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When did you know you were going to attend Penn State?

TheGLOV

TheGLOV

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Mar 20, 2005
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Gallup NM. Las Vegas NV. McKees Rocks, Pa. Wyoming
Sharing stories about just how or when or what came to mind that led you to make your decision about selecting PSU might be nice to here.

Was it your decision alone?

Did you follow your brother or sister?

Were you recruited to play a sport by Penn State?

Was their a family tradition to do so?

Did somebody help guide - school advisor wise to check out dear old state?

Or were you just drunk out of your mind and said: "Oh what the hell! PSU looks good!"

Perhaps you followed a girlfriend or boyfriend to dear old state.

Do tell please.

Thank you!
 
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4 years old. My sister was diagnosed with Wilms Tumor (kidney cancer). The Four Diamonds Fund paid for all of her treatment and we were put into the Adopt a Family program with THON. At THON 96 I met Kerry Collins and Wally Richardson. In 99 my dad and I met Lavar, Brown, and Short. Penn State trips were our winter vacation as a family. I did have two aunts graduate here too and an Uncle on the other side of the family that took classes. Even before my sister was diagnosed our family had always loved Joe and Penn State was number 1 in both grandparents households even though my dads parents both went to...Pitt. There are many pictures of me as a baby in PSU gear.

My guidance councilor knew Penn State was the only school I was applying to and while I had the grades and SATs, I wasn't well over the cut off, so she wrote a few letters for me and I was accepted to UP for summer 2005 program, which was a great decision in and of itself.

Funny story: The Fraternity that we were paired with for THON was actually the same one that my dad's buddy had been in some years before and the place that my dad first proposed to my mom. Don't ask me why he proposed to her at his friends fraternity house.....
 
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Didn't even know where PSU was. Assumed it was near Philadelphia since Pitt was in Pittsburgh.
Anyhow, my best friend and I went to State College to pick up my future brother in law for a term break. We got there early, walked around then looked at each other and said, "..this is the place".
I attended the following year, 1966 and graduated in 1970. Tuition room and board was $1275 in 1966.
My buddy went on to junior college in Kansas on a football scholarship. He wrote to Paterno to no avail, and finished his last 2 years at the U. We still talk about that drive to State College
 
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When I was born. Both parents had degrees from, and worked at PSU, so it was a no-brainer that the kids would take advantage of the 75% tuition discount and our family ties to the school. None of us visited any other schools and all kids graduated from PSU. Many of us, including myself, were employed by PSU for some time post graduation. We Are... a Penn State family.
 
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TheGLOV said:
Sharing stories about just how or when or what came to mind that led you to make your decision about selecting PSU might be nice to here.
Click to expand...

When I had a premonition that the great university would one day be run (into the ground) by the likes Surma, Frazier, Peetz, Masser, et al. Wanted to get there and get out before those POS arrived.
 
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Growing up in PA made PSU a logical choice. But, the summer before 8th grade, we were returning from a family vacation and we decided to have lunch in State College (wish I could remember where). After driving around town and campus, I said to myself "This is what college is supposed to look like." I never looked back.
 
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My uncle went to Penn State in the late '60s and early '70s and he was always buying me Penn State stuff. I remember watching the Orange Bowls and the Cotton Bowl with him and rooting for PSU. So there was hardly a doubt where i wanted to go. Although I did consider Syracuse and Ohio State. My uncle would go on to teach at the York campus.
 
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I was looking for a decent, accredited, Engineering Prgm in my major. PSU looked interesting and the rest were either unaffordable or located the south so I rented out my house in Oregon, packed the UHaul, opened an Atlas to figure out where Pennsylvania was and hit the road.


All I really knew about Penn State was the 1982 NC game which was the only college game I had seen in a decade. Also Kurt Warner was a Seahawk so PSU had to be great.
 
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My parents met at Penn State so I grew up knowing I wanted to go there. Plus watching Penn State games with my dad growing up has always been one of the highlights of my life. Even now, 10 years after his death, I think of him during every Penn State game. You could say Penn State has always been a part of my family.
 
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I was born and raised in the south and always dreamed of going to Penn State. In high school I worked very hard and eventually became good enough at my sport (probably because of my southern speed) to be recruited and go on official visits to many great schools. Except for Penn State.

I eventually committed to Bucknell.
A few months after my commitment, the Penn State coach offered me a walk on spot. I made a very difficult decision and decided to stick with my commitment to Bucknell - I all but reached my goal of competing in my sport at PSU.
I don't regret my decision, I loved my time at Bucknell and received a great degree. I was also the biggest PSU football fan there, and regularly took my friends to games every Fall and turned them into big PSU fans, too.

Though, somehow, when I follow recruiting I still wonder how any football player would NOT want to go to Penn State.

 
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krichards said:
Growing up in PA made PSU a logical choice. But, the summer before 8th grade, we were returning from a family vacation and we decided to have lunch in State College (wish I could remember where). After driving around town and campus, I said to myself "This is what college is supposed to look like." I never looked back.
Click to expand...

