<p>With 8 more days remaining, I don't have much time to decide. Accepted to both with no merit aid which means cost of attendance is exactly the same. My intended major is engineering or business(currently undecided). Rural, urban, big, small doesn't really matter to me. I can adapt with anything. I was checking the rankings and stuff, PSU is ranked higher overall at #46 and University of Pittsburgh at #58. </p>
<p>One thing I noticed (ironic and quite disturbing) is that University of Pittsburgh's 25th percentile is like Penn State's 50th percentile for SAT. 1780 average SAT vs 1880 average SAT ? 1780 average SAT is really bad, this means almost everyone gets accepted there. You could also say PSU is for Pitt rejects ?</p>
<p>I heard that for Business and engineering PSU is better and it also has more reputation than University of Pittsburgh overall. The question I have is how does it compare to Pitt ? Should I really go with Pitt just because its more selective ?</p>
<p>Size: PSU has 2x more undergrads then Pitt which means its average stats has to be lower. Its the state flagship school so, its job is to educate state residents. </p>
<p>Merit Aid: PSU awards very few merit aid whereas Pitt awards a lot. Both award around same amount of need based aid. You will find people with 1600 SAT to 2100 SAT at PSU but at Pitt you will find 1800 to 2100. </p>
<p>PSU might have more reputation for Business and engineering, so I recommend Penn State. I highly doubt you will find any difference in the quality of education between those schools.</p>
<p>Actually, the state schools in Pennsylvania are–</p>
<p>Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania
California University of Pennsylvania
Cheyney University of Pennsylvania
Clarion University of Pennsylvania
East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania
Edinboro University of Pennsylvania
Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Kutztown University of Pennsylvania
Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania
Mansfield University of Pennsylvania
Millersville University of Pennsylvania
Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania
Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania
West Chester University of Pennsylvania</p>
<p>Pitt and Penn State are both “state-related” universities and are considered the same by the state government in regards to funding, receiving far less than the PASSHE schools. This is one reason PSU’s tuition is so high.</p>
<p>Pitt is generally referred to as the Penn State rejects at least by PSU students, and yes, with 2x the students, there’s going to be a broader range of scores. An average of around 1800 SAT is not bad nor does it mean everyone gets accepted, not by a long shot. The national average for the SAT is around 1500. Calling that “disturbing” is borderline funny.</p>
<p>Penn State can do whatever it wants. It’s job is not to educate state residents. There are other state schools for this. It will increase its stats as need dictates.</p>
<p>And yet again someone makes a comment that could be misinterpreted as an insult towards PSU and the sheep come marching. </p>
<p>@maggiedog take a chill pill. There’s nothing wrong with the comment that XtremePower made. According to the statistics PSU accepts more in state students than out of state, i’m sure there are a variety of reasons why this is so but either way PSU does make it their job to educate in state residents just the same as they do out of state. </p>
<p>@phonedog : My advice to you is not to focus so much on rankings. Define your own goals and find the university that will best support those goals regardless of where they rank. There are people who graduated from top universities who can not find employment, there are also people who graduated from schools like PSU and Pitt who had great jobs right out of college. There isn’t any ranking that can accurately judge your own success so that’s up to you to define.</p>
<p>In terms of SAT averages, once again I would disregard those. There are a variety of reasons as to why there is a disparity between the averages of the two schools. As XtremePower mentioned there are more applicants at PSU than Pitt, PSU has a lot of branch campus’ which have lower admission requirements and those could be lumped into those stats or it could be exactly what you think, Pitt has higher standards. Until we can definitively conclude what the reasons are, once you’ve been accepted, I think its irrelevant. </p>
<p>Personally, I have not heard about PSU being the reject school anymore than I have heard about Pitt being the reject school by PSU students. In keeping with my advice regarding ranking I would suggest you dismiss this. Both schools have a lot to offer and unless you will feel like a reject at one vs the other it really doesn’t matter.</p>
<p>Long story short choose the school that is the best fit for you and not based on rankings and reputation. Both are great options.</p>
