Is East Halls the best dorm at Penn State?

Hastings Hall, a.k.a the worst of East Halls. Traditional hall, had extremely poor ventilation (dust would build up in my dorm within hours), bathrooms were communal and had mold, and the ground floor had a disgusting communal area never used by students but rather used by construction workers to take their breaks.. pros: was able to wake up on game days and look out the window and see ppl tailgating, it was right by the IM Building, and was really socially active with dorm parties nearly any day of the week. Overall I had a lot of fun and Hastings definitely builds character.

I lived in Snyder. Pros: - You're close to the IM building, tailgates, and stadiums - Lots of facilities, food, and access to buses - You have easy access to make friends with other first-year students - If you're into that, there's a lot of parties to go to, and the aforementioned tailgates, for nefarious activities. Cons: - You're close to the IM building, tailgates, and stadiums. Many nights will be loud, so don't count on having peace/quiet any time before 2:00AM. - The dorm is all first years, so you get all the problems that come with that (toss-up with whether or not floors not are covered in garbage or if things are destroyed) - You're pretty far from where a lot of classes are held. At best, you're a 15 minute walk away from the engineering district, arts disteict, and most first-year courses. Probably bring a bike to make it more manageable. - Water is quite literally unsafe to drink. The first-year foolery can be funny, sometimes, but mostly it's limited to people yelling late at night, being rude for no reason, destroying things, or otherwise inconveniencing you. Could just be my building, though, but don't be surprised.

I lived in Packer Hall, one of the handful of old residence halls that still haven't been renovated yet in East. In my experience visiting friends from other halls, other unrenovated buildings in East like Bigler and Curtin have near-identical layouts and amenities. My building has single-gender floors with communal bathrooms. The four shower stalls are dark, dank, and get pretty gross over time. There is a common area on each floor with space for a TV, tables and chairs, and a couch. A laundry room on every other floor with three sets of washers and dryers. My dorm had a breathable amount of space for two people with spacious desks, cupboards, mirrors, cork boards, ethernet ports, beds, closets, and microfridge unit. The room tended to get dusty and there was no AC, but not a big deal with a fan. Despite being a little more expensive, I'd recommend trying to get a dorm in a renovated building; the rooms are nicer with AC, the bathrooms are private, the laundry rooms are pristine, the elevators work, and the huge lounges seem to foster more of a community in the buildings. Findlay Commons is a minute walk and has quick food options, convenience store items, buffet-style meals, and a study lounge. The dorms are far from most classes, so you have to accept the ten to fifteen minute walk or get acquainted with the bus system. Overall, East Halls was an exciting environment to be in my first year--there were always friends to be made and freshman shenanigans to be had.

I lived in Brumbaugh, which was the most recently built dorm at the time. The rooms were an okay size, but there definitely wasn’t a lot of room for personal items. The private bathrooms are nice, but it seems like having private bathrooms = people feeling more comfortable messing the whole place up. There were a few nice amenities, like a prayer room and a full kitchen, which was nice. The location can be really far from classes, which is irritating, but it’s a nice location for football games.

Lived in Martin Hall the semester it was opened. Okay room, but nice and tall ceilings allowing for lofted beds. Good temperature control, good windows (though our room only looked out at the courtyard), good sound isolation (if you've got the windows closed), microwave/mini fridge combo-unit included. Doors lock automatically, so the only way to keep the door "unlocked" is to open the deadbolt to prevent the door from closing all the way, which sticks out like a sore thumb. Great common area with a water bottle filling station and a nice smart TV, but the floors alternated between common area layouts and the layout we had was way, way better than the other layout, so your mileage may vary. Dining hall was OK. Closes way too early (8pm). Wasn't that good for meeting new people, honestly. Everyone seemed to already know each other. Awful location, except for the fact that you're extremely close to the Creamery and the Business Building. As an incoming freshman, it's a lot harder to secure specific locations for your classes your fall semester, to expect to have at least one or two classes be 20-30 minute walks away from your building. If you can't get into the renovated East buildings, don't go there at all. Seriously. And even if you CAN get into a renovated building, only go there if you've got a lot of friends from high school that will be there as well. Otherwise, it's absolutely not worth it.