Excellent!!
 
I had already been accepted into Drexel's Co-op program when I was awarded my dad's company's $1,000 annual scholarship to Penn State. I new little about Penn State, had never visited (lived in Philadelphia), but accepted the scholarship as it was the cost-effective option of getting an education. Best decision I ever made as I met my wife there, was in a good fraternity, had a decent career, and made life-long friends.
As I recall, tuition, books, fees,room & board etc , was less than $2,000 per year, making us probably the last generation that could "work" its way thru college...I graduated in 1966.
 
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TheGLOV said:
Sharing stories about just how or when or what came to mind that led you to make your decision about selecting PSU might be nice to here.

Was it your decision alone?

Did you follow your brother or sister?

Were you recruited to play a sport by Penn State?

Was their a family tradition to do so?

Did somebody help guide - school advisor wise to check out dear old state?

Or were you just drunk out of your mind and said: "Oh what the hell! PSU looks good!"

Perhaps you followed a girlfriend or boyfriend to dear old state.

Do tell please.

Thank you!
Click to expand...
From the time I knew I wanted to continue on to a college education, I knew I wanted Penn State. I grew up in several parts of central/south eastern part of the state and I knew there was only one school I wanted to attend. I didn't even apply to any other schools. If I hadn't gotten into PSU, I likely would not have gone to college, at least not right out of High School.
A funny story to go along with this is when I was accepted to PSU, I was accepted to Main Campus right away because my major (AE) is a five year program. But at the time I had a girl friend in High School who was a year behind me and I wanted to stay closer to home for a year to be closer to her. So, I opted out of Main Campus for my first year and transferred to Berks Campus. The funny part is, before I started my freshmen year at Berks, we broke up. Because of my major, I still had four years at University Park but I often wish, that I would have hade the five years at UP. Then again, who knows, if I had gone to Main Campus right out of High School, it might have been a more difficult adjustment. and maybe I would have flunked out. But I always knew PSU was the school for me and I am always thankful for my PSU degree.
 
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I became brainwashed by my step father who lived in York PA. I visited the main campus every summer with him and went to a few football games during holidays. We also checked out some of the branch campuses. I lived (and do again now) outside CIncy OH. I was either rooming with my buds going to OSU, OU, or UC. But once that acceptance letter hit from PSU I knew it was the opportunity of a lifetime for me. It didn't hurt that my school counselor looked up business school rankings and PSU was top 10. Additionally they had just beat U Miami for NC. Very fun time to be in college. My mom would tell you I was a mommy's boy and it was my way to make up for lost time due to divorce and her living out of state for so many years.

I have zero regrets and have shared my story with countless people over the years.
 
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I didn't consider Penn State at first, but after I was accepted to Harvard and Yale on full scholarships, I decided...... OK, seriously, I applied to Pitt, Duquesne, WVU, and Penn State (University Park). I was accepted at all 4, but felt I needed to get out on my own, rather than commuting, so I narrowed it down to WVU and PSU. After reading as much as I could about both, I chose Penn State without ever having set foot on campus. I've never regretted the decision.
 
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Like Alpha, I grew up just outside of Altoona about a mile from the campus. It was almost a foregone conclusion that I would be attending PSU, particularly considering the low tuition costs at that time. In retrospect, I'm certainly not unhappy that I did!
 
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TheGLOV said:
Sharing stories about just how or when or what came to mind that led you to make your decision about selecting PSU might be nice to here.

Was it your decision alone?

Did you follow your brother or sister?

Were you recruited to play a sport by Penn State?

Was their a family tradition to do so?

Did somebody help guide - school advisor wise to check out dear old state?

Or were you just drunk out of your mind and said: "Oh what the hell! PSU looks good!"

Perhaps you followed a girlfriend or boyfriend to dear old state.

Do tell please.

Thank you!
Click to expand...

I was 15 and I realized washing dishes svcked balls. I needed an educarion.
 
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The year was 2-aught-15. I was combing my hair and taking selfies (pouty face, of course!) on an early July afternoon when I made my decision. I contacted Coach Franklin and told him that I was committing. Because my Twitter followers thirst for content of all things Big Q, I knew that my announcement to the world had to be BIG. And what's bigger than stunting on a small a$$ plane? So, I made a dramatic video of myself sitting in said small plane with "coming home" as my background music. OMG, perfect! It was kind of expensive to have this plane take off, fly over the airport and land again, but it's cool. Pops paid for it. Begrudgingly of course, because he always wanted me to go to Michigan! LOL! He might be on to something, because I really like that coach Harbaugh. I visited him like a thousand times and he even slept over at my house!

Now, I'm not so sure if I actually want to go to Penn State any longer. Coach Harbaugh said something about greyshirting at Michigan. I'm not sure what that means, but as long as I can pop the collar on that greyshirt, I'm totes cool with it, bro! That's my Penn State story, and I'm sticking to it (but not my commitment.)

