Admitted Students Weekend

Schedule of Events and Guide

Penn State University

March 21-23, 2013

EDUCATION POLICY STUDIES

Newly Admitted Students,

It is with great pleasure that we welcome you to the Department of Education Policy Studies’ Admitted Students Weekend. As you decide where you will pursue your graduate education, we hope we can make the process easy and informative. For us, Penn State has become and will continue to be our homes, and we look forward to sharing with you about our experiences with the university and the community.

Have we mentioned yet that we are looking forward to hosting you? Our planning committee, current graduate students, and faculty are all excitedly preparing for your arrival. We hope this weekend will introduce you to our department, programs, and university. Among the things you can look forward to this weekend are campus tours, social events, and meet-and-greets with current faculty and students.

This guide contains all sorts of information - from how to prepare for the weekend, to sites and attrac-tions that are popular in the area. Take a few moments to familiarize yourself with these items, and to think a little further about how you might like to spend your down-time this weekend. While your visit may be a short one, we hope you will actively fill your time with any and all activities that will help you to make a more informed decision about attending Penn State.

We feel it’s important that you familiarize yourself with State College and all it has to offer. We hope your visit is eventful, and during your stay, you get a taste of what it’s like to be a Penn State student.

Should you have any questions, we are happy to help.

Looking forward to seeing you this weekend,

-Admitted Students Weekend Committee

Department of Education Policy StudiesCollege of Education, Pennsylvania State Universityhttp://www.ed.psu.edu/educ/eps/

Welcome!

You will have a chance to meet with all available faculty from your program. If someone you wanted to meet with is not available or if you

wanted to meet with someone from a different program, let your coordinators know, and they will provide you with that person’s contact

information.

Helpful Hint:

tentative schedule

Pennsylvania State University New Student Weekend

March 21st – March 23rd Tentative Agenda

Thursday March 21th 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM Break Zone fun with Graduate

Students Friday March 22nd 8:30 - 8:45AM Breakfast 9:00 - 10:00AM Welcome; Introduction to the department 10:00 - 11:00 AM Graduate Student Panel 11:00 - 12:00PM Research Symposium, HIED

breakout, or class observation 12:00 -1:30 PM Lunch 1:30 – 2:40 PM Faculty Quick Conferences 3:00 - 4:30 PM Campus Tour 4:30 - 5:00 PM Downtime 5:00 - 7:00 PM HEPAC event (HIED), Potlucks

starting at 6 for other programs Saturday March 23rd 9:00 AM -10:00 AM Breakfast 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM Driving tour of State College    

With so many terms and acronyms, we know how confusing it can get for someone who is unfamiliar with them. This at-a-glance guide will help you to better understand what each of the acronyms mean, and

how our department is broken down.

It’s okay, we were confused at first too!

acronym guide

Our programs are housed in the College of Education (CoE), and specifically in the department of Education Policy Studies (EPS). For more information on EPS, check out our website: http://www.ed.psu.edu/educ/eps.

EPS PROGRAMS IN ATTENDANCE AT NEW ADMIT WEEKEND:

CIED - Comparative International EducationCSA - College Student Affairs EDLDR - Educational LeadershipEDTHP - Education, Theory and PolicyHIED - Higher Education

ORGANIZATIONS:

EPSSA - Education Policy Studies Student AssociationGSA - Graduate Student Association HEPAC - Higher Education Program Alumni CouncilHESA - Higher Education Student AssociationIESA - International Education Student Association

OTHER USEFUL TERMS:

AIERC - American Indian Education Research CenterAJE - American Journal of EducationCREC - Center on Rural Education and CommunitiesCSHE - Center for the Study of Higher Education CSLE - Center for the Study of Leadership and EthicsHER - Higher Education in ReviewJRRE - Journal of Research in Rural Education PSSC - Pennsylvania School Study CouncilUPAC - University Park Allocation Committee

Free Time?

