The study included 1,292 freshman that were both called on the phone and surveyed on the Internet to describe their experiences of adjusting to college life.

Amanda Sham (freshman-journalism) said she likes how people at Penn State have fun while still being responsible.

"I like Penn State because of the spirit, the extracurricular activities, and because everyone knows how to party yet get their work done," Sham said.

Betty Moore, director of student affairs research and assessment, said the high percentage can be contributed to students feeling welcomed and having their expectations met.

"We could assume these results are because students felt their transition to Penn State had gone smoothly," Moore said.

Seventy-five percent of the students surveyed said their transition went smoothly.

Moore said introductory programs, like Real Life Choices, a presentation about social decisions, and resident assistants made the transition successful.

Supek said he attended the President's Convocation, the library orientation, and meetings for his major and found them beneficial.

Sham thought that the introductory events were not just informational, but fun.

"The President's Convocation was a cool introduction," Sham said.

Sixty-one percent of students who attended the convocation said the presentation clearly explained expectations of them at Penn State.

More than 90 percent of first-year students attended house meetings to learn about living in the residence halls and a majority of them found the information they learned useful.

Real Life Choices, a program that teaches students about sexual assaults and consequences of alcohol use, had a large turnout, said Peggy Lorah, director of the Center for Women Students.

The survey said more men than women attended this program.

"It was their first week on campus, and they had lots of questions and were not afraid to ask them in a large group," Lorah said.

However, 54 percent of freshmen who live off-campus said they were not properly informed about the orientation events and think an extra effort should be made to get them involved.

Out of the 1,292 freshmen surveyed, fewer than 6 percent live off-campus.

Diane Andrews, director of residence life, said students living at home were informed about programs on the Internet, and the transition is difficult because the students are not living on campus.

However, Ben Danz (freshman-division of undergraduate studies) who lives at home, said he had no trouble adjusting to life at Penn State.

"I went to [State College Area High School] so it's kind of like the same thing, except just bigger," Danz said.

Lorah said off-campus students don't have resident assistants (RAs) to motivate them to get involved.

The survey found that more than half of students think their RA is helpful for informing them about activities and just being a friend.

"I love my RA," Jordan Stone (freshman-chemistry) said, "She always wants to hang out with us, and she tells us about events."

Stone also said diversity within the student body made each day more fun.

One student said he would change his decision if it would get him into his first choice college.

"I'd come to Penn State still, unless I got into Georgetown," Alexander Ibrahim (freshman-political science) said.

"I like Penn State because every day I meet someone new and there are tons of different opportunities."