Penn State Psychology vs. Pitt Psychology

Colleges and Universities A-Z Penn State
1

I got accepted to Pitt and Penn State as a Psych undergrad for the 2021 school year. I’m going to one or the other, but I do not know which one to pick.

I live 6 hours from Pitt and about 3 and a half hours from PSU main. Distance is a really big factor from me, because I don’t want to be too far from home. However, I prefer Pitt’s campus over Penn State’s because Pitt is in the city and has a lot to offer as far as internship opportunities for big corporations (I/O Psych major) and also great night life.

I feel that as far as academics go, Pitt and Penn State are pretty equal when it comes to psych, but I could be wrong. What are your opinions?

Also, I know a lot more people (close friends) going to PSU than Pitt. My girlfriend is going to Penn State, which is also a factor for me.

I plan on attending Penn State for graduate study in I/O psych, because of their high rankig, but I don’t really like the location of main campus. It’s in the middle of nowhere and there are no other colleges nearby. So nightlife would just be going out with other PSU people, which I feel will get old after a semester or two.

I also feel that because of how many people go to PSU, that a degree from PSU won’t
make me too special. But I also recognize that it also may help with getting a job because there are soooooo many alums from PSU and a huge network of people associated with the school.

I also understand, from other forums and my own research that PITT has a better reuptation in the psych field than PSU. I’m just torn over choosing closer to home, large alum network, and big sports team school with lots of school pride; that lacks a diverse campus, is a but cliché because of how many people go there, and is potentially not as meaningful as degree from another school.
Versus Pitt which is farther away, but has a great campus, better reputation in the field of psych, but not as great of an alum network and not as much familiarity with the class of 2021 (which is my graduating year).
Distance is a really big concern here, and I’m not sure what to do.

2

I disagree with your description of Pitt as having a great campus. They actually don’t have a designated campus the way Penn State does. It’s an urban campus mixed with city buildings. Nowhere near as pretty or walkable and nowhere near as many outdoor spaces as PSU. I personally think Pitt’s campus is pretty unattractive. I have degrees from.both, by the way.
As far as the nightlife…there are 40,000 students at PSU. But that won’t matter anyway because whether you are at Pitt or PSU, you will end up going out with your friends anyway. So you will spend your time with the same people. Penn State and State College are much safer locations to go out than Pitt and Oakland. Pitt students do hang around somewhat with Duquesne students but I don’t see why that’s important.
PSU is in the middle of the state, but there is nothing not at PSU that you could want. Penn State’s football stadium is on campus whereas Pitt has to bus kids down to Heinz Field. The alumni network at Pitt is severely lacking in comparison to PSU.
Rankings matter zero for psych undergrad. In fact, if I were you I’d go to a less expensive state school for a psych undergrad and save the rankings and money for grad school. But if you want Pitt or Penn State, none of the things you don’t like about PSU really matter for undergrad. Penn State is ranked higher than Pitt as a University.
PSU isn’t “cliche”. It’s a top 50 University and in the top 1% of all Global Universities. It’s an excellent school. Pitt also has a good education, but their campus, school pride and alumni network can’t be compared to PSU’s. Don’t believe me just look at their attendance at their spring football game and compare that to the Blue White game this weekend at PSU.
In the end however, if you prefer an urban city campus, then Pitt will be a better fit for you. It all depends on what you want. Either are good schools.

3

I have two daughters - one graduated from Pitt and the other graduated from PSU. Each were in the honors programs at their respective schools. And both loved the schools they graduated from.

I have to admit neither of my kids were in psych programs so my advice is somewhat limited. However, Pitt is, by far, superior to Penn State in any and all health science majors. The opportunities at Pitt to be involved in research, internships, fellowships and simply summer job opportunities surpass anything Penn State has to offer. Pitt is co-located with a number of world-class hospitals, as well as having a top 10 medical school. Penn State, while being a top 50 university can’t provide anywhere near those same opportunities. PSU is a great school and D2 (double major - Honors in BArch and Honors in BA Anthropology) loved her time there, but D1’s health science program at Pitt, by far and away, blew away anything PSU had to offer as extracurricular’s in the health science field.