Penn State

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here’s my question about Penn State for DMV families… why would you want your child to go there instead of UVA or UMD? Yes, College Park is a construction site and has never been pretty, but they are all three good schools with fun athletics and amazing academics. Why pay to go to another state’s flagship? My DH wants my son to apply there and I cannot get him to articulate why it would be better than our home university! Not dissing it- honestly curious. If you can afford it, why did you choose it? Just to get away from the area? Is it really the Happy Valley? What makes it the special place?.

Most OOS kids aiming for PSU probably can’t get into those two, especially UVA.

One might choose PSU over UVA if they were interested in certain types of engineering or engineering in general. Like VT, Penn State students seem very happy. In our group we don't know any Penn State students that are unhappy with PSU but we know several that don't like UVA for whatever reason. Clearly not scientific study...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:With Michigan State, I don't recall alumni and students coming to the defense of the perpetrators. It was universal revulsion.

At Penn State, their football-obsessed alumni spent years defending the perpetrators, especially Joe Paterno the coach who facilitated and protected Sandusky. And it wasn't just a few crazed fans, but was a majority opinion for years among alumni in surveys. That's the troubling legacy at Penn State.

And of course, it is a lackluster school academically.

How is it lacklustre? I’ve heard that for some programs/majors it compares to the ivies and/or is better.

Ummmm, no!

Compares to ivies and is better? What kool aid are you drinking! Not even close ……

Penn State offers a more comprehensive engineering program than all of the Ivies. While Ivies may have more selective admissions and fewer "weed-out" courses, Penn State provides majors across virtually all engineering disciplines with well-regarded programs in each area, which is a breadth that no Ivy can match.

The scale difference is also significant: Penn State likely graduates more engineers annually than all Ivy League schools combined. This raises an important question about career outcomes. Apart from Cornell, a substantial percentage of Ivy League engineering graduates seem to pursue careers outside of engineering. For students committed to engineering careers, this means the vaunted Ivy alumni network may offer limited value within the engineering field itself.

When evaluating engineering programs specifically, schools like Brown and Dartmouth, while excellent school overall, simply cannot compete with Penn State's depth, breadth, and industry connections in engineering disciplines. A couple of Ivies to have some strengths, but does that make them a better overall choice for someone pursuing an engineering career?

If you want to pursue a specific career, attend a college where graduates actually work in that field. If you want to work on the street, schools like the Ivies or Bucknell provide strong alumni networks and recruitment pipelines into those industries. If you want to work as an engineer, schools like Penn State or Iowa State offer top notch engineering programs with graduates who go directly into engineering careers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Here’s my question about Penn State for DMV families… why would you want your child to go there instead of UVA or UMD? Yes, College Park is a construction site and has never been pretty, but they are all three good schools with fun athletics and amazing academics. Why pay to go to another state’s flagship? My DH wants my son to apply there and I cannot get him to articulate why it would be better than our home university! Not dissing it- honestly curious. If you can afford it, why did you choose it? Just to get away from the area? Is it really the Happy Valley? What makes it the special place?.

Because UMD from W schools is getting next to impossible to get into. My kid with a 4.7 WGPA 13 APs, multiple clubs got flat out rejected UMD and a lot of her friends with 4.5 to 4.75 WGPAs did. A few are actually going to community college at MCPS and are going to try to transfer in.

Parents with Money in my W school just paid full freight places Like Penn State, Pitt, VA Tech, UVA, William and Mary and went there.

Some parents on a budget did the community college or did schools like Towson, UMBC in state or did Delaware, Binghamton flagships school that give merit aid or did Florida publics as OOS tuition is reasonable.

To be honest Penn State is a bit of a cult like Notre Dame, Georgetown, UNC, VA Tech if parents went there the kids are going there sometimes regardless of cost.

And college is a MONEY MAKING THING. My kid if she lived in VA with her stats UMD would have accepted her with open arms. Instead VA is accepting her with open arms. They want the OOS tuition.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Penn State is extremely vulnerable to the demographic cliff, as Pennsylvania is facing a big drop in college-age students, particularly in the more rural parts of the state,which provides a huge chunk of its student body. They are closing seven of their campuses, the state government has deprioritized funding Penn State, and overall enrollment has declined a lot. It's big in-state competition for the same above-average students are Pitt and Temple (both are financially supported by the state). Pitt and Temple have both upped their game with campus improvements, better marketing, and newer programming. Penn State is still the same old Penn State it's always been, and it's losing out.

Just look at the DMV area. Lots of families visit and apply to Pitt or Temple (as well a top privates like Penn or Villanova), but not many visit or apply to Penn State.

