Penn State Mont Alto

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**Penn State Mont Alto**
Established	1903
Type	Public
Chancellor	Dr. David Gnage
Undergraduates	Approx. 1100
Location	Mont Alto, Pennsylvania, USA
Campus	Rural area
Mascot	Nittany Lion
Website	www.ma.psu.edu

Penn State Mont Alto is a Commonwealth Campus of the Pennsylvania State University. It is located in Mont Alto, PA. It was founded as the "Pennsylvania State Forest Academy in Mont Alto" in 1903 by the governor of Pennsylvania.

Approximately 1,000 students attend the school with over 30% being over the age of 24. The majority of the student population at Penn State Mont Alto commute to classes, rather than live in the provided residence halls.

Penn State Mont Alto offers three residence halls to students.

Mont Alto Hall offers traditional dorm life. All three floors of the building are broken up into an east and a west side, with only one gender belonging to a particular wing. Each room holds two people, although it is possible to obtain a single room given certain circumstances. The rooms are uncarpetted, and lack a central AC unit. They do however, include a heater. Each resident is provided with a desk, a phone jack, an ethernet connection, a dresser, and a closet. The Microfridge, a combination microwave and refrigerator, is standard as well. Every wing of the building includes a bathroom that the entire hall shares, making for two per floor. Mont Alto Hall also includes a basement with washers/dryers and study rooms. This hall is a mere 4-5 minute walk from virtually anything on campus, with the exception of the Penn Gate dorms and other parts of the campus east of PA 233 (softball fields, etc).

Penn Gate II offers four-person suite living. Similar to Mont Alto Hall, the building is three stories tall. While halls themselves are not gender specific, each individual suite is. The four person suite includes two spacious bedrooms as well as a bathroom that is shared by all four people in the suite. Each room is carpetted and also includes a central air conditioning unit. Penn Gate II is located east of PA 233, and is a fairly long walk (5-10 minute) to campus.

Penn Gate I is a third residence hall offered at Mont Alto. Located directly adjacent to Penn Gate II, Penn Gate I was not in use during the 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 school years due low enrollment numbers. It was reopened for the 2006-2007 school year.

Some students prefer to live at Penn Gates I and II because of the nicer rooms, while others prefer to live at Mont Alto Hall because of the closer distance as well as the typically more social environment.

Wiestling Hall, located in the center of the campus mall, is the oldest building in the Penn State system having been built in 1803. In 2004, Wiestling Hall was modernized, and now serves as a student building. Included is a pool table and a coffee shop known as Café Java with wi-fi Internet connection. Wiestling Hall also houses the campus SGA office. The campus police office was also based in Wiestling Hall until the Fall 2005 semester, where it was moved to a building across from Orchard Road. Special campus events are often held in Wiestling Hall, such as the game shows put on by various student organizations. Many other shows have taken place in Wiestling Hall as well. The second floor of Wiestling Hall is home to faculty and staff offices. The third floor of Wiestling has never been renovated, and remains true to the 1803 design. This third floor is only accessible through two hidden entranceways on the second floor of the building. Local legend holds that a ghost named Sarah haunts the 200 year old building.

The Millstream Café serves as the only complete dining hall at Penn State Mont Alto. The Millstream is a favorite place of employment amongst students due to convenient location as well as the flexibility to cater to a particular students' class schedule. The Millstream is open until 10:30 pm Sunday-Thursday, while only open until 7:30 pm Friday and Saturday. The reasoning for the early closure time of the Millstream is the low student population during the weekends. Commuters are not present on campus, and many on-campus residents decide to go home on weekends. The Millstream Café also offers free wi-fi to those who choose to bring laptops into the building with them.

Conklin Hall was originally built by students of the forestry school and once served as a dorm. It now serves primarily as the administrative building for the campus, though classes are occasionally held in it.

The majority of classes at Penn State Mont Alto are held in the General Studies Building. The three story brick building includes many traditional classrooms for lectures. The first floor holds an auditorium that is frequently used for special shows and speakers, as well as large lecture classes. In addition to the auditorium, the first floor holds the Learning Center, a place where students can go to study with a professional or student tutor. Several computer labs are held in the building as well.

The Science and Technology building is primarily used for science courses at Penn State Mont Alto. In it, you will find several labs specific to different courses such as chemistry and nursing. Many general education courses are held in this building as well, particularly those with large class sizes.

The MAC is the gym at Penn State Mont Alto. This building sports a few classrooms, a basketball gym, a weightroom, a raquetball court, and a multipurpose room often used for conferences and other occasions. Two tennis courts are located outside of the MAC as well.

Across from the MAC is an area know as "The Pit". There are two volleyball courts, two outdoor basketball courts, and a soccer field in this area. Many outdoor activities are held here.

The library at Penn State Mont Alto includes a variety of hard copy and electronic resources for doing research. Any book, article, or movie not found in the library can be ordered provided that it exists somewhere within the Penn State/Big 10 system. Two classrooms can be found in the library's second floor. The library offers Internet access both in the form of free wi-fi as well as with one of the many computers on both the first and second floors of the building. Some students prefer to work here due to the peaceful environment in the library.

The most recent building to be added at Penn State Mont Alto was the Bookstore. This bookstore, a Barnes and Noble affiliate, offers all the books you will need for each class you are taking at Penn State Mont Alto. In addition, you can buy Penn State souvenirs at the bookstore, along with school supplies and other college essentials. Campus mail boxes are housed in the bookstore along with an ATM machine. While the bookstore closes early, it is still possible to check mail or withdraw money 24/7. The lower floor of the bookstore holds IT classrooms, including a computer lab that has the capability to run both Microsoft Windows as well as Linux operating systems.

While there are a few other buildings on campus, these are mostly used as professor offices and are rarely used by students.

The campus is well known for its forestry and nursing majors. While many students elect to continue their education at University Park, Penn State Mont Alto does offer four year degrees in various business programs as well as English.