Find a group of New Admits, or ask your coordinators to check out one of these spots with you. Can’t find time? That’s okay. We will be visiting

some of these sites on our campus tours on Friday.

penn state helpful terms

HUB- the HUB, or the Hetzel Union Building, is Penn State’s student union. It houses study space, eateries, student organization offices, and the campus bookstore, among other things.

Old Main- Old Main is a building on campus that houses Penn State’s administrative offices. Its expansive lawn gives students a place to hang out in nicer weather.

The Mall- the grassy, tree-lined area leading up to the library.

The Lion Shrine- the Lion Shrine is a sculpture of the Nittany Lion built out of limestone. Visi-tors often have their picture taken here.

BJC- the BJC, or the Bryce Jordan Center, is Penn State’s multi-purpose arena. It is the home of Penn State’s women’s and men’s basketball teams. Each year, several big name artists hold concerts at the BJC.

THON- THON is short for “dance marathon.” THON is a 46-hour, no sleeping, no sitting event that raises money for kids with cancer.

McLanahan’s- one of State College’s oldest stores. Here, you can buy groceries, Penn State apparel, and pretty much anything else you need.

Nittanyville- a tent village that springs up outside of Beaver Stadium during the week before a home football game. Students camp out in order to get the best seats.

The Creamery - Penn State’s own ice cream shop, offering the best ice cream in Pennsylvania (okay, we might be slightly biased).

Free Time?

Find a group of New Admits, or ask your coordinators to check out one of these spots with you. Can’t find time? That’s okay. We will be visiting

some of these sites on our campus tours on Friday.

PENN STATE FUN FACTS

State College was recently voted the third best college town in the country.

Listen to the Old Main bell ring every 15 minutes—it plays one of the school’s fight songs, “Hail to the Lion.”

Ben & Jerry, the famous ice-cream making duo, took correspondence courses in ice-cream making at Penn State in the 1970s.

Penn State’s original school colors were pink & black. The pink & black of athletes’ uniforms often faded to blue & white in the sunlight, and so the colors were changed.

There are about 40,000 students at the University Park campus, and just as many employees.

Only one person has been allowed two ice cream flavors on one cone at the Creamery—President Bill Clinton.

More than $700 Million of research is conducted at Penn State each year.

Be sure to visit the Lion Shrine, the most photographed place on the University Park campus.

President George Atherton, 8th president of the university, is buried on Pollock Road on the University Park campus.

Penn State students hold a 46-hour dance marathon each year to raise money for kids with cancer. This year’s THON raised over $12.3 Million for the kids!

There are more than 800 clubs and student organizations at Penn State, including the Humans vs. Zombies Club and the Association for Cigar Aficionados.

32 of our doctoral programs are ranked in the top 10%.

Penn State is #1 in Fulbright scholars.

When the weather is nice, students take to the lawn of Old Main en masse to study, play games, and catch some rays.

Contact Your Coordinators: CIED/EDTHP: Erica Sausner - 917-635-1337 Kristina Brezicha - 917-628-3865 Emily Anderson - 828-551-2079 Renata Horvatek - 814-777-5852 Nik Barkauskas - 908-797-1564 Erica Kryst - 570-878-9308 HIED - Allie Goldstein - 516-902-7596 Frank Fernandez - 760-222-5963 EDLEADER- Adam Hocker - 717-802-0604Material adapted from: http://www.imakenews.com/

psaanews/e_article001610908.cfm?x=bht2WJq,bb34p1FC,w

NEW ADMIT WEEKEND TIPS

Driving to Campus?

Familarize yourself with the campus map and parking locations. The map can be found at:http://www.campusmaps.psu.edu/print/pdf/extended_color.jpg

The HUB Parking Deck (located at the HUB) and the Nittany Lion Parking Deck (located across the street from Rackley) both have parking at $1 per hour per day. Additionally, for those staying off campus, the CATA bus offers transportation to campus (you’ll want to get off at the Pattee/Paterno Transit Cen-ter).