-Nord-dawg
 
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stater02 said:
The year was 2-aught-15. I was combing my hair and taking selfies (pouty face, of course!) on an early July afternoon when I made my decision. I contacted Coach Franklin and told him that I was committing. Because my Twitter followers thirst for content of all things Big Q, I knew that my announcement to the world had to be BIG. And what's bigger than stunting on a small a$$ plane? So, I made a dramatic video of myself sitting in said small plane with "coming home" as my background music. OMG, perfect! It was kind of expensive to have this plane take off, fly over the airport and land again, but it's cool. Pops paid for it. Begrudgingly of course, because he always wanted me to go to Michigan! LOL! He might be on to something, because I really like that coach Harbaugh. I visited him like a thousand times and he even slept over at my house!

Now, I'm not so sure if I actually want to go to Penn State any longer. Coach Harbaugh said something about greyshirting at Michigan. I'm not sure what that means, but as long as I can pop the collar on that greyshirt, I'm totes cool with it, bro! That's my Penn State story, and I'm sticking to it (but not my commitment.)

-Nord-dawg
Click to expand...
Very creative.:)
 
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stater02 said:
The year was 2-aught-15. I was combing my hair and taking selfies (pouty face, of course!) on an early July afternoon when I made my decision. I contacted Coach Franklin and told him that I was committing. Because my Twitter followers thirst for content of all things Big Q, I knew that my announcement to the world had to be BIG. And what's bigger than stunting on a small a$$ plane? So, I made a dramatic video of myself sitting in said small plane with "coming home" as my background music. OMG, perfect! It was kind of expensive to have this plane take off, fly over the airport and land again, but it's cool. Pops paid for it. Begrudgingly of course, because he always wanted me to go to Michigan! LOL! He might be on to something, because I really like that coach Harbaugh. I visited him like a thousand times and he even slept over at my house!

Now, I'm not so sure if I actually want to go to Penn State any longer. Coach Harbaugh said something about greyshirting at Michigan. I'm not sure what that means, but as long as I can pop the collar on that greyshirt, I'm totes cool with it, bro! That's my Penn State story, and I'm sticking to it (but not my commitment.)

-Nord-dawg
Click to expand...

Ha-ha! Good one!!
 
fairgambit said:
I didn't consider Penn State at first, but after I was accepted to Harvard and Yale on full scholarships, I decided...... OK, seriously, I applied to Pitt, Duquesne, WVU, and Penn State (University Park). I was accepted at all 4, but felt I needed to get out on my own, rather than commuting, so I narrowed it down to WVU and PSU. After reading as much as I could about both, I chose Penn State without ever having set foot on campus. I've never regretted the decision.
Click to expand...

What?

No Pepperdine sir?

The Harvard of the west?

Yale = Stanford!!
 
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Probably made the decision the summer before my senior year of high school. Tuition was the main driver and it wasn't Pitt (grew up in Allegheny Co). Was the only school I applied to and didn't realize at the time that being accepted at University Park was a big deal.
 
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My grandpa was born and raised in Grassflat, Clearfield County, which is but a stone's throw from the Centre County line. He was a coal miner until he moved to the Detroit area. He had lived in the Motor City for several years by the time I came to be. Alas, Grassflat and environs were still "home" to him. He once told me "It sure would be nice if you went to Penn State." That must have festered in my mind for a few years so by the time I was in 10th or 11th grade PSU was my first choice. My decision also motivated me to get my grades up so I would be admitted, which I was.
 
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Grew up within site of Oakland / Pitt. When I was 6 years old I said that I didn't want to go to college there. It just seemed like an extension of downtown and there was rioting nearby back in the 60's. I began following PSU football in the late 60's / early 70's. PSU was one of only 3 schools that I applied to and I was extremely happy to be accepted to main campus as many of my HS classmates went to various branch campuses. (They also enjoyed their time spent at the branch campuses and when they got to UP).
 
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Oldest one in my family - father had gone to school in Philly and I had no ties whatsoever to Penn State.

I was considering a lot of other schools at first but narrowed my decisions down to Cornell, UVA, Virginia Tech, Johns Hopkins and a handful of other schools. Turns out Penn State was a no-brainer (probably knew I was going there at the start) because:
1) I wanted to major in Engineering
2) Wanted to stay relatively close to home but not backyard close.
3) PSU was the only major school offering engineering programs in all major disciplines I was interested in: Aero, Chem, Electrical and Mechanical
4) It was consistently ranked as a top 20 Engineering school in the country
5) The price was CONSIDERABLY lower than all of the private engineering schools on the list. ($5000/year vs. $15,000/year - that was an easy NPV)
6) Didn't need to write 6 damn essays on the application!

Got my acceptance letter in October - made my decision pretty much in November. Without having even SEEN the campus! (I think I always had good vibes about Penn State every since seeing the classy underdog JoePa led team beat up the classless Miami team in the 1987 Fiesta Bowl). I knew I had made the right decision when I went up to tour the facilities - and the first time I drove through State College and walked on campus - in February of all times!
 
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