<p>i got accepted by both the U,going to major in business,im an international student and i dont know much about the schools except the overall ranking,which uiuc is bit ahead of psu,im not sure which one to pick.i hope u guys actually from the U can tell me something more specific about the school such as the academic,people,surroundings..or just how americans think of the two schools also comparing? thanks a lot!</p>
<p>UIUC definitely. not only is UIUC generally considered a better school than penn state, their business program is much better. UIUC’s connections with chicago companies make it a great school to go to if youre trying to pursue a career in buisiness</p>
<p>I agree. For business school, Illionis is better choice because it is closer to big city Chicago. Penn state is in the middle of state which is a little difficult to get to. Also, for international student, it is more probably convenient life to live in Illionis than in Penn State. By the way, there is large Asian population in Schaumburg, IL.</p>
<p>While UIUC is three hours from Chicago, PSU is four hours or less from New York, Philadelphia, Washington and Baltimore. Having lived in both places I can tell you it is no harder to get to PSU than CU.</p>
<p>if i were a business student at penn state, i would hate to have to live in Wharton’s shadow.</p>
<p>besides that, even if i didn’t live in illinois, i would still pick uiuc because its programs are overall stronger in business.</p>
<p>Comparing Smeal to Wharton is apples and oranges. Or like saying U of I is in the shadow of U of Chicago. (I am an Illinois grad.)</p>
<p>im not comparing, but im saying that the similar names of the schools, their proximity (same state), and their common major of business makes penn state in the shadow of upenn. u of chicago doesn’t have an undergrad business program, so that leaves no basis for comparison in that major. pretty indisputably, uiuc has the top undergrad business program in illinois.</p>
<p>like it was said above, if you want great jobs in chicago, go for uiuc. but if you’re trying to go east coast (NY) jobs, then be wary of heavy competition with ivy grads and others when coming from penn state.</p>
<p>I’m in engineering, not business, but I got my undergrad at PSU and will get my phd at UIUC.</p>
<p>Both are pretty remote - UIUC is 2-2.5 hours from Chicago, Indianapolis, and St. Louis. PSU is 2-4 hours from Pittsburgh, Philly, New York, Baltimore, Wilmington, and DC. I would give the edge to PSU - a little further, but MORE including the DC and NYC.</p>
<p>Both are similar types of towns - Urbana-Champaign is ~110,000 people, State College is ~100,000, both definitely university towns. Similar climate in both cases, and fairly similar social environment. Both schools have large international and Asian populations. Personally I would give PSU a slight edge, but that is probably just because I know it a little better.</p>
<p>As several have noted, UIUC has a better business program, but both names are recognized nationally and each will be stronger the closer you get to the school. I would not worry about comparisons to Ivy league, as that comparison will or will not happen regardless of YOUR school. So an edge here to UIUC, assuming you do not have any regional interest in your future employment. If you DO have a regional interest, go with the closer school - the name will carry more weight and you will have an easier time during recruitment.</p>
<p>thanks for all the advices
looks like there are so many similarity about these 2 schools that it make so hard to choose…Im leaning toward psu too cause it more near the metropolitan east side of usa but when i checked the flights it seems no planes will directly fly to sce,there are direct flights to DC.but have to take the local small plane thats owned by state college? can anyone tell me if is it safe? whats the best way to go to sce from DC?</p>
<p>You can fly direct to State College from Dulles (Washington) on United Airlines. The flight takes about an hour and is perfectly safe. If you don’t have a car flying is the easiest way to get to DC, though certainly not the cheapest.</p>
<p>Go to U of I. It has more diversity and better academics. They’re both similar in terms of sports/social scene/surroundings etc.</p>
<p>Although I’m not dissing U of I, because I think I’m gonna love it… but I wonder what would happen if this was posted in the Penn State forum :P</p>
<p>check it the Penn State page…this same question was posted there. I don’t think many people resonded…but check it out…you may have to scroll but it is the same post heading.</p>