<p>So LONGHAUL…your experience with Penn State
is based on:
- being a lifelong resident of Pa.
- listening to other peoples complaints</p>
<p>ANOTHER WONDERFUL REVIEW BY SOMEONE WHO DOESN’T GO THERE</p>
<p>come on folks…</p>
<p>“The biggest complaint I’ve heard of Penn State is the red tape when changing majors and enrolling in classes.”</p>
<p>I’ve read over on the PSU forum that, with the exception of some of the more competitive programs, it is possible to change your major at the summer orientation. My S has not had a problem scheduling needed classes, though he has commented that he plans to take ballroom dance his senior year because it is very popular.</p>
<p>MomofWildChild, I certainly did not suggest that Penn State accepted “dregs” from our non-PA high school. Those in our high school who choose Penn State are generally solid B+ students, with good but not sterling SAT’s, popular kids who are prominent in student government and often varsity sports. They aren’t scholarly types yearning to get into a discussion with a professor about academic offerings or opportunities for independent study or whatever. Most kids aren’t. I’m sure Yale gets those kinds of requests frequently and is prepared to accommodate them; Penn State and hundreds of other schools, perhaps not so much. Of course none of that excuses the rudeness OP encountered. If a college isn’t prepared to arrange for meetings between prospies and profs, the request should be turned down politely with an explanation and an apology.</p>
<p>As for Penn State being characterized as an “excellent” school, I guess that depends on your criteria. I see it as one of the better state flagships, but not one of the best.</p>
<p>I would put it below UVA, Michigan, Cal, Wisconsin and UNC and very close to Texas. I tend to look at things these days in terms of whether you can get a job when you get out, and a lot of the fields at which Penn State excels do seem to allow for post-college employment. The engineering grads are very desired by a lot of companies due to the practical slant of the education. </p>
<p>When you look at state universities I think you need to look at specific disciplines. I went to one (back in the day) which isn’t at the level of those I named above, but it happened (still does) to have several very highly regarded schools within the university, one of which I entered and another from which I graduated! That said, I was simply shocked by the level of the bottom half of the student body (I was out of state). I think it is a lot better in modern times, but there is a definite lower level to the large state schools. You have to sort through it to find your “tribe”, which is a little more challenging than if you went to Williams!</p>
<p>I attended an Admitted Student Day last year at PSU with my d for the Dept. of Undeclared Studies. They had a session just for parents and another just for students where they had many of the DUS counselors available. These folks hung around afterwards and were more than available to discuss any questions you might have had. In all honesty their presentation was so comprehensive I couldn’t think of any questions left to ask. Since my d has been there she has met with her counselor a number of times and gotten very personal attention. Just one experience, and I agree that the response you got when you called should never have happened. With my s, he was going to a different college studying Broadcast Communication. In his case we made two different trips to his campus to visit their facilities and meet the dept. head. The school was very helpful in arranging these visits and very much welcomed us. This is the way it should be. The problem might be at PSU (besides the obvious - size), is that with DUS beyond meeting with a counselor who would you meet with? By it’s very nature you have no specific field of study. But I did find that counselors at admitted student day did put a lot of my fears to rest as to what programs they have in place to help students try to figure out what they do want to study. One more thing - we returned to PSU late in the spring to do scheduling. From what my d told me they had something like a 1 to 2 ratio of counselors to students to assist with scheduling for DUS students. Other majors had many fewer counselors on hand and having more counselors with the DUS students made that process go very smoothly.</p>
<p>This happens at my high school too. There are unpleasant people everywhere.</p>
<p>I think collegemomof2 makes a good point regarding the difference between students who are interested in a particular program or college and those entering DUS. (I’m not excusing the response you got.) My son also met with faculty and toured labs, at Penn Sate and the other schools he was interested in. Those meetings were always set up with the department, not through admissions, which makes sense when you consider the size of the entering class at many research universities. I know his college at Penn State also has student “ambassadors” that can be called on for lab tours and such when prospective students drop-in without making an appointment.</p>
<p>When I had to choose an admitted students day, (i’m a current student in DUS)there were ‘general’ days and there were college specific days (ie Business, Engineering, etc) There were DUS days as well. There was tons of info given, and contacts and resources provided. It doesn’t excuse the comments from the people that you spoke to, but there is help once you get there.</p>
<p>To the OP, I agree that those comments are stunningly poor. I’m constantly amazed by how many colleges refuse to view admitting students as a consumer buying transaction. How many of us would buy a $25,000 to $40,000 car every year for four years from a dealer who had the same approach as the OP’s contact had. It not only affects the initial purchase decision at PSU but it also impacts the likelihood of future donations. </p>
