I’ve narrowed it down to Penn State and Stevens, and although they are so different, I could honestly see myself going to both. At Penn State, I would be paying around $25,000 and enjoying the perks and prestige of the honors college. It’s location is not as close as I had initially hoped for, but I have heard that the Happy Valley is a nice place to go to college, and I feel like it would grow on me. However, deep down I am scared that Schreyers will be too small for me to find my niche and a close group of friends. As for Stevens, I love the idea of being so close to New York, being in such a diverse setting, and having a STEM-centered environment. Nevertheless, I am still undecided (choosing between computer science, quantitative finance, etc) and feel that Stevens’ curriculum may not be flexible enough for students like me. The Pinnacle Scholars program additionally appeals to me, but I am not sure just how advantageous the program will be. It’s also more expensive than Penn State (I would have to pay about $40,000), and although my parents can afford it, I’m not sure it’s worth the cost. I’m also considering Temple Honors, which would cost only $15,000. Any advice or opinions would be highly appreciated! Thanks in advance to anyone who responds!
There’s also RPI ($47,000, bad location, far away, but prestigious) and Rutgers Honors ($23,000, closest to my house, diverse).
Again, I’m still very conflicted between these two colleges, and any comments would be greatly appreciated!
Hi! My thoughts are very general, but here you go. (My sons — who ended up at UVA — were offered admission to Schreyer, and they currently have good family friends at both Stevens and PSU.)
First, our friends attending both schools are very happy with their respective programs. But the main difference is size and breadth of curriculum and social offerings. Stephens is a terrific STEM school located across the river from NYC. The student body is close and collegial and obviously considerably more STEM-oriented than PSU. PSU is a large, well-regarded national university with an enthusiastic and extensive alumni network, many academic strengths and majors, plus hundreds of clubs, activities and the excitement of Division I sports. If the Stevens curriculum is precisely what you want, and the location, available activities, and cohorts of students are a good fit for your academic style, interests and personality, then it could be a terrific choice for you.
But if you have academic interests more diverse than Stevens’ offerings, aren’t entirely confident that STEM is your future, like the excitement and diversity of a very large student body, or want the myriad of clubs, activities and big-time sports that PSU could offer, you should visit the campus and the particular departments of interest to you to see how they compare to like programs at Stevens.
Also, it was my understanding that the Schreyer Honors College offers exceptional academic opportunities for the students admitted to it. But you are still an active member of the PSU community and take classes with the thousands of non-Schreyer kids who attend PSU. You can also become a member of the hundreds of clubs, activities, organizations, and club and intramural sports. Schreyer should not be viewed as limiting its students’ social or extracurricular opportunities.
Good luck with your choice! Hopefully you can visit each campus, check out the vibe, and see which appeals to you.
Thank you so much for your help! I just visited Temple and liked the campus and honors program. However, I am not sure Temple Honors is as good for computer science in comparison to Penn State and Stevens. Do you think I should still consider Temple?
Penn state is higher ranked plus alumni network is on of their best assets… I would consider Penn state but at the end it’s your choice
Penn State Schreyer is one of the best honors colleges in the entire country - much better than Stevens. But not sure why you sorry about “small” on a famous with 50,000 students? 
And you can balance your classes in any way you want.