Per Bethesda Magazine, across the six high schools they track, 928 kids in the 2024 senior class applied to Penn State, 518 were accepted, and 70 enrolled. For Pitt, those numbers were 925, 556, and 38. And for Temple, 231, 135, and 29.

Not very selective for OOS applicants, and crappy yield rate. Another sign of trouble for Penn State. Not enough in-state kids and not much interest out of state.

Penn State is the most popular OOS by both applications and attendance among students from my child's Fairfax high school. The relatively high acceptance rate is misleading because many students are accepted to branch campuses rather than the main campus. Getting into popular majors at University Park (the main campus) is much more competitive. My child had several friends who were devastated when they weren't admitted to the main campus.

Penn State is highly desirable and would likely attract even more students if the OOS tuition weren't so expensive. Penn State is at the top of my child's list, but as a recruited athlete, they're not quite at the Penn State recruitment level. If they decided to forgo playing college sports, they would be thrilled to attend Penn State.

In state tuition is expensive, too. I’m an employee and even with 75% off it was more than a good private.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here’s my question about Penn State for DMV families… why would you want your child to go there instead of UVA or UMD? Yes, College Park is a construction site and has never been pretty, but they are all three good schools with fun athletics and amazing academics. Why pay to go to another state’s flagship? My DH wants my son to apply there and I cannot get him to articulate why it would be better than our home university! Not dissing it- honestly curious. If you can afford it, why did you choose it? Just to get away from the area? Is it really the Happy Valley? What makes it the special place?.

Because UMD from W schools is getting next to impossible to get into. My kid with a 4.7 WGPA 13 APs, multiple clubs got flat out rejected UMD and a lot of her friends with 4.5 to 4.75 WGPAs did. A few are actually going to community college at MCPS and are going to try to transfer in.

Parents with Money in my W school just paid full freight places Like Penn State, Pitt, VA Tech, UVA, William and Mary and went there.

Some parents on a budget did the community college or did schools like Towson, UMBC in state or did Delaware, Binghamton flagships school that give merit aid or did Florida publics as OOS tuition is reasonable.

To be honest Penn State is a bit of a cult like Notre Dame, Georgetown, UNC, VA Tech if parents went there the kids are going there sometimes regardless of cost.

And college is a MONEY MAKING THING. My kid if she lived in VA with her stats UMD would have accepted her with open arms. Instead VA is accepting her with open arms. They want the OOS tuition.

+1 ha I said the same. The positive of that is that PSU has a strong alumni network.

I wish that it had better mass transit options to the DC area, but I thought the little town was nice. It is very little, though. But, DC really liked the tour.

Of all the tours we've been on, the PSU tour guides were the most enthusiastic by far.

I would love for DC to go in state, but they really want to leave this area, and PSU has their major, which is not offered by many of the in states here. They are willing to use their inheritance money for this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I live in PA. Pitt, at least at our public, has slightly higher stats. Penn State still gets tons of kids from our high school. Most end up starting in the Summer. So, that is like an extra $8000. Main campus seems to be easier to get into OOS.

The branch campuses aren't really a draw. If kids get branched they will likely go elsewhere.

The business school is brutal to get into. But it is weird because our smart kids aren't interested in it. It is the borderline kids that want to be finance bros.

I just looked at this yesterday bc I feel if my DD gets accepted it will be for summer start. This year it was $13,500. ugh. She would not be able to get into Business, so would have to find another major.

[Anonymous]

Considering Penn State is in the middle of no where my guess is a lot on folks posting here have never been there and really don't know a lot about the school.

Students loves it. I was so surprised how much I enjoyed the visit when touring colleges w/ my kid. I was not shocked when they picked it over some "higher ranked" schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For a Big 10 school, Penn State has one of the more rural, remote locations. State College, PA is cute but tiny. Compared to Columbus or Ann Arbor or Madison or Bloomington… No wonder Pitt is surging. PSU is a school for football fans only.

Bloomington is also small and in the middle of nowhere.

We are from PA. My oldest son had no interest in Penn State because it is in the middle of nowhere. We probably should have had him apply but we didn't. He is thrilled to be going to Pitt in the Fall. Kid 2 wants to go to PSU. They are so similar yet so different.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I live in PA. Pitt, at least at our public, has slightly higher stats. Penn State still gets tons of kids from our high school. Most end up starting in the Summer. So, that is like an extra $8000. Main campus seems to be easier to get into OOS.

The branch campuses aren't really a draw. If kids get branched they will likely go elsewhere.

The business school is brutal to get into. But it is weird because our smart kids aren't interested in it. It is the borderline kids that want to be finance bros.

I just looked at this yesterday bc I feel if my DD gets accepted it will be for summer start. This year it was $13,500. ugh. She would not be able to get into Business, so would have to find another major.

