<p>@ryan18, thanks for your input. I understand where you’re coming from. But we can’t afford the privates and can’t get merit or need based aid. Plus the privates that were appealing wouldn’t have accepted her. She know I’m not paying for six years anywhere. </p>
<p>I really think you need to look at all the positives of the school she picked. She picked it. They want her. You can afford it. My daughter picked a school that many consider low ranked. She never considered it beneath her. After she was accepted, she grew to love it even more. People continued to give an unenthusiastic ‘oh’ when she said where she was going. She’s had the last laugh as she loves her school.</p>
<p>From a parent’s perspective, you should be thrilled to be done with the search! I was so happy to have it over. One of my kids is the queen of over thinking everything and regretting her decisions. She always thinks something better is going to come along. She picked a school and hasn’t regretted it. Recently she said that although she was bored at her school, she knows any other school would be the same (for her) as she studies all the time.</p>
<p>@juillet - we wanted her to apply to West Chester, even though it’s a bit of a reach for her. But she wasn’t interested, said it was too close (30 minutes). It’s a really nice town, which I think she’d enjoy, but she just wanted to go someplace that was new to her. </p>
<p>I’m with Twoinanddone on this. But OP- it’s not enough that your D knows that you’re not paying for 6 years anywhere- the point is that you want her done with a BA in four years. To me a worse outcome is for her to finish the 4 years and NOT be done. An incomplete Freshman year that she never finished. A W sophomore year when she got mono but couldn’t double up on courses for Spring semester because she was behind the 8 ball in her major. Having to drop a class junior year because she got placed into the wrong section.</p>
<p>Spending the entire college fund in four years only to discover that she doesn’t have a degree- to me, that’s the problem you’re trying to anticipate, not that she thinks you’ll pay for 6 years. She needs to have a plan and to work with Deans, counselors, advisors, etc. to make sure that she’s following up on that plan. Colleges with low 4 year grad rates can sometimes be terrific places-- but it’s certainly a red flag that she needs to be quite proactive and plan for 8 semesters and out. Colleges with high grad rates often have a student body which is much more academically focused which for sure helps. The student body is often more affluent, so kids aren’t balancing classes and a demanding job. The student body is often younger (less likely that they’re managing young kids at home plus studying). Etc. BUT- they often have better advising and counseling as well so that kids who make mistakes scheduling or registering or are struggling get caught early and someone can reach out and do a quick course correction. This is what you need for her to access- the early warning signs.</p>
<p>One of my kids was at a college with the infamous “Fail Mail” which was a note from a professor after midterms basically laying out “You are not tracking to pass my course. Come see me”. This would be based on quizzes, the midterm, class performance, etc. and the goal was to get the kid riled up enough to start showing up at office hours and review sessions with enough time left in the semester to pass the course.</p>
<p>It’s not enough for a kid to discover during Finals Week that they’re trolling the bottom of the curve.</p>
<p>@twoinanddone – “One of my kids is the queen of over thinking everything and regretting her decisions. She always thinks something better is going to come along.” Actually, that’s my daughter, too. And I was relieved she applied in September. She’s usually also the queen of procrastination. But she sat down and wrote a pretty darn good essay, got her recommendation lined up, and filled out the app. And got her first acceptances within three weeks. Lots of relief to know that early that she had options!</p>
<p>@blossom - good advice about advising and counseling. I don’t think she realizes yet the potential difficulties of getting the classes you need when you need them, but I’ll make sure she does.</p>
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<p>Penn State University Park or Altoona? The impression I get, admittedly from across the country, is that Penn State branch campuses are mostly like expensive versions of community colleges for students aiming to transfer to Penn State University Park, but with some four year degree programs that students can do there without transferring.</p>
<p>If she attends one of the less expensive colleges like Kutztown, would it be difficult to transfer to Penn State University Park if she wants to do that? If not, then it seems that there is little advantage to paying extra for Penn State Altoona as a substitute for a community college or a lower cost four year school for a student aiming to transfer to Penn State University Park.</p>
