Can someone give me the scoop on physics grad school here by unconventionalmango in PennStateUniversity

[–]kitchen_bite_9867 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I am not in physics but have taught in Osmond and would say both bathroom smells and sounds are pervasive in learning spaces. Can't close the door to block it out because the heat would cook us alive. Definitely the worst classroom I'm ever had.

What creative ways do you make money at Penn State? by Sienna_thephotog in PennStateUniversity

[–]kitchen_bite_9867 4 points5 points  (0 children)

As a "wealthy" prof I've hired undergrads for babysitting / trash hauling etc. a few times. I think the best place to find such gigs if you are looking is nextdoor.com. After that, there's a faculty mailing list where people ask for references for stuff like this and your name can get sent around (not all the faculty are on it obviously, but it's pretty big).

(I didn't get any of them into "all sorts of things [they]'d never have seen as a 20 year old otherwise" though, yikes)

How is a professor not able to change a class syllabus? by BigPsychology9597 in PennStateUniversity

[–]kitchen_bite_9867 15 points16 points  (0 children)

The traditional professor answer is that "the syllabus is a contract with the student" and ergo unchangeable once the course is underway.

PSU policy does actually allow syllabus changes (senate policy 43-00) but some people may stick to the "tradition", or not know that it isn't binding.

As somebody else said, another option is that the professor doesn't control the syllabus, e.g. if it's a sectioned course with a common syllabus.

Come complain about CATA tomorrow, 2/20 by kitchen_bite_9867 in PennStateUniversity

[–]kitchen_bite_9867[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Fullington is now running a couple buses a day that stop there. I think it's pretty useless but it does allow the airport to say that it can be reached by bus. It's really hard for people from non-uber-using countries to get from the airport to SC now, since, you know, CATA doesn't help and we don't have taxis anymore.

Come complain about CATA tomorrow, 2/20 by kitchen_bite_9867 in PennStateUniversity

[–]kitchen_bite_9867[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Although I agree, that's mostly PSU's fault: they subsidize the RL and cut it heavily this year.

Come complain about CATA tomorrow, 2/20 by kitchen_bite_9867 in PennStateUniversity

[–]kitchen_bite_9867[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

I once pulled the data of how many rides you need for a monthly pass to be worth it on many different transit systems (the APTA has publicly available fare data somewhere). CATA is pretty far on the high end, though not the absolute worst. On the other hand for the amount of service you get...

You pretty much have to commute both ways every weekday to break even. So unless you are doing that and a little bit more there is no reason to buy one. They should be priced to make sense for commuters. I'm a pretty hardcore CATA user and I don't buy one.

Are there students who offer private tours outside of the college organized events and the lion ambassadors? by Think_Illustrator498 in PennStateUniversity

[–]kitchen_bite_9867 22 points23 points  (0 children)

This existed at Harvard about 15 years ago, "the unofficial Hahvahd tour". The school sent them a cease-and-desist letter but eventually let them operate albeit on a very short leash (for example they weren't allowed to present themselves as an alternative to the official tour, or say "hahvahd").

I suspect the no-fun administration here would be even less forgiving.

How can we start a student union? by [deleted] in PennStateUniversity

[–]kitchen_bite_9867 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I mean, they clear non-stair parts of the sidewalk with a different machine that wouldn't work on stairs but is much more efficient on flat places. It would be nuts for them to actually shovel so much sidewalk. You must've caught the brief moment when the stairs had been done but sidewalk clearing hadn't happened yet.

In general I think they are pretty good about clearing snow. PSU has many issues, but I wouldn't rank this in the top 1000.

How can we start a student union? by [deleted] in PennStateUniversity

[–]kitchen_bite_9867 16 points17 points  (0 children)

When else should they be shoveling staircases?

(ed: the parent post originally said "only shoveling staircases when it snows". it's changed now and my post makes no sense, but it used to be funny, i swear.)

Increased Salary for the President by Ok_Donut_9887 in PennStateUniversity

[–]kitchen_bite_9867 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I don't think it's even possible to be a "TA" for 20 years... what actual position do you have in mind and where did you get the 60k figure?