<p>I suggest calling back the original department to see if you get someone different on the phone. You might luck into someone who’s a little more open to customer support. Just like tour guides aren’t the entire university, neither is one admin, though both can leave devastatingly bad impressions.</p>
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<p>Yet YOU felt perfectly justified in insulting me and every other person from the northeast in your post.</p>
<p>Signed, </p>
<p>Just one of those “cold” NE types</p>
<p>Penn State is a wonderful school. Who cares about how snooty one dork in the AdComm is? If that is where your son wants to go, he should go there. You should feel comfort in knowing that the moment your son steps on the campus, Penn State will be a better place.</p>
<p>Consolation. I’m FROM the NE and live here now. I travel quite a bit…and we certainly can disagree…but as a general rule…we are not known to be outwardly friendly folks. Especially to strangers. But certainly, that’s an opinion…subject to dispute. All I know is when I come back from the south or a friendly small town, I’m usually impressed and vow to be a little sunnier in my day to day interactions with folks. Maybe it will spread. Anyway, didn’t mean to insult you!</p>
<p>^^ Glad toneranger is taking the heat here! I’m usually the one who gets in trouble on CC for insulting northeasterners (and I also grew up there)! Love my family there, love my friends, but I get tempted to kiss the ground when I get back to the South.</p>
<p>*Love my family there, love my friends, but I get tempted to kiss the ground when I get back to the South. *</p>
<p>LOL…</p>
<p>My H was saying the same thing the other day.</p>
<p>I think that a single incident is enought to at least give pause and investigate like OP is doing. There is the issue of “culture” and “message at the top” that can permeate not just admissions but the whole administration. It could just have been an unlucky series of conversations with people having bad days, but I would encourage OP to try again and really test this with another phone call with another legitimate question. I would go to admitted student days and I would really test their culture–be a bit of squeaky wheel just to see the reaction of faculty and staff. Squeaky wheel or not, all parents of prospective students deserve respectful and welcoming sounds from the administration.</p>
<p>I have to say that our interactions with admissions at prestigious ivies, the large state schools, art schools and the third tier safety state schools have been uniformly great…patient, welcoming and thouroughly professional. For example Ivy admissions just told us which document is STILL missing (probably too late but not Ivy’s fault) but warmly assured me that he has not been eliminated because teacher sent (yes actually did this) recommendation for another kid for another school in my son’s envelope. They say they contacted teacher, but are still awaiting my son’s (probably horrible) LOR.</p>
<p>State U AKA “land of one million students” responded immediately and happily to give an extension to coming to visit for scholarship so S can work around the insanely early IB oral spanish exams (next week?)… and offered to connect him with profs and students in his area of interest when he does come. If we were to encounter snottiness or snootiness or a sense of entitlement at a school we would be very sure to push to discover how widespread it is…God forbid S pick up that attitude…as I have seen on some postings for some schools…</p>
<p>The staff have been quick to respond to questions about missing items, how to deal with a year abroad, etc. and most of all very enthusiastic and warm even at the giant schools. And they should be…they are the salesmen and women of their main product–undergraduate studies–and we are the consumers. If PSU loses sight of this basic, if rather grubby, fact then they may have lost track of a lot of things. If they don’t care about you now why would they care about you and your kid once you are already committed to them.</p>
<p>I don’t agree that the vibe from admissions is going to be how the rest of the place will be. We had a terrible experience at Princeton several years ago (we got yelled at for being late for a HORRIBLE admissions presentation in a packed room) and I was treated like a criminal for trying to take my hot coffee drink into the room. Once we got past THAT (I knew more about the “new” SAT etc. from CC than the young admissions person at Princeton did) we had a lovely tour and great meeting with the coach.</p>
<p>If your son needs to have the introductory experience personalized for him, maybe this in itself is a signal that he doesn’t belong at a large institution!</p>
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<p>You know what, I just do not understand why some people here simply will not give these regional generalizations and insults a rest.</p>
<p>Why is it necessary to continue to make these remarks? Especially in threads that have NOTHING to do with regional issues?</p>
<p>^^And we all know that we NEVER deviate from topic on CC threads!</p>
<p>Consolation, why don’t you give the self-righteousness a rest? We all have our likes and dislikes, and, frankly, it isn’t too off topic to think that the OP talked to a non-Southerner since she wasn’t called “Honey Pie”!</p>
<p>You know, IMO, it’s OK to acknowledge regional differences in behavior. And those differences CAN impact how you feel when visiting a school. </p>
<p>In the case of this thread, I was pointing out that, MY experience at PSU was positive, and that the admin folks there were more like friendly midwesterners. So it’s NOT off topic. And anyway, isn’t it OK to throw out some observations when they’re directed at a place where I currently live and even grew up in? And hey, I have a right to insult myself! :)</p>