DD was accepted to Pitt Main Swanson. The urban environment and hefty price tag do not interest her, but the quality and opportunity are hard to pass up. Her major is Computer/Electrical engineering. Other options include Pitt Johnstown (UPJ), Shippensburg, Penn State Behrend (Erie), and Grove City. We are from a small town so boredom is not an issue. I just want to see her get the best education possible with the least amount of debt. She is top of her class, so Ship offers free tuition, but have only had 1 graduate in her field? I’m sure they are all nice schools but if anyone can give advice specific to the engineering dept we would appreciate it.
My son also wasn’t interested in Pitt’s urban setting. He is considering both Pitt Johnstown and Shippensburg for engineering (along with PSU-main campus and WVU). We met with professors from both programs and UPJ’s program is quite robust while Shippensburg’s is in its infancy. The UPJ engineering clubs successfully compete at the national level with D1 schools which also makes it attractive.
After scheduled visits at each school this month he hopes to make a final decision.
I know nothing about it, but York is mentioned as an ABET-accredited engineering program at a low cost in a small town.
A quick search of “ 2020 Best Colleges for Engineering in Pennsylvania” with a low cost filter turns up Penn State York/New Ken/WB/Dubois/Fayetteville/Abington plus CalU and Bloomsburg.
Gannon, St. Vincent, Grove City, Geneva and the rest of the PS regionals are in the next price tier.
@RichInPitt I don’t know who came up with this list, but I don’t think any of the schools in this 1st tier list (for cost) of the “2020 Best Colleges for Engineering in PA” actually offer engineering degrees, nor does Saint Vincent. Gannon, Grove City, and Geneva do offer engineering degrees, as does York College. PSU Erie (Behrend) and Harrisburg are the two PSU branch campuses with ABET-accredited engineering programs.
Here is the place to get the ABET accredited programs:
https://amspub.abet.org/aps/category-search?countries=US&states=PA
@242531Options Although Shippensburg’s electrical engineering as well as mechanical and civil engineering programs are new, its computer science, software engineering, and computer engineering programs have been ABET-accredited since 2004 (CS) and 2014 (Software Engineering and Computer Engineering). I’m sure the school is in the initial stages of seeking ABET-accreditation for the new programs, too. I’m also sure that Shippensburg has graduated more than one student in the longer established programs. You may want to contact the school for more information regarding accreditation and job placement. I know Penn State Erie (Behrend) has a very good reputation in engineering. Grove City is fine if your daughter wants a small Christian school. Pitt Johnstown’s engineering programs are also rather new, though the school did have engineering technology programs for many years before it transitioned to pure engineering.