<p>Depends on who’s looking. A person that has scored around 1600 on the SAT will obviously think 1780 is a pretty high score but a person with 1900 on the SAT will think 1780 is a joke. </p>
<p>Personally, I think its weird to have 1780 average and be ranked on the same level as UIUC (1970 avg), UT-Austin(1860 avg). </p>
<p>Sidenote to yupper, 1780 average is for the main campus only. </p>
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<p>Gotcha. Its Carnegie Mellon’s and University of California’s job to educate Pennsylvania residents. </p>
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I don’t see the benefit of being state related. They don’t get much funding from the state and neither do they get any freedom like private Universities. Wouldn’t it be better if they do private ? I guess the state doesn’t let them do that. </p>
<p>Another weird thing is that PSU has less endowment than Pitt but PSU is 2x the size.</p>
<p>@Yupper – Just wanted to wish you well on your last week of regular classes! Hope your finals schedule is workable:)</p>
<p>@XtremePower – I hope that you’ve made your decision regarding which school and are pleased. I know that you were vacillating a bit. </p>
<p>phonedog - since you say that you “can adapt with anything” there really isn’t a definitive variable. These two schools are extremely comparable – the SAT variance is minimal and really a moot point. The variable that matters is your motivation, work ethic and dedication. Somewhat gratuitous, I know – “You could also say PSU is for Pitt rejects ?” may not elicit/garner the most goodwill on this forum.</p>
<p>Ah, I see yupper is still using the “insult others and assume you know their motivations” method as a way to express his opinions. LOL (By the way, I agree with the rest of your post.)</p>
<p>I am chill. I was not “defending” PSU. I was pointing out what 1moremom already noted, which is that there already are “state” schools. PSU, Pitt and Temple are in a different category. If someone needs to go to the lower cost school, there are many to choose from. It is unfortunate that the flagship school is more expensive.</p>
<p>I am a PSU alum, and I am not bashing or supporting the school. I was merely reacting to your assumption that their “job” was to educate Pa. residents. PSU makes its own decisions, that sometimes may not be in the best interest of its residents. While I realize that it is hampered by state cut-backs in funding, it is one of the highest flagship schools in the country.</p>
<p>To answer the OP, though, both PSU and Pitt are great schools, and I wish you well with whatever you eventually decide.</p>
<p>"Personally, I think its weird to have 1780 average and be ranked on the same level as UIUC (1970 avg), UT-Austin(1860 avg). "</p>
<p>Why is a sub-100 SAT score differential between PSU and UT “weird”? Honestly who cares what scores you have coming in, if the end product is just as good as the other schools, then that should speak to PSUs ability to educate.</p>
<p>I have two kids. One is PSU all the way, , the other loves Pitt. Three cousins, two of them siblings, one at Pitt, the other at PSU, the other cousin at Pitt. </p>
<p>The ratings are not so disparate that to use them as the reason to pick one school over the other, unless you absolutely are at a stalemate and could not care an iota as to which school you attend. Pick the one you would like to call home, and where you would like to live for the next 4 years. </p>
<p>All of the above family members, save one who is not yet in college, had their choice between the schools; they were accepted to both.</p>
<p>@pilot2012 : Thanks! I complete agree with this statement, “The variable that matters is your motivation, work ethic and dedication.” If more incoming freshmen recognized this they probably wouldn’t spend nearly as much time obsessing over rankings and reputation.</p>
<p>@SansSerif : Well if the shoe fits SansSerif, if the shoe fits. But thanks, glad to see we agree on something ;).</p>
<p>@maggiedog : I didn’t make the initial comment about their “job”, thus I made no assumption, but you did come off incredibly defensive with the whole “Penn State can do whatever it wants. It’s job is not to educate state residents.” comment. You took it very personally, but your an alum, so i’m not surprised.</p>
<p>Phone dog, as far as I know, both schools are decent for what you want to study. I recommend going to which school you rather go to. I don’t think their rankings or sat scores are far enough apart to worry about. The engineering students that survive are going to solid at both schools and there are many good students in both business departments.</p>
<p>OP- both are good schools. The environments are totally different as Pitt is urban and PSC is out in the middle of the state. </p>
<p>With PSU - I’d be concerned how the on-going legal crisis will affect PSU’s budget in the next few years as they pay out big legal settlements. There’s also a taint from the scandel that lingers.</p>
<p>Pitt also got a huge grant recently (Dietrich) and is next to CMU where you can also take classes.</p>