Football is B1G in Happy Valley, so it shouldn’t be surprising if you ended up without football season tickets this year. I still remember the feeling of horror that washed over me when Ticketmaster froze on me three summers ago, thus ruining my chance to attend Penn State football games at minimum cost.

I remember walking around a silent campus on the Saturday of the first football game, desperately lonely because all of my friends were at the game. If this describes you, no need to fear! You can still get tickets to football games this fall, just at a slightly higher price.

Through the student ticket exchange, Penn State students can buy tickets for games they want to see and sell tickets for games they are unable to attend. If you’re selling your ticket, then the money will be placed into your LionCash account. Every Penn State student automatically has an account on the site, called the “Penn State Student AccountManager” — this is where the process begins.

Because an account has already been created for you, you should not create a new one. Simply go to the site, use your nine-digit PSU ID number as the “Account ID” and choose “Forgot Your Password.” Once you’ve logged into your account, the process is pretty self-explanatory. If there are tickets available, quickly click on the ones you want and enter your credit card info as you would during any other Ticketmaster purchase. Be sure to select the “Paperless Ticket” option so that your ticket goes right onto your student ID. If you’re still having some trouble, step-by-step instructions are listed here.

The real challenge is buying your tickets on the student exchange at the right time and for the right price. As a naive freshman, I was tricked into buying tickets at an inflated price because I was scared that at the end of the week I would end up with no ticket.

If you’re a student, then you have until 5 p.m. on Friday to buy, sell, or forward a ticket. This means that people will most likely be trying to sell their tickets up until the last minute. If a student suddenly has to go home for the weekend, then they may throw their ticket on the exchange board at a relatively low price just to get some money for it. On the flip side, if you wait until Friday afternoon to buy a ticket to some of the bigger games, then you may end up with no ticket come game day.

You can buy a ticket from any class, so if you’re a freshman and a junior puts a ticket up for sale, go ahead and snatch it. The trick is to pick and choose your battles. Tickets are only allowed to be put up on the exchange board for ten to sixty dollars (including a 15 percent processing fee and a $1.95 service fee, of course). This means that it’s really impossible to get scammed too hard. However, there will definitely be some games that are not worth $60.

If it’s a huge game, like the White-Out against Ohio State, then absolutely take the $60 ticket if there is one available. I had students trying to sell me a ticket for $200 my freshman year, but I was fortunate enough to find one for much cheaper on the ticket exchange. On the flip side, if someone is asking for $60 dollars for a ticket to a game against a non-rival opponent, then you may want to wait until later in the week to see if you can get the it cheaper.

Buying all of your tickets on the student exchange board will definitely hurt your wallet, but ultimately you only have four years to be a part of the best student section in the country. In my opinion, it’s worth the sacrifice.