<p>Penn State does not take many transfers from the directional colleges. Those spots are filled by the numerous branch campus students. I would not count on that as an option.</p>
<p>It can be rough to just say some schools are glorified cc’s. Even cc’s range in strengths and cohesiveness. Also, when anyone talks about rep, they sometimes forget to check the specific dept. </p>
<p>See if you can learn about psych at those schools. I’d look at the course catalog- and ask- about the right classes with the right number of openings, etc. She may have a chance to grow and to be a big fish in a little pond. See what’s going on, on campus- activities, clubs, things on weekends.</p>
<p>I went to a school 3 miles from nowhere, the only attraction was one teeny, overpriced market. There was a taxi- is that an option? Or other kids had cars. One could say, that was then, but my kids lived at the edge of a town without much to offer and didn’t need it. I know the apt life is different, but figure out where the market is and how the bus runs to campus or stores. Best wishes.</p>
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<p>But isn’t the comparison true? Penn State branch campuses offer a local option for students to do lower division work before transferring to Penn State University Park. In California, that function is fulfilled by the community colleges with respect to UCs and CSUs. While it is true that the Penn State branch campuses have some four year programs, it does appear that the favored goal is to transfer to Penn State University Park. Penn State Altoona offers about 20 bachelor’s degree programs, versus about 50 at Kutztown.</p>
<p>Also, CC does not necessarily imply poor quality, even though that seems to be a common assumption around these forums. However, CCs and schools like them obviously have different missions than four year schools, so they may not be as suitable to stay at (versus transferring to another school) after completing sophomore year or equivalent.</p>
<p>But Pennsylvania residents must not be happy about the costs. While California CC tuition is about $1,380 per year (in-state), Penn State branch campus tuition is $13,658 per year (in-state, at least at Altoona).</p>
<p>My personal anecdote, 20 years back but based on the content of this thread i think the perception of the two schools is still about the same (though the cost is out of control!). In HS, I was the better student. My 1-year ahead brother was mildly dyslexic and struggled through HS, and did poorly on standardized testing. He went to Kutztown; I was accepted (yay me!) to Penn State Main Campus. At Kutztown, my brother found a wonderfully supportive environment with personal attention. He graduated in 4 years, and is very successful. He loved his time at Kutztown and I truly believe he would not be where he is today without his time there. I went to Penn State, got lost in a crowd, floundered, dropped out, came back, dropped out again. I never graduated from Penn State. Of course, ymmv, but in our family, Kutztown is looked back on as the better decision. In my opinion, trust your daughters decision and then embrace the path she has chosen fully.</p>
<p>Note, I did eventually get my BS and MS, but on the part-time, multi-year plan, at a local option payed for by me. My Penn State grad husband and our 3 kids all got to attend my graduation, so it did turn out all right in the end. </p>
<p>@ucbalumnus, I live in PA and we don’t have any community colleges in commuting distance. Most of them seem to be concentrated around Philadelphia or Pittsburgh. So the existance of branch campuses and PASHEE schools that are close enough for students in our area to commute to is very important. For many students they are the only option for a college education financially. The downside is that the tuition like you noted is very high. Moreso for the branch campuses. Even if the student receives full Pell and state grant, about $10,000, they will still have to take out a loan and many work in addition to that. Some students are able to go away to school or attend other public or private schools if they have high stats or parents can afford it.</p>
<p>The most important thing is that the school is a good fit, provides a good education and is affordable.</p>
<p>@Sans Serif, I would urge you to check out some schools in the western part of the state. Who knows maybe your daughter will like another school that you also like? Slippery Rock is well regarded.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.sru.edu/academics/colleges/ches/psychology/Pages/BSPsychology.aspx”>http://www.sru.edu/academics/colleges/ches/psychology/Pages/BSPsychology.aspx</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://www.greensburg.pitt.edu/academics/psychology/tailoring-your-major”>http://www.greensburg.pitt.edu/academics/psychology/tailoring-your-major</a></p>
