Welcome to all 24 prospective students that are visiting for the Chemical Engineering Open House on February 9-12. We are excited to show you all the wonderful aspects of our department, university, and community.

Itinerary

The itinerary for our open house weekend is jam-packed with meetings with faculty members, research presentations from graduate students, a tour of the campus, and social events. Please be sure to review the itinerary carefully.

Individual faculty meeting schedules will be provided on Friday. We will have current graduate students lead you to all of your events and meetings.

Early Arrivers

For those that make it to State College before 5:30pm, we will meet in the lobby of the Atherton Hotel to go to dinner at American Ale House (map from Atherton Hotel). Current graduate students will meet you there to transport you to the restaurant.

Hotel Information

All visiting students will be staying at the Atherton Hotel (map). Reservations have already been made for each visiting student. Go to the front desk, give your name, and you will be good to go.

Check in at the hotel is at 3:00pm. If you arrive early, you can ask the front desk staff to hold your bags. Early arrivers could explore campus and downtown State College independently. Alternatively, it could also be a good time to get work done (in true prospective graduate student fashion), since there will be very little downtime once the open house is in full swing. The hotel has free Wifi (password: freedom).

Parking

For those driving to campus, you can park for free under the Atherton Hotel. You can access the hotel parking lot from Atherton St.

Dress Code/Weather

The dress code for the weekend is casual. First and foremost, dress comfortably. Be aware that you will be meeting with your potential future advisors, but there will be a fair amount of walking during the weekend. For example, non-ripped jeans are completely acceptable. Sneakers/tennis shoes are recommended.

Also, take into account the weather. The forecast for State College this weekend is a mixed bag. A heavy winter coat, hat, and gloves is recommended, especially for Thursday and Friday.

An umbrella would also be a good item to have.

We usually organize groups that either go for a run and/or plays indoor basketball during the weekend. If either of these activities are of interest, bring appropriate clothing.

Receipts

Keep any receipts that caused you to make an out of pocket expense during your trips to and from State College. Examples include getting lunch between flights in the airport or taking a taxi (or Uber/Lyft) from the airport/bus stop. If your airplane or bus tickets were already paid for by the department, you do not need to include that receipt.