Trying to decide between these two schools. I am out of state from California. Majoring in Computer Engineering at both. Biggest factors are the; quality of education, social life, Greek life, and campus quality. Thanks
Get ready for a storm of partisans, it’s as if you’d started a UCLA vs. USC thread. 
Both are very good. Choose the cheapest one, unless cost is not a factor for your family.
I would think that one difference would be the location with OSU being in Columbus, the state capital, and Penn State being in the middle of PA not really near a big city. Have you visited either or both?
What is your net cost at either school.
They are really peer “big flagship” schools and employers are going to view them as such.
What are your stats? And why are you choosing CS as your major???
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My major will be Computer Engineering/Computer Science at each school but I'm considering transferring into business if I do not like my major.
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Can you easily transfer into Smeal if you don’t like CS???
I suspect that Ohio State offered you some merit (if your stats are strong), and PSU didn’t.
My net cost for both schools is 45,000 and 50,000 so cost isn’t really a factor considering how close they are in price. My ideal plan is to start with computer engineering and transfer into computer science or business if I don’t like computer engineering. My stats are a 4.14 gpa and 1260 m+cr.
Is the winter really as bad as they say it is at both schools?
How “bad” the winters are depends entirely on your frame of reference. Winters will be milder at either Penn State or Ohio State than someplace like Rochester or Buffalo or Minnesota but harsher than someplace like UNC or Alabama. Where are you coming from?
If you’re in the Northeast you’re going to get winter no matter what. It was pretty cold here in Happy Valley, but buy a big coat and you’ll survive!
In the past week or so, everyone’s come out of hibernation all at once.
I live in Happy Valley too 
This winter was pretty brutal, but I don’t see there being a significant difference between here and Columbus. I’ve heard that this winter was also kind of abnormal (I was coming from NYC and it’s always about 10-15 degrees warmer there than here). You buy a big coat and walk very quickly between classes, lol. The upside is that when it’s warm, it’s beautiful! This week it’s been in the high 60s and it’s true, everyone did come out of hibernation. People are sitting out on Old Main lawn and walking around and it’s really nice.
It’s warm or just cool for most of the fall semester - it doesn’t really start getting cold until December, right before break.
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My net cost for both schools is 45,000 and 50,000 so cost isn’t really a factor considering how close they are in price. My ideal plan is to start with computer engineering and transfer into computer science or business if I don’t like computer engineering. My stats are a 4.14 gpa and 1260 m+cr.
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Ahh…I see that your scores probably didn’t get much/any merit from OSU.
What are your parents saying about the cost? Will they pay for either school?
Yes they will pay for either school. So is there still stuff to do during the winter? Or does the social scene turn dead? I also am curious how often there is stuff going on at both schools and how good the greek life is/how important of a role it plays. My biggest worry with the east coast schools is I’m not sure if people stop socializing in the winter and stop doing things because the weather prevents that from happening. Thanks all for the input I appreciate it.
…What do you think we do during the winter? We’re alive. Food’s elsewhere. We have to go out sometimes!
I think academically they will be very similar. They are both huge sports schools. Where they differ is in the feel of the campuses. Happy Valley is very traditional in it’s feel and in a community which largely exists to support the university. There will be plenty to do winter, summer, spring and fall because the university is a city unto itself. tOSU is more of a sub-urban campus (not suburban). It is in the city of Columbus but not directly downtown. You would probably find more to do in Columbus but I doubt you’d venture off campus enough to really do anything downtown or otherwise. Partially because like Penn State the University is so large most of the things you would want to do are on campus. Columbus does offer the opportunity for broadway plays, a variety of performing arts, pro hockey and soccer, museums, arboretums etc. however, college tends to be rather insular and most of what students want to do while at tOSU can be done on campus.
Things keep going during the winter. Everything keeps going, the snow doesn’t stop anyone; you bundle up, you go where you want to, and the buildings are nice&warm. At Penn State major sidewalks are heated so that you can walk without ice.
PSU is better academically in my opinion, but I’m not sure about greek life.