Hungry? Thirsty? Need a Break?

The majority of the events for this weekend will be taking place in Rackley, which hosts the Department of Education Policy Studies. Among Rackley’s amenities are a printing and computer lab, and it is located right next to Kern Building, which has a cafe, a coffee shop, and seating. Should you need a break or a snack, while we will be providing you food, there are plenty of places in the area you can visit.

Internet?

We’ve got it! Find a coordinator and we will help to log you on to the system should you need it.

Contact Your Coordinators: CIED/EDTHP: Erica Sausner - 917-635-1337 Kristina Brezicha - 917-628-3865 Emily Anderson - 828-551-2079 Renata Horvatek - 814-777-5852 Nik Barkauskas - 908-797-1564 Erica Kryst - 570-878-9308 HIED - Allie Goldstein - 516-902-7596 Frank Fernandez - 760-222-5963 EDLEADER- Adam Hocker - 717-802-0604

you should ask...

As you prepare to join us for the weekend, you might want to start thinking about what the important take-aways will be. Do you have

questions you want answered? Insight into Penn State? This weekend will go by quickly, so make sure to make the most of it.

Here are some questions you might want to ask:

What steps are involved in finishing the PhD in your program (i.e. candidacy, defenses, dissertation, etc.)?How often do you meet with your advisor?How often do people in your program publish/present at conferences?What are the food options on/near campus like?What was your coursework like?What do you think of State College?How easy is it to work with your professor? Does he/she work with you through the steps of research, or does he/she allow you to work on your research individually?Do you work on projects that have already been developed, or do you create one of your own individually?How long does it take students in your program to graduate?What are the pros and cons you have discovered about this program?How many courses do you have to take?Do you enjoy being a student at Penn State?What is the graduate student community like?What is the social life around campus like?What is the cost of living/is it affordable?Is there a shuttle service and public transportation? Do they work well?What was the transition like from your undergraduate degree to a graduate degree?Do many of you work in addition to taking classes and conducting research?Do you think this graduate program is preparing you to meet your career goals?What are the first & second years like? What is it like once your coursework is done? How much time do you spend on school work? What’s your advisor like? (Do they really check your work and make helpful suggestions? Are they hands-off? Hands-on? How often do you meet? etc.) Is it hard finding an advisor? Is it a friendly department? Is there a lot of social pressure on the students? What do you do in your free time? What’s the social life like on-campus and in the area? On-campus/local clubs & organizations?Can I take classes in a different department? Program? Does my program require a cognate?

PACKING LIST

Is there a dress code? The list above provides some suggestions for packing, although none of them are mandatory. There is no dress code, but you will be meet-ing with professors and alumni so you’ll want to make sure you look presentable (jeans are ok!). Wear clothes that you feel comfortable in

as our days will be long and we will be moving around a lot.

For Travel Days:üComfortable clothes for travelüWarm coat/scarf glovesüSnacks for the road or planeüA printed map of campusüA few dollars in cash for parking

Clothing Items:üComfortable clothes for Thursday at

BreakzoneüBusiness casual outfit for Friday

(there is no dress code,but you may want to make sure you are presentable!)

üShoesüSocksüChange of clothes for evening events

Miscellaneous:üPajamasüSweatshirt or sweaterüToiletries üToothbrush and ToothpasteüShampoo/conditioner/soapüTowelüPillow and Blanket (check with your

host to see if they will provide)üReading materials or items for down

time

Personal Items:üPhoneüPhone ChargerüMoney/IDüPensüPaperüCamera üComfortable shoes for walking

around campusüIpodüLaptop/ChargerüQuestions you hope to have an-

swered during your visit

Optional Items to Consider:üBusiness cards or a notepad to

write exchange contact informationüA refillable water bottleüA list of things you want to accom-

plish or see during your weekend at Penn State

faculty directory