<p>So who is going to school - you or your son?</p>
<p>If your bad experience with the university a good reason to prevent your son from going to school there?</p>
<p>My parents stayed out of my college picking experience for the most part, and I appreciated that. After all, it was me that was going to spend 5 years of my life at the school I picked, not them.</p>
<p>I had a similar experience with UT-Austin. I had a very simple question and the horrifically rude woman I talked to cackled and scoffed at me the whole time - she made me feel like I was really inconveniencing her by asking her to spare 2 minutes of her time. I was really frustrated and upset, but I decided not to associate her with the image of the university as a whole, since it’s really just a huge, behemoth mechanism.</p>
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<p>Really motion, I hate to do this because I truly believe the school one attends doesn’t matter, but you go to the University of Pittsburgh. Which is not that great. And IMO Penn State is better, and that says alot considering what I think of Penn State. </p>
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<p>I don’t know about this. UT-Austin was very kind to me and even personally called my school to give me a large scholarship. So I don’t think your one experience should be a significant mark against UT. It is an amazing school and one which ANYONE should be proud to attend.</p>
<p>You know, this thread is reminding of a thread a while back…something about rejecting a school for various reasons. I shared that my son was unhappy with one school because the tour guide wasn’t the best…kept asking “ANY QUESTIONS??” in a robotic voice and repeatedly. On reflection, NOT a good reason to reject the school.
RtoR…have your son should go to Admitted Students day and visit other schools as well. Encourage him to reach out and make plans to perhaps meet professors or other staff…on his own. You can help him with some advice on emailing folks etc. Then go with what he wants. I would try to reign your frustration. Two clueless folks …although deeply frustrating…should not ruin the whole experience. Perhaps your antenna should be up…but that’s about it. Good luck!</p>
<p>Oops, I think what I said came off the wrong way… “huge, behemoth mechanism” makes it sound like a soulless monster… what I meant was that I decided not to let that one experience with one rude woman affect my opinion of the university as a whole. In any case, that’s probably where I’ll be going.</p>
<p>From what I’ve seen, personal attention and administrative responsiveness tend not to be assets of large universities.</p>
<p>That being said, if your son is interested in personally meeting with a school representative, I suggest that he – not you – e-mail a couple of professors in departments that interest him. I think his doing this is more likely to get a positive response than if you make the calls for him. If he doesn’t hear back from the professors, that may be a big clue that’s not the school for him…</p>
<p>Remember, Penn State is run by the same people that run the state department of motor vehicles / drivers license office. You wouldn’t expect any more from them, would you?</p>
<p>While I agree that motion12345’s comments are for the most part baseless and out of line, it’s true that at least when it comes to our large New England high school, Penn State is certainly not attracting the cream of the crop–it draws decent students who are looking for a big party, fratty, sports-oriented school that’s not too far away, has a bit more cachet than our state flagship, and is likely to get them a paying job after they graduate. No way can I imagine any of them calling to arrange a meeting with a professor, so maybe it’s too rare an event for the school have a process for handling.</p>
<p>I would not throw out the baby with the bath water. They are probably understaffed and sick of prospies and their questions by now. But I also think the U’s attract a better staff than the DMV. Most love working for the U wherever it.</p>
<p>As to Pitt-the B10 took PSU first. Keep hoping.</p>
<p>I agree that the Penn State people didn’t have to be rude, but isn’t DUS there for current students, not admitted HS seniors?</p>
<p>I have a different take on this. Why didn’t your son make the call?</p>
<p>Is it possible that had your son made the call, he would have gotten a different reaction than you did? At this stage of the process, it’s time for parents to take a couple of steps back, and let their kids learn how to navigate the system, whether by email, or phone.</p>
<p>It wouldn’t surprise me if you were one of dozens of parents who may have called the office for whatever reason. Maybe she was having a bad day?</p>
<p>If the kid had made the call, the woman would have just hung up on him! :)<br>
You got a bad person in, perhaps, a not particularly service-oriented department in the university. It happens.</p>
<p>MommaJ- Penn State is an excellent school and, in my opinion, for in-state engineering majors it doesn’t make sense to look elsewhere if you can handle the bigness of the place. I doubt the out-of-state dregs are getting admitted in very large numbers.</p>
<p>"I have a different take on this. Why didn’t your son make the call?</p>
<p>Is it possible that had your son made the call, he would have gotten a different reaction than you did? "</p>
<p>I agree. And if he did get the same rude response, it may have provided him with info that Penn isn’t the school for him to attend.</p>
<p>bigtrees…just a clarification on your DMV comment. Penn State gets less than 10% of its funding from the state. It is NOT run by the state government. It IS a big place and can be beaurocratic but let’s get the facts straight.</p>
<p>TOTALLY EXPECTED</p>
<p>As a life long PA resident – this attitude is NOT new and it will NOT change. Just one of the reasons I don’t bleed Blue & White. It is an adminstrative mentality that wraps itself in red tape.</p>
<p>If your child is NOT competative for the Honors college and is truly UNDECIDED major with a humanities lean, then this will only be the beginning and you are correct that it is not the right school for you.</p>
<p>If you get into the Honors college then you are treated differently and cut thru the red tape for enrollment, housing, etc. Well worth keeping it on the college list.</p>
<p>If you have a set major or narrowed focus of 2 majors (ie undecided but know it will be under the “genreal” umbrella of math or such) then still keep it on the list and as others advised contact professors directly.</p>
<p>If you are interested in the satellite campuses, keep it on the list.</p>
<p>The biggest complaint I’ve heard of Penn State is the red tape when changing majors and enrolling in classes. The attitude is the same attitude you are finding with admissions – the school doesn’t need you and won’t go out of their way for you.</p>
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<p>We are talking PENN STATE here, Northstarmom, not PENN. I’ve actually been pretty happy with the Penn “machine”, as has my son.</p>
<p>Yes, I meant “Penn State,” not Penn.</p>
<p>OP, you seem to stress that they don’t know who you are because no one asked for your name, but my experience at one college is that they have Caller ID and could know who you are. I say that because I called a college to which ds was accepted to ask a generic question and the person sent me to “my regional representative,” which I assume she figured out by my phone number. Didn’t really expect to be “known.”</p>
<p><<it’s true=“” that=“” at=“” least=“” when=“” it=“” comes=“” to=“” our=“” large=“” new=“” england=“” high=“” school,=“” penn=“” state=“” is=“” certainly=“” not=“” attracting=“” the=“” cream=“” of=“” crop-=“”>></it’s></p>
<p>From speaking to my son’s GC, a counselor at another school, and several parents - Penn State IS attracting top notch kids from our (very competitive) district. These are mainly kids who rank in the top 20-25% of their classes, but are not necessarily in the top 10% and therefore aren’t guaranteed a spot at UT. And I personally know 2 top 10% kids who recently chose PSU over UT. </p>
<p>UT and PSU are very comparable in terms of size and overall ranking. Both offer a big campus environment with lots going on (including partying - if that is what you want). Of course, PSU offers a small town environment, which is appealing to some students (like mine). For engineering, UT is ranked a little better, but both are still quite good. And - PSU’s band uniforms are MUCH better than UT’s!</p>
<p>Last year 9 top 10% kids from our high school chose PSU. A couple of them made it into the honors college. On top of that, about 40 other students went to main campus, most in the top 20%. It’s a popular option for engineering, business and science majors and it’s becoming MORE popular for in state students given current economic conditions. </p>
<p>Pitt is gaining in popularity as well. Both are good schools.</p>