One of the biggest worries for
incoming freshmen is dorm life. Will my
roommate and I get along? Will my floor be
super loud every night? Is my dorm too far away from classes? Is
there really enough room for my shoe collection?! These were all worries that I had upon
choosing where I would live. I had a rather
unique experience coming in to dorm life, given that my twin sister was also
coming to University Park. We had decided
that we didn’t want to live together so that we could branch out and meet new
people, but we were also worried about having random roommates. My Mom suggested that we both apply for FISE,
a special living option for Freshmen in Science and Engineering. It is located in East Halls in Pennypacker,
which sits right on Curtin Road. I’ll
admit that I was quite skeptical about the situation initially. My continuous thought was of the engineering
stereotype. Everyone is going to be
weird and nerdy. What if I don’t get
along with them and don’t make any friends?!
Despite my initial concerns, looking back, I have to say that choosing
to live in Pennypacker was one of the best decisions I made freshman year! There were so many benefits, in my opinion,
in choosing this special living option over just any random dorm. I encourage all incoming freshmen (guys or
girls!) to consider the FISE Special Living Option. Here are the biggest reasons why:
Living
with Engineers
One of the biggest highlights for me about living in
FISE was that I was surrounded by engineering and science students. Now, you may be thinking that it sounds
slightly boring, but it was quite the opposite!
Pennypacker dorm is co-ed by floor and generally houses students from
diverse cultural backgrounds, so I met a wide variety of people. Some who
focused on their studies, some who didn’t, some members of the Blue Band, some
sorority women, some student athletes, some foreign students; and that was just
the girls on my floor! We were all able
to connect and bond quite quickly over our shared classes and workload. I became instant friends with the girls on my
floor as we had so much in common.
Getting
help to tackle those Engineering classes
The best part about living in Pennypacker was that I
had SO much help for my classes. No
matter what class I was taking, I knew there was another girl on the floor that
had the same homework that I did that could help me if needed. We even had a routine going first semester
where on Thursday nights, when our online chemistry quizzes were due, we went around
the floor helping each other get 100’s. I
know it would have been much harder to get through my tougher classes if I
didn’t have the help and support of my 7th floor Pennypacker girls! Also, exclusively to Pennypacker, there are
PA’s (Program Assistants) and in-house tutors available to help you throughout
the year.
Getting
the East experience without the complete
East experience
Coming into freshman year I knew I
wanted to live in East Halls. However, I
wasn’t sure if the environment would be too much for me, given that I like to
focus on my studies. Pennypacker proved
to be a perfect balance! I was able to
live with all freshmen in East, but was not subjected to loud neighbors. Whenever I had an exam to study for, there
were several girls on the floor studying for the same exam, so we never had a
problem with noise while we were studying.
Meeting
your best friends
As the first semester progressed I found myself
hanging out with the same few Pennypacker girls the majority of the time, and
they became my best friends at Penn State.
Next semester we are all living together and scheduled the majority of
our classes together. Living in
Pennypacker allowed me to meet other girls that have the same interests and
aspirations as I do. We bonded
immediately at the beginning of our freshman year journey, and shared many
laughs, tears, and great memories along the way. As corny as it may sound, I know that I will
be best friends with those girls all throughout college, if not longer, and we
would never have met if it weren’t for FISE!
The link above gives a more in depth explanation on
FISE and gives you directions on how to apply.
If you’re interested, make sure you complete both steps; the preference
selection on eLiving and the online form + essay.
I wish all of you girls the
best of luck in college preparation and cannot
wait to meet you at WEPO!!
For the Glory(:
Jessica Smith
Jessica Smith is a sophomore in Architectural Engineering and a Rover for WEPO'13! To read more about Jessica visit her WEPO Profile: http://raindancer45.wix.com/ladyengineers#!jessica-smith/cf5v
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