Knew a girl (not engineering) who didn’t get in UVA so went to Penn State. Got a 4.0 first year and transferred successful to UVA, where her GPA was much lower, harder school for sure. Much happier at UVA.
Penn state is fine, fine. But it’s massive and it’s not going to have the same population that UVA has in terms of academic chops and intellectual ability. Does that matter? I dunno, it did to my kid. |
Wait, I am confused. Is your kid the girl (not engineering) who went and then transferred to UVA after a year? |
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nope not my DD, her friend. My DD got in ED and went. The friend wanted to go but didn't get in, so went to Penn State and transferred. Yep is happier at UVA in all ways. Penn State was a joke she said as far as academics and socially it was a train wreck. very shallow girls, vapid. |
The lower GPA could've been because classes generally get harder the following year. I take it she wasn't taking the exact same classes at UVA that she took at Penn STate. |
Right? Like USNWR 2022/23 global list of best universities has UVA below T100, Penn State within T100. Note: 2022/23 is the year before USNWR made changes to how they rank. The global list is based on reputation and research. They don't have one for 2023/2024 year. https://www.usnews.com/education/best-global-universities/rankings UVA #119 Penn State #84 (btw UMD #57) |
Like a finishing school? |
Kinda |
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The UVA kids are probably just a wealthier cohort to begin with. Probably entered college that way. I went to PSU (undecided, liberal arts) for one year then transferred. The classes and professors were fine but the student body didn't seem very academically-oriented. Socially, it was a disappointment. I can find it believable that a recruiter would be able to pick up differences. When I describe my year at PSU, I sometimes say it was like camp for middle-class suburbanites. People actively craved freedom from parents so they could celebrate watching football and getting wasted. Pretty limited view of the possibilities. |
And PSU is ranked 8th going into next season by the AP and far more people follow and care about that than USNWR. UVA and PSU are both strong schools. For certain STEM majors, PSU is stronger and has a better alumni network. |
It really is. I’m an alum and I LOVED it. I live in Charlottesville now and comparing UVA and PSU are laughable. Charlottesville is NOT state college. |
The Philly branch campus? Nah. You want to be in State College. |
You got caught. . . |
Sophisticated folks don’t care about lists. |