Costs aside, summer session is fantastic at Penn State. i have many friends that opted to stay for summer session rather than come home. It is a good way to get grounded and make friends early since it feels like a much smaller school during the summer.

[Anonymous]

Penn State is the most popular OOS by both applications and attendance among students from my child's Fairfax high school. The relatively high acceptance rate is misleading because many students are accepted to branch campuses rather than the main campus. Getting into popular majors at University Park (the main campus) is much more competitive. My child had several friends who were devastated when they weren't admitted to the main campus.

Penn State is highly desirable and would likely attract even more students if the OOS tuition weren't so expensive. Penn State is at the top of my child's list, but as a recruited athlete, they're not quite at the Penn State recruitment level. If they decided to forgo playing college sports, they would be thrilled to attend Penn State.



The tug of playing D3 sports is tough. My kid chose Penn State over it, but the frat lax league is filling the void.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Penn State is the most popular OOS by both applications and attendance among students from my child's Fairfax high school. The relatively high acceptance rate is misleading because many students are accepted to branch campuses rather than the main campus. Getting into popular majors at University Park (the main campus) is much more competitive. My child had several friends who were devastated when they weren't admitted to the main campus.

Penn State is highly desirable and would likely attract even more students if the OOS tuition weren't so expensive. Penn State is at the top of my child's list, but as a recruited athlete, they're not quite at the Penn State recruitment level. If they decided to forgo playing college sports, they would be thrilled to attend Penn State.

The tug of playing D3 sports is tough. My kid chose Penn State over it, but the frat lax league is filling the void.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For a Big 10 school, Penn State has one of the more rural, remote locations. State College, PA is cute but tiny. Compared to Columbus or Ann Arbor or Madison or Bloomington… No wonder Pitt is surging. PSU is a school for football fans only.

Bloomington is also small and in the middle of nowhere.

We are from PA. My oldest son had no interest in Penn State because it is in the middle of nowhere. We probably should have had him apply but we didn't. He is thrilled to be going to Pitt in the Fall. Kid 2 wants to go to PSU. They are so similar yet so different.

Bloomington and West Lafayette (Purdue) are both about an hour from Indianapolis, which is hardly the middle of nowhere. Penn State is in a great location as long as you don't want to be in a city. It's 3-4 hours from NYC, DC, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Baltimore and Pittsburgh. I also believe it is one of the safest campuses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For a Big 10 school, Penn State has one of the more rural, remote locations. State College, PA is cute but tiny. Compared to Columbus or Ann Arbor or Madison or Bloomington… No wonder Pitt is surging. PSU is a school for football fans only.

Bloomington is also small and in the middle of nowhere.

We are from PA. My oldest son had no interest in Penn State because it is in the middle of nowhere. We probably should have had him apply but we didn't. He is thrilled to be going to Pitt in the Fall. Kid 2 wants to go to PSU. They are so similar yet so different.

Bloomington and West Lafayette (Purdue) are both about an hour from Indianapolis, which is hardly the middle of nowhere. Penn State is in a great location as long as you don't want to be in a city. It's 3-4 hours from NYC, DC, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Baltimore and Pittsburgh. I also believe it is one of the safest campuses.

State College appears to have gone down the suburbanization route. There is quite a bit of development outside the traditional downtown area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here’s my question about Penn State for DMV families… why would you want your child to go there instead of UVA or UMD? Yes, College Park is a construction site and has never been pretty, but they are all three good schools with fun athletics and amazing academics. Why pay to go to another state’s flagship? My DH wants my son to apply there and I cannot get him to articulate why it would be better than our home university! Not dissing it- honestly curious. If you can afford it, why did you choose it? Just to get away from the area? Is it really the Happy Valley? What makes it the special place?.

School spirit. My kid is there and loves it. Very strong in certain programs, including hers.

Very strong alumni network. Lots if fun extracurricular clubs etc, many research opportunities, several restaurants, bars, and other amenities close by. My son liked it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Penn State is the most popular OOS by both applications and attendance among students from my child's Fairfax high school. The relatively high acceptance rate is misleading because many students are accepted to branch campuses rather than the main campus. Getting into popular majors at University Park (the main campus) is much more competitive. My child had several friends who were devastated when they weren't admitted to the main campus.

Penn State is highly desirable and would likely attract even more students if the OOS tuition weren't so expensive. Penn State is at the top of my child's list, but as a recruited athlete, they're not quite at the Penn State recruitment level. If they decided to forgo playing college sports, they would be thrilled to attend Penn State.

The tug of playing D3 sports is tough. My kid chose Penn State over it, but the frat lax league is filling the void.

The problem with D3 sports is that schools are usually tiny and/or remote. My older kid considered playing D3 until they visited a couple of D3 schools.