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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Hi OP.  I'm going to share some general impressions that you might want to corroborate with newer experiences from other people.  I'm a bit concerned that your kid will have culture shock at these schools because they are currently living abroad/studying abroad.

I grew up in Western Pennsylvania.  I went to PSU Honors for liberal arts freshman year and then transferred to Pitt.  PSU in the 80s was too much of a party school.  And it is in the middle of nowhere, PA.  It's a very normcore and sporty place.  I thought of it as "camp for middle class kids".  Everyone was so excited to be away from their parents...but basically just so they could get drunk.  The professors were good, so that was the saving grace of my freshman year.  I had 3 in my freshman year who were insightful and interested in me.  The problems I had were all with the social environment and lack of intellectual life among the liberal arts majors.  Engineering was then, and still is, one of the crown jewels.  So I suppose if I had been a male engineering student, I might have felt more at home.  I worry a little about a kid who has been living abroad coming to this kind of setting and finding it underwhelming.

My sister and her family lived in Columbus for over a decade until 2019.  She spoke favorably of the city.  However, at work in the suburbs, my BIL felt a bit surrounded by MAGAs.  They recently had the chance to move back and my BIL refused.  I think Ohio State can give you a great education but you may also run across people with some concerning worldviews.  Not insurmountable...but might affect friendships.

Since you're currently living overseas, I would guess that Penn State students might be a bit more compatible with your kid's expectations.  Because there are Atlantic seaboard kids there (NYC, NJ, Philly). 
 However, I think your kid should expect it to still be very normcore.

Because Penn State is closer to DMV, that might even mean that the financial aid office has more pity for laid-off feds or something else useful like more employer connections to DMV jobs.

I also think it's wise to go for the program more likely to guarantee admission to the major.  Sounds like that's PSU.

If you are financially strapped, perhaps consider having your kid transfer to VT after freshman year. Transferring did not have a bad impact on my college years.  I wish I had chosen the right school from the get go.  But it was a pretty painless correction.

VT/PSU/Ohio State are pretty comparable and I guess Blacksburg is comparable to University Park, PA.  Given everything above, I think PSU is probably a better bet.[/quote]

OP here. Thank you for this detailed response. [/quote]

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