<p>Because of my mom's employment with the University, I will receive a 70% tuition discount at any Penn State campus. Therefore, it has always been basically a given that I would go there. My basic dilemma is which Penn State campus to attend. All have their pros and cons. My options:
Altoona or Erie campuses
Pros: Could live off campus
Possibly would be less stressful to adjust to college life
Cons:
After visiting both and looking at their stats, I am not impressed at all with the academics. I don't have much interest in attending a university in which I will not learn or that does not have an environment conducive to learning. Just looking at the admission stats, I would be in at least the top 5% at a branch campus</p>
<p>University Park
Pros: More challenging academically
More people
More chances to get involved in various things</p>
<p>Cons: The big one that is essentially the issue: I do not know if I could handle living in a cramped dorm with so many other people. I can't stay off campus. Part of my personality is that I sometimes just need to get away from other people and have my own space.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, even though my grades are good, I don't think they would be good enough to get into Schyerers. Can anyone shed some light onto it's competitiveness? </p>
<p>Anyone have some advice as to what I should do?</p>
<p>If the dorm situation is literally the only negative, I’d suggest going to UP. Just try to request a single, a more secluded/quiet area (if that’s what you’re looking for), or just get over it. Honestly, it’s not like you need to spend that much time in there anyways. And there are a ton of places to escape and get away (I find the arboretum as the most peaceful).</p>
<p>I don’t think anyone goes into college thinking to themselves “Hey, I get to share an AC-less room with vinyl floors and brick walls with AT LEAST one other person away from all family and friends!” But they learn to deal with it. In dorms you can learn how to live away from home while still having a safety net around you, and you have easy access to classes and a nice dining hall, plus the social aspect is really good. I really don’t think that the dorm situation should keep you away from a better school, especially if you can pay for it.</p>
<p>Wow that tuition discount is amazing. I think that if accepted into University Park, you should go. The numerous pros outweigh the cons by a landslide</p>
<p>You could always try 2 + 2. I transferred into the Penn State system as an entering Sophomore so I couldn’t apply to U - Park because of their policy of having 2 years of college to transfer in. So I’m spending one year at a branch campus, that was by my old school, where I’ll get my difficult subjects out of the way, i.e Physics and Organic chemistry plus I’m saving a lot of money but in your case that really doesn’t matter. After next year I’ll go and graduate from U - Park. Also you’ll enter as a Jr where finding a solo dorm might be easier. Also you don’t have to live on campus, unless that’s a freshmen policy that I’m unaware about. And yea the branch campuses are not as academically challenging as U - Park. In fact my old school was the top school in the area and they called the Penn State campus the 13th grade. But again I’m only going to be there for a year and I’ll get my difficult subjects over with which shouldn’t be bad at all.</p>