<p>i got into PennState Univ. Park (Smeal) and at Boston Univ i only got into the College of General Studies (CGS) so i know i wont be able to start business till Junior yr…
im still confused on where to go…which do u think is a better overall school…(social life, business program, dorms, location…)</p>
<p>I decided between COM here at BU and Penn State's Honors Program. Both schools are fabulous in their own way, but you really just need to figure out what you want, because they are so very different.</p>
<p>I loved Penn State's campus, because it seemed like the quintessential college campus. Tree's everywhere. Big quads. Big stadium. Lots of school spirt. A famous ice cream shop. The town is the college. Plus, you get the added fun of Big 10 sports, which is an institution in my family. (Everyone in my family went, or goes to, a big 10 school.) Plus, they do have excellent academics.</p>
<p>BU has a completely different feel. It is in a city, and while I think it has a campus, it is definitely not like Penn State's campus. There are wonderful academics here, and plenty of opportunities, especially in business. </p>
<p>Basically, both schools are great, but very different. It would be pointless to try to compare the schools. You should figure out what you want out of college and go to the school that would give you what you want.</p>
<p>Thats a tough one since they are both good schools. I am assuming you got into the Univ. Park campus at PSU, yes? See what happens when you attend acecepted student days since that should help the decision process.
Gosh dramaqueen, you were acceped into PSU Honors which is harder to get into than the IVYs. Wow. Sounds like you are happy with your choice of BU and I agree you cannot compare the two--just very different experiences.</p>
<p>you are in quite the predicament! i would go to penn state though since you didn't get into the program you wanted at bu.</p>
<p>I didn't know PSU Honors was so selective! Maybe I made the wrong choice....heh. Seriously, though, I am very happy at BU. </p>
<p>Another bit of advice though: really look into the CGS program before you commit to it. You can't switch out, and it is very different from other college experiences. I'd get as much info as you can. Right now, the sophomores in CGS have started working on their Capstone projects, which you can read about here: <a href="http://www.dailyfreepress.com/media/storage/paper87/news/2006/04/12/Spotlight/Capping.It.All.Off-1845854.shtml?norewrite200604121717&sourcedomain=www.dailyfreepress.com%5B/url%5D">http://www.dailyfreepress.com/media/storage/paper87/news/2006/04/12/Spotlight/Capping.It.All.Off-1845854.shtml?norewrite200604121717&sourcedomain=www.dailyfreepress.com</a> . Hope this helps a little.</p>
<p>r1d3sno: when did you apply to PSU? I applied in November before priority deadline and they didn't accept me into UP, but let me choose other campuses. It suprised me since I got accepted to BU into SMG, not CGS. Its suprising how things work. Either way, I'll be going to Indiana (Kelley) which is better than both business programs. From a business major standpoint, PSU is by far better than BU. BU is ranked 40th while PSU is ~20th. You'd also get the real campus feel at PSU and a great football team.</p>
<p>I'm in a similar situation - choosing between PSU (waitlist for Schreyers, only 8 people on it, I personally know 3-4 admits who aren't going, so I'd guess I have a decent chance,) BU, or American's honor program. I'm going to the open house tomorrow at BU.</p>
<p>alot of people are telling me to go to PennState because i only got into CGS at BU..but i feel when i look at the location/internship aspect..BU is a much better choice being in a financial district..and i think this can open up many opportunities</p>
<p>i know i won't be able to really get invovled in the business aspect of things until junior year at BU..but does anyone know what the transition is like from CGS to the school of management?</p>
<p>i've always liked pennstate and the school itself being its own town. and i know they have a great business program, but when i think of how isolated the campus is and what opportunities there really are, i kind of get set back.</p>
<p>if someone knows something different and if my assumptions are wrong, can you please help me out, because as of now i don't know what to look for (location? business program?)..and what will i be better off with in the future?</p>
<p>r1d3sno -</p>
<p>sorry i didn't get a chance to reply to your PM. i was busy coming home and all of that.</p>
<p>in any case... my criteria are kind of different because i'm planning on majoring in bio for pre-med. i'm not 100% certain about what I want to do though, or I would have applied for one of the accelerated medical programs. i think both bu and psu have good biology departments, a lot of resources, etc. the research opportunities at BU seemed pretty good as well. i did the science building tour at the open house and a soph. pre-med took us around and showed us the lab she was working in, and it seems like if you are motivated you can get research experience fairly early. also, being in boston, surrounded by universities, medical schools, and hospitals, i'm sure there's a lot of research and volunteer opportunities that are not necessarily associated with BU.</p>
<p>i don't really like penn state's atmosphere. i did harvard's SSP program over the summer, and loved how the campus is enclosed and has a college feel to it while boston is so accessible. the whole enclosed-campus-feel that is still close to the city would be ideal. however, since that isn't really an option now, and I have to choose between the keg-in-a-cornfield that is penn state, 3 hours from the nearest civilization, or BU, which loses a lot of the college feel while being in the city, I'm really leaning towards BU. i've lived in hershey, PA (a small town) for my entire life... the thought of being 3 hours from any kind of civilization for the next 4 years is sort of depressing.</p>
<p>i guess what i'm thinking at this point is that if i get into PSU schreyers, i'm not going to pass up such a competitive honors program, and I'm going to go to Penn State. otherwise i'll go to BU. american is now off my list. it's more of a small liberal arts college than a university. science there is an afterthought.</p>
<p>David--thats sounds like a well thought out plan. Good for you for considering so many variables. </p>
<p>rid--if you were acepted to a non-CGS program at BU I'd say pick BU but given the situation you really should think hard about PSU. While it isn't Boston, I know, there are a ton of PSU alumni thay stay very active so I would think the PSU networking is a positive once you finish your degree and are in the job market.</p>