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Which department was your wife in? Different department has very different environment. In department with more money and a lot of foreign graduate students like mine(Engineering Science), faculties are easy. In department with no money or very few foreign students like Education, people(both faculties and students) tend to be ego. Actually ego is one of American's native characteristics. I know a lot of stories about American's ego.
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Hsin, you are right, it largely depends on the department. My wife was in the Nutrition Department, which is not small but with very few foreign students. I also know people in Electronic Engineer, Mechanic Engineer, and Leisure Study at that time. They were happy studying at Penn State. However, those professors were extremely egocentric, they could beat those (in)famous egocentric New Yorkers hands down. I am not joking because my wife has been living in Manhattan for over two years and seen a lot of egocentric New Yorkers before she went to State College, PA.