Biology programs in PA?

College Search & Selection
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<p>Hi! This is my first post and I'm not quite sure what I am doing. My daughter was accepted at Penn State Altoona for their 2 + 2 ending up at University Park, Temple, Drexel, Saint Joseph's University, Bloomsburg, University of Scranton and the Johnston branch for University of Pitt. She was heading to Altoona, but has recently decided she really doesn't want to be that far from home and Temple University has been her #1 choice for some time. </p>

<p>My question is, which school/program do you think will be better for her in the long run? She is contemplating pre-med or Pharmacy some day and wants to work in a hospital setting. I feel like Penn State is the better choice overall but I know she may get homesick. Temple is about an hour away, and Altoona is four hours away. We told her she can still come home when she wants but she doesn't want to spend 8 hours a weekend traveling. </p>

<p>She is your typical middle class, slightly above average student with mostly honors classes, no APs. Class rank is top 30%. Currently attends a high school with over 1000 kids in her class. Interests other than medicine are Community Service, Photography, likes to watch football, hockey and baseball. Likes to go out. Needs smaller classes and a relationship or a chance at one with her teachers/professors. Doesn't do well on standardized tests but does well with overall coursework, papers, labs. Most of her current friends live in your typical suburban house with a mom, a dad, siblings and a pet.</p>

<p>Thoughts? Pros and Cons of all the schools but mostly Temple and Penn State Altoona.</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

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<p>She will have smaller class size at Altoona than at Temple. However, I’m not sure Altoona has the best campus life, its in the middle of nowhere, whereas Temple is in Philadelphia, where there will be tons of things to do, as well as opportunities for internships. Temple has a medical school and hospital Penn State does not.</p>

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<p>Penn State main campus/overall has a better reputation than Temple, but I think Temple’s stronger than any of the branch campuses. Temple would definitely have a much better and more vibrant campus life, albeit a larger student body (compared to Altoona). There would also be tons of opportunities for pre-med students - Philly has a plethora of fantastic hospitals. </p>

<p>Then again, once she gets there, Penn state main campus has such great school spirit and so many activities for the students that it wouldn’t matter if she was in the city or not. If the homesickness is a very big concern, perhaps Temple would be the better choice. However, it’s important for her to experience living away from home. Perhaps you could use Skype or another form of video-chatting on certain weekends instead of her driving 4 hours home.</p>

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<p>another thought is she can likely switch to a branch campus of PSU that is closer to home.</p>

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<p>Thanks for all the info! I didn’t think this would be quite so hard:)</p>

6

<p>If she is serious about pre-med than Scranton would be the best choice. They have a great science program and will be opening the new facility in the Fall.</p>

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<p>* slightly above average student with mostly honors classes, no APs. Class rank is top 30%. … Doesn’t do well on standardized tests *</p>

<p>Frankly, this does not bode well for someone who is considering pre-med or pre-pharm since both of those professional schools require students to do VERY well on the MCAT and PCAT for admittance (and scoring well on these tests has a high correlation to being able to score well on standardized tests). </p>

<p>These schools also expect high GPAs for admittance. </p>

<p>I would gently persuade this student into a major/career that is better suited to her abilities.</p>

8

<p>Given Gov.Corbett’s proposed budget, I would consider cost. With proposed state budget cuts of 53%, Temple, Penn State and Bloomsburg will most certainly need to raise tuition significantly over the course of her studies. </p>

<p>I recommend putting the decision off until the last minute. Compare all FA packages. </p>

<p>St. Joe’s has much of what you are seeking - class sizes, relationship with instructors, sports. It would still be close to home.</p>

<p>Drexel is not known to have close relationships with instructors.</p>

<p>Since many kids change majors, you may want to not focus exclusively on the biology program but instead at the overall school.</p>

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<p>despite the proposed cuts in state funding to PA higher education, a state school will still be significantly cheaper than a private school like Scranton or St. Joe’s. Scranton is still far away and I have heard from a student who transferred from Scranton to Temple that there is basically nothing to do in the city of Scranton or on campus so the social life is centered on drinking.</p>

10

<p>I strongly disagree that a state school or state affiliate would be cheaper. It really depends upon the private schools FA offering. Most students I know in our blue collar, low end of middle class town have FA packages that make the privates the same costs or cheaper than the state schools. St. Joe’s and LaSalle (which OP did not mention) are a fav in our town for the “kind” FA packages.</p>

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<p>agreed, factoring financial aid into the mix (assuming that the student qualifies) must be done to compare total cost of attendance. However, based on the “sticker price” these schools are substantially more expensive that Penn State, and will remain so even if tuition increases resulting from budget cuts are factored in</p>

<p>Penn State 14,412
Scranton 34,236
St. Joes 35,080</p>

12

<p>Big thanks to everyone for all of the advice and suggestions! Cost will come into play as well as a school big enough to offer majors incase she decides to go a different route. We have been discussing the whole, “pre-med might not be the best choice for you” for the last year so that will certainly come into play. </p>

<p>I am curious what others have seen as far as career planning at the highschool level? As far as I can tell, other than some career days in 8th grade, there’s been nothing done at our huge highschool. No types of testing and guiding you to a certain field. I feel bad for kids that don’t have someone to talk things over with. And since our school is so big on class rank/weighted GPAs you really can’t pick courses to see what interests you because all of them are at the 4.0 level and count as one credit, where the sciences count as 1.15 and are at a 5.0 or 6.0 level and then there is still AP. With 4 years of the majors, there is very little room left in the schedule to try anything out. I think it’s time to do away with Phys Ed and Health all year-especially for those kids who play sports. If the music kids can take their lessons for credit, then why can’t the athletes? The other thing, since I am on a roll, why make swimming mandatory for everyone? If you pass the test in the beginning, why do you need to be in it? Certified lifeguards have to take swimming, talk about a waste of tax dollars!</p>

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<p>*We have been discussing the whole, “pre-med might not be the best choice for you” for the last year so that will certainly come into play. *</p>

<p>If your D has an interest in working in the medical field, but isn’t a super strong student, there are many other options. Nursing is a great career, and if she excels at it, she can further her education beyond a BSN, and become a Nurse Practioner.</p>

<p>I am curious what others have seen as far as career planning at the highschool level? As far as I can tell, other than some career days in 8th grade, there’s been nothing done at our huge highschool. No types of testing and guiding you to a certain field. </p>

<p>there are soooo many career choices out there now, that it can be hard to guide a child towards any particular one. The best advice may be is for her to take serious General Ed courses her first year to see if any of the areas spark an interest in her. However, she shouldn’t overwhelm herself by taking too many challenging courses during any one semester.</p>

<p>Since she’s considering some kind of health related career, if you look at the pre-reqs for some of those careers, there are some common req’ts…such as bio, chem, and of course, the Gen Ed courses of Frosh Comp, History, Math, and other humanities. </p>

<p>Since Temple may be her best bet, if you both look at their undergrad catalog, she may get some ideas of classes she can take her first year that would work with a variety of majors and career paths. </p>

<p>[Temple</a> University Undergraduate Bulletin - Academic Programs](<a href=“http://www.temple.edu/bulletin/Academic_programs/academic_programs.shtm]Temple”>http://www.temple.edu/bulletin/Academic_programs/academic_programs.shtm)</p>