<p>-Penn State in the middle of nowhere but has a huge campus
-University of Pittsburgh in the city</p>
<p>I'm leaning towards Pitt, but it's ranked 62 and PSU is ranked 37. However, Pitt beats PSU in average SAT scores, gpa, and graduation rate...</p>
<p>How is the reputation of each school? I'm in PA so I'd like a more nonbiased opinion. Is Pitt even a known or respected school in other places? I ask because I plan to live in DC or Maryland (possibly even NYC) when I'm older.
Where would you go if they were both about the same price-wise?</p>
<p>They’re both fine choices. Penn State ranks a higher in political science, but Pitt has ties with CMU’s Dietrich College that might benefit you. Are you receiving any form of aid? </p>
<p>I’m a little biased towards Pittsburgh, so my vote’s for Pitt. On top of the academics, you’ll be in a mid-sized city where you’ll have greater access to internships, which are very important in your field. </p>
<p>Don’t concentrate so much on rankings. There are so many colleges and universities in the U.S. that a difference of 30 places is really not that big of a deal. Not to mention that the prestige of your college doesn’t matter for most jobs AND that you’re looking at only one ranking scale as the gospel truth. The numbers U.S. News gets are entirely based upon what they consider to be important to student success, but honestly, a lot of people are very critical of their methodology (there’s almost nothing that has to do with actual instruction, but a lot has to do with how well the students did in high school and how much money the school has).</p>
<p>It sounds like you really want to go to Pitt. Pitt is a well-respected school and you should go there, if that’s what you prefer.</p>