Penn State Smeal vs. Pittsburgh's School of Business Administration (A unique situation)

College Search & Selection
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I have recently been accepted into The University of Pittsburgh’s School of Business Administration and reapplied for the summer start program at Penn State University Park’s Smeal Business School after being rejected from regular fall decision and offered the 2+2 program. I was wondering if any alumni or current students could provide some background and insights into the two undergrad business schools and what gravitated their decision towards one school over the other.

I am rather distraught that I was not accepted into the more acclaimed Smeal Business School as a regular applicant, and this is heavily influencing my decision as my current financial circumstances could not advocate for a lapse in my work during the summer to attend school early. To read more about my background please continue, otherwise, I would like to hear your opinions of where I should go. I am more interested in which school will best prepare me academically and personally with additional focus on opportunities available at both in terms of internship placement, business clubs/organizations, and research focus. I could really care less about the parties or the campus.

It was quite a shock for me as I considered Penn State to be my safety school. I have a 3.8 unweighted GPA (4.0 Weighted), top 15% of my class, Magna Cum Laude, 29 ACT composite, etc. I believe my electives were the determining factor in my rejection from regular fall admission.

Because of my family’s financial circumstances, I often had to (and still do) work until 3 am on school nights and this schedule restricted my ability to participate in extracurricular activities that made my peers stand out on their resumes. In spite of this, however, I tried to make the most of my free time starting two companies (one which had international sales), investing, being elected CEO of company A2 at the Pennsylvania Free Enterprise Week (a renowned summer business simulation competition where I led my company to be the most profitable and received top RONA award), being elected into the accounting division at my current job at Fortune 500 company, interviewing two Fortune 500 executives, completing an internship with a local real estate agency, am in the process of acquiring two mentorships with one of the largest accredited investors and commercial developers in my city, and was also offered a summer internship at a local bank.

As you can see, these are typically not the standard extracurriculars that most participate in, as I tried to learn as much as I could in the real world because of my inability to participate in the school clubs like DECA and what not. I do not regard myself as anything special apart from being a hard worker. And this rejection from Penn State lowered my self-esteem rather drastically as I saw many of my peers get in with much poorer academic performance.

So should I still consider Penn State over Pitt for business? Is the opportunity cost worth it to attend PSU in the summer? Why do they even offer the summer start program? Am I overthinking this? Should I wait until I get back more decisions before debating my only two acceptances? Thank you for coming to my Ted talk and I look forward to hearing your thoughts! Thanks!

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I have also applied to Penn (Wharton), UMich (Ross), Georgetown (McDonough), NYU (Stern), Carnegie Mellon (Tepper), Fordham, Villanova, and Babson. I do not think I stand much of a chance against the average applicant. Sorry for the length, I am just rather distraught and stressed out.

3

Pitt has an excellent business school that is well regarded. So you already have an excellent option. I wouldn’t pass up Pitt for a chance at PSU with a summer start. Ignoring rank, PSU isn’t appreciably better than Pitt’s CBA. Most of the schools you are waiting on are reachy. Good luck!

4

Pitt business is a great option to have, congratulations.

Your ECs are impressive, so I doubt that has been/will be an issue for acceptances. I don’t know the detail and rigor of your HS courses, but your ACT score is below the 25% level for several of the schools you applied to. Fordham and Babson acceptances are higher probability than the rest of the schools on your list, and most of the rest I would classify as high reaches (with Villanova a reach).

Don’t fret over decisions until you are faced with them…if you need summer earnings to pay for college, I would choose Pitt over Smeal summer…but only you can make these decisions. Good luck, keep us updated.

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Thank you for the insights! In terms of course load, I have had all honors classes with 2 AP (English - 4, Statistics - currently taking). I am also in the gifted individuals program at my school which gives us additional goals and skills to master in core subject areas. My dream is Georgetown, and I believe my interview went very well. For now I can only hope for the best, and prepare for the worst (but by no means do I consider Pitt Business not on par with any of these schools), I will update the thread as new information is available.

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How high did you score on your three subject tests for Georgetown? This will be key.
Had you taken calculus before you took statistics? (Reaching the highest possible level in math is crucial for business schools).

Smeal is the most selective college at PSU - only about 10% students are pre-admits from high school. The regular path is DUS-> qualifying classes=> admission to Smeal as a junior.
Your ECs are impressive and will be useful for the private universities you applied to.
ECs matter for Schreyer but dont really matter for general university Admissions. In addition, this year was totally weird due to their adopting BOTH early action AND common app.

Pitt is an excellent choice. Is it affordable? If so, you’ve got a great safety.

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I may just be one of the worst students in getting prepared for college. Only in October I realized that I wanted to further my education and I will be the first in my family to do so. I took my act in november and i didn’t even know about Subject tests requirements. I guess we can cross that one off the list. :confused:

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In terms of math I took everything except calculus because I didn’t think I needed it and stats would be enough. Boy was i wrong.

