My application got stuck as I had to get my guarantors changed. The rent charged is a lot less if you guarantor lives in the states. So make sure to give a US residing contact's name for guarantor.
Its a 5 minute drive away from the campus. Lots of Indian. students in this housing.

Got in touch with my current flatmates just a week after getting the admit. They introduced me to our current place.
Monthly rent is 610. The flat is fully furnished and contains washer, drier, oven, microwave, fridge, dishwasher. Facilities include gym, clubhouse, swimming pool, free bus pass.
My application got stuck as I had to get my guarantors changed. The rent charged is a lot less if you guarantor lives in the states. So make sure to give a US residing contact's name for guarantor.
Its a 5 minute drive away from the campus. Lots of Indian. students in this housing.