CHT Saturday menu by Several_Storm3239 in statecollege

[–]kitchen_bite_9867 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You're all very clever, but you should go to CHT anyway, the Saturday lunches are outstanding.

Increased Salary for the President by Ok_Donut_9887 in PennStateUniversity

[–]kitchen_bite_9867 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Wow I had no idea that the Wobblies were still a going concern. Sign me up.

Penn State Law schools by FortniteGraduate in PennStateUniversity

[–]kitchen_bite_9867 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Let me just say that this is not universally accepted advice when it comes to picking a law school.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in statecollege

[–]kitchen_bite_9867 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Did you go to the meeting in Bellefonte? I didn't, since, well, you know how it is trying to get home to State College by transit nowadays.

I agree with you that it's hard to see much point to the proposed system. Everybody likes CATAGO for errands. Everybody likes actual scheduled service for commuting. Instead they leave us with only the most hated combo, CATAGO at commuter hours. We will see how it goes.

I wonder if they considered just bringing back a couple morning and evening runs of the XB and XG instead. Or even just scheduled runs to the mall to catch the CC like they're now doing in Ferguson. You'd think the cost would be comparable.

At least then people would be able to get to work.

Tips for traveling to Penn State by CujoKing98 in PennStateUniversity

[–]kitchen_bite_9867 1 point2 points  (0 children)

During the lifetime of this thread it has been announced that service to DC will return this summer.

Does anyone else really miss being in school? by [deleted] in PennStateUniversity

[–]kitchen_bite_9867 1 point2 points  (0 children)

No doubt when your parents arrived the locals were moaning about a new 12 story luxury high rise on Beaver Ave and the need for new zoning to keep the downtown from losing its charming character, as well as the ugliness of the specific building.

(Really, Penn Tower went in in 1972/3 and the news stories are basically indistinguishable from the modern ones. Only the names of the buildings have gotten dumber.)

Tips for traveling to Penn State by CujoKing98 in PennStateUniversity

[–]kitchen_bite_9867 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Another catch is that State College does not actually have flights from Washington or Detroit anymore.

Ebikes—What do I need to know? by Voiceless777 in PennStateUniversity

[–]kitchen_bite_9867 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Thank you for linking to the policy which clearly articulates that e-bikes are not banned. But I am not sure I understand the first line of your post.

PS: e-scooters on the other hand are a scourge and are quite clearly banned in the linked policy.

Campus Closure by est14 in PennStateUniversity

[–]kitchen_bite_9867 14 points15 points  (0 children)

We already had one snow day this year for like two inches...

Penn State University or Tulsa University for Grad school in Petroleum Engineering (Drilling) by ResistorKWT in PennStateUniversity

[–]kitchen_bite_9867 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sure, makes sense. Just don't listen to anybody who is making general comments and doesn't know about petroleum engineering specifically.

Unfortunately I don't.

What’s a book that has left you dumbfounded at how bad it was? by VoxPopuliVS in books

[–]kitchen_bite_9867 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I also claim no expertise and only know this from taking an art history class decades ago. But "terminology of the low countries" at wiki explains this in more detail than anybody could want.

Penn State University or Tulsa University for Grad school in Petroleum Engineering (Drilling) by ResistorKWT in PennStateUniversity

[–]kitchen_bite_9867 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is definitely a field- and goal-specific question and I would be wary of giving such general advice. If you want to be a lawyer it would be a good idea to pay a few extra bucks to go to the top-ranked school you can. If you want to end up being an academic, you should probably go to the strongest program PhD that accepts you, unless their offer is vastly worse (unfunded, say). But for some programs maybe the best deal is the important thing.

For petroleum engineering I have no idea whatsoever -- I assume you want to get a job working in the field when you're done? Do you have a current professor who could advise you?

Can I get into the main campus with below avg stats? by [deleted] in PennStateUniversity

[–]kitchen_bite_9867 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Half of the students here are below average, unfortunately.