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Wharton considers that “AP Calc AB” is the default expected class for the lower level students since their first math class is caled calc 2 elsewhere. However if your school didn’t offer calc and your GC indicated you took ‘thevmet rigorous’ curriculum at your school, you wouldn’t be penalized.

Look, it’s not your fault since apparently you had no guidance.

Have you received financial aid packages? Is Pitt affordable? Last year there was a first Gen student (first to go to college) who ended up stuck because hed been admitted to Pitt and wasn’t affordable… :frowning:

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I too agree that Pitt business is a great option to have. Once you’re in college, aim for good grades - will you still need to work many hours to fund college? I have many students who work far too many hours and are unable to dedicate time to their classes. 20 hours a week is usually the max suggested for work.

With your work experience and a decent GPA from Pitt, you can target decent internships in the summers, I think. My DS1 did not have hot stats to get into a top CS program, but had a lot of self motivated programming experience. He is now a sophomore at a mid-level university and got a summer internship based on decent grades and experience.

Also, look into taking some general education credits at your local community college in the summer before starting college… Many have class schedules that work with students’ work schedules.( Make sure all credits transfer) This could ease the load in the regular semesters if you are working.

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Be careful about taking community college classes after HS graduation - some colleges consider this makes you a transfer and may rescind you. Once you’ve registered you can do that with no worry after checking what will transfer.

The advice above about working is spot on - in fact, research shows that working more than 15 hours a week has a severe impact on grades, often delaying graduation.

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@MYOS1634 I suspect that’s not true for most colleges, but the OP should check. My D took language classes the summer before starting freshman year at a 4-year and none of the schools to which she was accepted viewed that as a problem. The credits did transfer very easily.

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Yes, it isn’t true for most colleges, but enough that op should check.

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How do the net prices of Pitt and PSU compare?

What do the net price calculators of the other schools you are waiting for estimate?

How do those numbers compare to what you and your parents can actually pay? (Note that you can only borrow $5,500 first year without a cosigner.)

Based on what you wrote above, it looks like lowest cost will be the main factor in your college choice (if any are affordable at all).

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In terms of affordability I ran the net price estimator for both and PSU would generally be more affordable because Pitt doesn’t offer much in terms of financial aid. I have not received my financial aid packages yet so that’s all I can rely on right now. Additionally, parents contribution is at 0. They have their own struggles and I can’t find it in me to ask for money they don’t have to give. If I want to go to college it’s going to all come out of my pocket, and I will have to continue to work throughout college. That was my main motivation for applying to the private schools because they tend to offer more financial aid.

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Basically, you are looking for a net price no higher than what you can earn from your own part time work and summer work plus $5,500 (the amount you can borrow).

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If your parents are contributing nothing, I can’t see how either Penn State or Pitt will be affordable. Pitt does have a new financial aid program for students who are Pell grant eligible, in that they will match the Pell grant (see link below). What is your family’s EFC? Did you file the FAFSA and PHEAA state grant forms? Are your parents low income or just unwilling/unable to pay anything? I would suggest applying to some of the PASSHE (true state) universities that have accredited business schools (West Chester, IUP, Bloomsburg, Clarion, Shippensburg), though even those schools will be a financial reach without some family support. If your family is low income, you also might get better financial aid at a private college, of which Pennsylvania has many.

https://www.affordable.pitt.edu/

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Additionally I am applying for many scholarships, I believe I am at 20 right now with a goal of atleast 100, plus additional ones when I am already in college. Another option was that one of the executives I interviewed offered me an internship at CBRE Pittsburgh that pays very well (heard from his son $75k for the summer) which is why I am not too worried about a large debt. Thank you all for the helpful advice, as I haven’t had much explaining from anyone really, as my guidance counselor is always too busy and my parents think college is a waste of money. I am hoping that lucrative management or finance in a large city can take care of the rest with a smart debt repayment strategy.

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Either Pitt or Penn State will cost more than $30,000 a year without financial aid, unless you can commute from home to one or the other. I highly doubt you can earn $75,000 in the summer. $7,500 maybe if you are very lucky. You can only borrow $5500 your freshman year. Your parents would have to borrow or cosign loans for the remainder. Most outside scholarships are competitive, are for small amounts, and are not renewable. The best aid, whether merit or need-based, comes from the colleges/universities themselves.

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Normal earnings for a summer would be 3.5-4k. So, 7.5k would be excellent. 75k is basically impossible unless you get involved in shady stuff but you might have forgotten the period between 7 and 5 ;).
Do follow up with that executive, send your resume, etc.
Check your admitted student portal at both PSU and Pitt as your financial aid may appear there.