宾夕法尼亚州立大学（主校区）世界排名_王牌专业_psu院校简介-申请方

The term Happy Valley is often used as a nickname for State College, PA and surrounding areas. The area around the University Park flagship campus of Penn State is absolutely a college town, dominated demographically, economically, and culturally by the school and the more than 40,000 students who make it their home. There is much to do in this small city from cultural events, to restaurants, shopping, and nightlife. There are also outdoor activities nearby, such as skiing and snowboarding, hiking, camping, and more. Nittany Lions football is a huge draw for the whole area.

University Park is the largest of Penn State’s 24 campuses and is right in the middle of the state of Pennsylvania. An architectural combination of white columns, red brick, stone, and more modern buildings, the campus has many open sitting areas, pavilions, and fountains. Built in 1863, Old Main was the first building on campus, constructed of limestone from the land around it. It was rebuilt in 1930 after being deemed structurally unsound and is today home to the president’s office and other officials. On the weekends, its bells chime with the “Nittany Lion” fight song. The campus is surrounded by numerous acres of farmland, stores, homes, a mall, and a hospital. Downtown stores are just a minute’s walk from campus, so students often leave campus to grab lunch or coffee. A popular place on campus is the Creamery, the largest university creamery in the nation, famous for ice cream, sherbet, and cheeses.

Freshmen are required to live in the dorms at Penn State, but many students move off campus to downtown State College in subsequent years. There are five residence hall complexes on campus: the East Halls are the largest, while the West Halls may be the prettiest, in traditional collegiate brick and near the Lion Shrine; the North Halls are all coed and are the smallest of the housing complexes; the Pollock Halls are the third largest, near the HUB and Eisenhower Auditorium; and the South Halls border downtown State College. There is also apartment-style living for upperclassmen in four complexes: Eastview Terrace, the Nittany Apartments, Nittany Suites, and Whitecourse Apartments for full-time graduate students.

Penn State has an extremely successful athletic program, sending many of their players to the major leagues. The Nittany Lions compete at the Division I level of the NCAA in the Big Ten Conference, and count 800 varsity athletes in its ranks. The Nittany Lions football team is the most popular sports team at the university, and draws huge crowds from the school and surrounding area. Penn State has won two national championships in 1982 and 1986, both under the guidance of head coach Joe Paterno, who has more bowl game wins and FBS undefeated seasons than any other coach in college football history. Other notable Nittany Lions teams include men’s and women’s basketball, and men’s and women’s volleyball, baseball, and even fencing. Article: Top Ten Things a Freshman Must Know About Penn State Sports Penn State: If You Don't Go Here, We'll See You on the Field