College Choice: Pitt, Notre Dame, Boston College, Penn State

Hello fellow internet citizens! I am a high school senior trying to decide on where to go to college. I have narrowed it down to four schools: Notre Dame, University of Pittsburgh (honors program), Boston College, and Penn State. I will likely pursue a major in economics and/or international studies. My dream school is Notre Dame, but I am on the waiting list so I am not counting on getting in anyway. My top choice from schools I was already accepted to is Boston College, followed by Pitt and Penn State rounding out the final four. Unfortunately, I will have to full price at ND and BC (around $65,000 and $70,000 per year, respectively) while Pitt will cost me $20,000 and PSU is just $14,000 all in with room and board.

I am in the dilemma of price vs preference haha. I am blessed to have the means to afford any of them, but the private schools would put considerable strain on my family and I would likely graduate with a large amount of debt, while I could graduate with little or no debt from the public schools. However, I have had a hard time seeing myself at the public schools while on visits, and I had hoped to move out of state for college (I live in PA). Additionally, I also appreciate both the smaller class sizes and the spiritual element of the Catholic schools. I seem to get further and further away from making a final decision every day. Any advice on any of these schools is greatly appreciated.

Congrats on having some excellent choices from which to select. IMHO, don’t go into heavy debt for your bachelor’s degree. Both Pitt and PSU have excellent reputations. Save debt for grad school. And instead of moving out of PA, why not invest that money into an amazing study abroad experience where you can experience a real shift in culture and geography, as opposed to simply going to school several hours further north or west. If you really crave the city, consider Pitt. If you want to the Big Ten experience in a quaint small town, consider PSU. Then take the money you saved and do one of those really awesome semester at sea, go around the world experiences. Do something truly “international”. There is a sizable Catholic population at PSU…not sure about Pitt, but I would think so.

@Sophley Thanks for the response! I’m thinking the same thing too

“I will have to full price at ND and BC (around $65,000 and $70,000 per year, respectively) while Pitt will cost me $20,000 and PSU is just $14,000 all in with room and board.”

Rarely is it a good idea to go into six figure debt for undergrad. BC isn’t worth 70K a year.

If you are looking for a “spiritual element” while in college, get involved a local church or an on-campus ministry.

The best and most responsible decision would be the one that offers more money. You don’t want to start a career with financial strain. Bachelors degrees are fairly well standardized anyway. A masters degree from any university squashes a prestigious bachelors degree any day of the week.

Pitt Honors & Penn State are your only realistic options among the four.

The good news is that these two options offer two very different experiences–urban versus rural.

What do you want to study in college ? And what is your career goal ?

Boston College is most definitely worth 70k. But it’s not probably the best relative to yoUr choices and great merit awards. It’s a big deal to get money for school. I always liked Penn State. But my nephew is sophomore at Pitt and absolutely loves it. H2P is their slogan and usual text ending. Hail to Pitt. Good luck and kick butt