Penn State, VA Tech, George Washington, how to choose?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to Penn State. And paid OOS tuition, which was a whopping $8k at the time. No way would I pay OOS there now, and it has nothing to do with the scandal. I wouldn't pay OOS anywhere for undergrad.

Not even for Cal?

Nope, not even for that.

Absolutely not. Cal is $56k!

But a couple of their undergrad engineering programs are the top rated ones in the country. It would be kinda like turning HYP down.

however their UG engineering programs is like sticking kids in a meat-grinder. Read up on EECS there.

For that kind of money i expect smaller class size, more student support, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The reason they are shown the door out of engineering is because VT can't accommodate more students in the upper level classes - it's a numbers thing

You are an idiot. Virginia Tech just finished construction on a BRAND NEW signature engineering building. If anything, they are EXPANDING the numbers they can accommodate, especially in engineering and agriculture (also has new buildings opening soon) because as another PP mentioned, VT is the only land-grant university in Virginia and is known for these specialties.

PP here. Oops, didn't know VSU is a land grant as well. But the basic point is the same. VT is expanding in its strongest areas, engr & ag. Also in research in many unique areas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The reason they are shown the door out of engineering is because VT can't accommodate more students in the upper level classes - it's a numbers thing

You are an idiot. Virginia Tech just finished construction on a BRAND NEW signature engineering building. If anything, they are EXPANDING the numbers they can accommodate, especially in engineering and agriculture (also has new buildings opening soon) because as another PP mentioned, VT is the only land-grant university in Virginia and is known for these specialties.

PP here. Oops, didn't know VSU is a land grant as well. But the basic point is the same. VT is expanding in its strongest areas, engr & ag. Also in research in many unique areas.

Tech may be expanding it's engineering programs, but at least at my son's FCPS high school, it remains harder for kids to get into Tech for engineering than Penn State. In fact, in recent years Penn State has become an engineering back-up school for kids who can't get into Tech.

[Anonymous]

Penn State alum here. It's a perfectly good engineering school. If you were a PA resident, it would be a no brainer. But VT is also a perfectly good school and for half the cost of Penn State for a VA resident.

I loved Penn State (and I was not a huge partier/drinker). But I guarantee you that had I gone to VT I would have loved it there too. You can have fun at college pretty much anywhere. Both schools can get you on a track for a solid career or for graduate school. But I can tell you that not having to take on debt made a huge difference in the opportunities I was able to take on during and right after school (internships without worrying about pay, not having to work while taking classes, travel, etc).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Remember VA Tech is the (I think only?) land grant school in VA. It is reasonably easy to get into tech if you are a VA student since that is the point of the school. That doesn't mean that it has to make the curriculum easy. I think it is a tough balance. I was CS and students that had issues just switched to IT. I'd be interested in whether GA Tech is similar; Caltech and MIT would not be since they can elect to pull from a very elite pool (even though Cal Tech is a state school).

Not anymore if you are from Nova. 3.8 minimum. ACT composite 32.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My relatives are also looking at OOS tuition at Penn State. Is the school really that overrated and not worth it?????

We were all thrilled with the name recognition, but I think it will be a HUGE stretch for them.

PP PSU alum here (and recent enough alum where my experiences are still pretty relevant).

OOS is not worth it at PSU.
Not at all.
Not if you get into Tech and want to stay in the DMV area.
And for the savings you do by staying instate, you can use that towards a masters at a private school if you need a bigger brand as a signal on your resume for exit opps.

PP, for other places rather than DMV area, will the two schools be considered equal? Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Hi Penn Alumni,
Is it difficult to obtain a degree from the engineering division? How many hours do you have to study each day to get B or higher on the core courses? Are most female students doing fine there?
I have a solid foundation for math but worry about physics...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My relatives are also looking at OOS tuition at Penn State. Is the school really that overrated and not worth it?????

We were all thrilled with the name recognition, but I think it will be a HUGE stretch for them.

PP PSU alum here (and recent enough alum where my experiences are still pretty relevant).

OOS is not worth it at PSU.
Not at all.
Not if you get into Tech and want to stay in the DMV area.
And for the savings you do by staying instate, you can use that towards a masters at a private school if you need a bigger brand as a signal on your resume for exit opps.