<p>Also looks like there are a lot of options here for psychology at Pitt Greensburg.</p>
<p>For those who compare PSU branch campuses to CCs - I don’t think the comparision is quite apt. I got the impression that they do have a leg up, since they are connected to Penn State, they offer more majors, more classes, etc. more resources, etc. And although some do stay all four years at a branch, especially Erie, most take their gen eds at a branch and then take most of classes in their major at the main campus. So if Univ Park offers a higher quality education, at least you’re getting that higher quality when it counts most - when you’re taking your major classes. </p>
<p>And as others have said, PSU doesn’t take many transfers - it takes the kids doing the 2+2 program at the branches. It’s obscenely expensive though. I think PA is one of the absolute worst when it comes to high tuition and lousy financial aid. </p>
<p>@mommdc – I appreciate the info about other schools, but my daughter has long since checked out when it comes to considering other options. I mentioned Slippery Rock, West Chester, and IUP, but she felt like she had applied to enough schools. She even has a good friend at IUP, but she just didn’t want to consider any more schools. </p>
<p>I’m glad I’m hearing stories about success at Kutztown. I don’t know if she’s picking the school for the right reasons – I think she’s going totally with the intangibles such as “it feels right”, due to the nice-looking campus and cute town. Those things are important, of course - she’s got to spend four years there, she might as well like the place. But I am continuing to try to find out more about Kutztown’s psychology program. The one good thing so far, is that unlike some schools which only offer a general Psych degree, she was able to enter more of a Clinical Psychology track. (You can pick from General, Clinical and Industrial/organizational tracks.) Hopefully we can find out more at the Accepted Students Day.</p>
<p>@SansSerif, well if your daughter doesn’t want to consider any other schools, then that is absolutely ok.
It’s good that you’re checking out everything as much as you can beforehand.</p>
<p>All any of us can hope for is that our kids will continue to grow and mature and get a good education.</p>
<p>There are kids at small schools loving it and others hating it, same at big schools. Kids that want to be far away post about wanting to transfer closer to home and vice versa. We just hope they (with our guidance) have made the right decision for them. </p>
<p>And I want to add I know that my outlook is affected by my own experience at Penn State - which was wonderful. I hated high school, and then went to Univ Park for four years and just like one person said about their brother’s experience with Kutztown - I wouldn’t be where I am today without those four years at PSU. It was just the perfect fit for me. I came out of my shell. I became independent, confident, gained life-long friends (and a husband lol), learned more about my academic strengths and how I could use them in a career, and just felt like I was part of an amazing community. </p>
<p>Yes, I know that’s me and not everyone and maybe not my daughter. But we’ve gone up there a lot - almost every Arts Festival in July, and a few other times as well. She honestly loves the place, it’s not just my influence. Believe me, she usually would hate anything I like. lol And I think if she could have gotten into the main campus as a freshman, she would have gone, no question. But I am accepting that since that is not the choice she has, she is making the decision that is hopefully best for her. </p>
<p>@SansSerif, I graduated from Berkeley, my husband graduated from our state’s flagship U. We assumed our kids would attend a top-rated public/private college. After a lot of research and college visits, they did just the opposite. D1 is attending a no-name state U similar in size and scope to Kutztown and is majoring in nursing. D2 attends an equally no-name small local LAC and is pre-med. I swear to you on a stack of college brochures that both made excellent decisions, are happy, and will be academically prepared for their careers and grad school. Get your “I’m a Proud Kutztown Parent” t-shirts and wear 'em all over town. </p>
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<p>What you describe is exactly how many students in California use the CCs (except that they cannot stay to complete bachelor’s degrees at CCs) – start at CC, complete general education and lower division major courses, then transfer to a UC or CSU to complete their majors and bachelor’s degrees. That is why, from across the country, the PSU branch campuses look at lot like (more expensive) CCs in this function.</p>
<p>From what I gather from this thread, Altoona is a better (but more expensive) way to eventually transfer into University Park, but Kutztown is a better school to do all of a bachelor’s degree at without transferring.</p>