HOW TO REACH PENN STATE!
Now that you have set foot in the US, you must be excited to travel to your School town, University Park!
Pennsylvania State University, University Park campus is located in State College, PA. State College is a borough in Centre County, Pennsylvania. It can be reached from major US cities via Air, Train and Road route.
Air
This is preferred choice for people coming for the first time to State College. The University Park Airport (SCE) is about 7 miles from Penn State campus. Flights are available from Chicago, Newark, Cincinnati, Detroit, Washington D.C. and Philadelphia. While booking the tickets it is recommended to book a single ticket from International Airports in India to SCE (usual flight time 24-30 hr). This will save you money and flight delay hassles. Only Air India and Qatar have 2 baggage allowance (check-in) and can avail an extra baggage based on student visa. You can use a 3rd party website to book a combination of Air India and United airlines to get 2 baggage allowance too. You can also reach any other major cities like New York, Pittsburgh, Newark etc and travel by road.
Train
State College does not have rail connectivity. Nearest train stations are located in Altoona (44 miles), Lewistown (32 miles) and Huntingdon (31 miles), train services are provided by Amtrak. Afterwards take a taxi (about $100 one way, prefer paying cash) to reach State College.
Road
Bus service is available from few major cities like New York, Pittsburgh, Detroit, Philadelphia, Harrisburg, Washington D.C.. Look for Megabus, Fullington Trailways, Greyhound bus services. Price depends on your source and destination (usual Megabus rates from NYC to SCE $50). Bus services have limited baggage policy (1 allowed), You need to get an extra ticket for the second baggage.
If you have the option of driving to SCE then roads are pretty good and State College is on I-99/US-322 and connected via major highways. If you are renting a car and plan to drive to State College look for Enterprise, National, Avis, Hertz car rentals (usual one way National car rental from JFK to SCE is $90 without insurance). Though you can drive with Indian drivers license in many states (please verify it before driving), but for renting the policy depends on car rental company (please ask them for their policies). After getting your student ID you can avail the student offer( reduced rental prize) at Enterprise.