Penn State is great, there's no denying that. There are far more things to love about State College than to hate, but nevertheless there are still pro and con lists made about our beloved university. Niche.com gives Penn State an overall A+ rating, but they still have ten things listed in the "Worst Of" section on our school's page. Now I'm definitely not a fan of the fact that we have the highest tuition of any public school in the country and I can't argue with the limited parking or the present but definitely low level of racial diversity... But here's why the other seven of those ten things really aren't so bad after all:

1. Isolated rural location

Located in the middle of Pennsylvania, yes, State College is quite literally in the middle of nowhere, but I don't know how this is a bad thing. Unless you absolutely need a city environment to thrive, State College's isolation is actually pretty cool. I would know because I used to want to go to a small city school, but somehow ended up choosing an enormous university with the closest major city hours away. But the entire town revolves around the university and everything is catered to the college students. While it reinforces the notion of being in the "college bubble," it makes living in this town like having your own little part of the world. Nowhere else is quite like it, and that only adds to its charm.

2. Frigid winters

It gets COLD here, and once winter sets in it doesn't really leave until it's time to go home during finals week in the spring. But a majority of Penn Staters are Pennsylvania residents, and there are tons of people from places like New York and Maryland too, so we're all pretty used to the harshness that northeastern and mid-Atlantic winters can bring. The icy cold and unreliable weather can make the twenty minute walks to class pretty unpleasant, but everyone deals with it just fine. It's actually pretty great seeing all of the varied and creative ways people deal with (or choose not to deal with) the crazy weather.

3. Tough to develop relationship with teachers

If you're in a 300 person lecture, you'd think it'd be pretty hard to personally get to know your professors, but this isn't the case. All professors have to hold weekly office hours, or time when students can schedule one-on-one meetings for any given reason. These are the perfect opportunities go get that extra help, build a relationship with your professors, and show that you're dedicated and interested in what they're teaching you. I've utilized office hours for some of my hardest classes and the professors have always been direct with me and tried to help me do better. If you're looking to do research, there are countless labs and professors you can build a relationship with and work with starting with a simple email introducing yourself and expressing your interest too.

4. Alcohol entered culture

There are two sides to this one. First and foremost, there is no pressure to drink simply because everyone else seems to be doing it. The statistics show that a good amount of Penn State students actually do not partake of the so-called alcohol centered culture, and there are endless activities and other things to get involved with on campus too. Then there's also the fact that Penn State is a renowned party school and never fails to make the top 10 lists every year. From Sylly Week to tailgating and daylonging, Penn Staters know how to throw down. It's college after all, and I think you'd be hard pressed to find a school that didn't have at least some "alcohol centered culture".

5. Uneasy, tenuous relationship between the students and the locals

This one is understandable to a certain extent, but the locals are well aware that they live in a college town, and many of the children will grow up to become Penn Stater's themselves one day. I see it more as a symbiotic relationship than one that is uneasy or tenuous because in a place like this, one truly could not exist without the other.

6. East Halls can be a tough place to live

I myself never lived in East Halls, but most of the people I know who did absolutely loved it. Sure it's not the prettiest or most accommodating place to live, but the proximity to the other freshmen, especially the ones in your building and on your floor, helps build lasting friendships starting from day one. There's a lot that's less than great when it comes to East, but like most things in life, it's going to be as good as what you make of it. The dorms are finally getting renovated too, so by the time we've graduated the incoming freshmen will have a significantly nicer place to live.

7. Sharing your campus with more than 40,000 other students

This is part of what makes Penn State so great! There's so many people and so much going on, it's impossible to be bored with hundreds of student organizations and constant campus events. Being one of 40,000 people might sound intimidating, but it's the coolest thing to be a part of something so much bigger than yourself. You can't even fully imagine it until you're in Beaver Stadium and all of a sudden that 40,000 becomes 107,000 and you realize just how many other people also love and are forever true to the dear old white and blue.