PP, for other places rather than DMV area, will the two schools be considered equal? Thanks.

PP here that you are quoting.

The schools will be considered equal IMO from a hiring manager's eyes given equal gpa/course rigor shown by a student - but in terms of employers actively recruiting on campus, PSU will have a wider breadth. I linked up the WSJ article that cites how PSU is very popular with f500 recruiters. PSU places grads really well in all the big cities on the bos-wash corridor.

As I noted earlier, contact the engineering departments of both schools (as well as the particular major that you are interested in such as ee, me, nuc.e, etc) as well as career services to get an idea of who comes on campus and where students are getting jobs (company, sector, and geography wise).

I do think PSU has a recruiting edge geography and sector wise than V.T.

HOWEVER, I think a v.tech student that is proactive in networking and reaching out to companies and focusing on landing relevant internships from day 1 will be able to overcome any downside risk of attending a school that is slightly less on recruiters radar.

Furthermore the cost savings which were posted on here that seem to show VT being 50% off go a long way in funding a 1-2 year MS or MBA program at a place like Carnegie Mellon if you need a recruiting bump.

I was an instate student at PSU that also did the honors program. I went purely because of money issues, but to pay OOS rates is definitely not worth it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hi Penn Alumni,
Is it difficult to obtain a degree from the engineering division? How many hours do you have to study each day to get B or higher on the core courses? Are most female students doing fine there?
I have a solid foundation for math but worry about physics...

Engineering at any public flagship is tough because you have a lot of students and the programs definitely want to weed out students. I can't speak to hours of study because everyone learns and studies at wildly different rates.

I was not happy with the math department at PSU (we actually had ABET people come in to survey students regarding the math department because there were a few complaints about it) but if have a good foundation in mathematics and put in the work you will be successful.

If you are strong in your mathematics I would be very confident that you will be ok in the core physics mechanics and e/m courses.

I found many of the female students did well as it was a big enough school where you had a decent amount of female students (numbers wise, not ratio wise) as well as orgs like SWE.

[Anonymous]

Q. What's the favorite drinking method at V tech?
A. Shots

Q. Why does Penn State like 29 year olds?

A. There's 20 of them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Q. What's the favorite drinking method at V tech?
A. Shots

Q. Why does Penn State like 29 year olds?

A. There's 20 of them.

I guess you had to be there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hi Penn Alumni,
Is it difficult to obtain a degree from the engineering division? How many hours do you have to study each day to get B or higher on the core courses? Are most female students doing fine there?
I have a solid foundation for math but worry about physics...

That would be Penn STATE. Penn is an Ivy in Philapdelphia. Penn State is the state flagship - like UVA is to Virginia.

[Anonymous]

Q. Why was the Penn State administration seen shopping at JC Penney ?

A. The sign in the window read "children's clothes half-off!"

Q. How many Virginia Tech students does it take to screw in a lightbulb?

A. How many are left?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The reason they are shown the door out of engineering is because VT can't accommodate more students in the upper level classes - it's a numbers thing

You are an idiot. Virginia Tech just finished construction on a BRAND NEW signature engineering building. If anything, they are EXPANDING the numbers they can accommodate, especially in engineering and agriculture (also has new buildings opening soon) because as another PP mentioned, VT is the only land-grant university in Virginia and is known for these specialties.

PP here. Oops, didn't know VSU is a land grant as well. But the basic point is the same. VT is expanding in its strongest areas, engr & ag. Also in research in many unique areas.

Tech may be expanding it's engineering programs, but at least at my son's FCPS high school, it remains harder for kids to get into Tech for engineering than Penn State. In fact, in recent years Penn State has become an engineering back-up school for kids who can't get into Tech.

Is it because PS wants the OOS tuition $ and diversity, if you call it that?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hi Penn Alumni,
Is it difficult to obtain a degree from the engineering division? How many hours do you have to study each day to get B or higher on the core courses? Are most female students doing fine there?
I have a solid foundation for math but worry about physics...

Physics is often used to cull the herd. Americans seem to be weaker in that subject than foreigners.