<p>I've heard the ivys aren't that great for eng....and it seems like every large state U is the best option for eng.....which one would be better in terms of academics, social life, and intern/co op/post grad job opprutunites?</p>
<p>academics, PSU could be better.
but, given the chance, i'd go to Upenn, big reputation, good chance to be recruited by big ibanks.......good connection, make friends with whartonites........</p>
<p>If you're looking for a good engineering program in that region and you have the grades, scores, and money to get into and attend UPenn, you might as well go to Cornell or Carnegie Mellon. These schools are similar to Penn in overall status but have much better engineering programs.</p>
<p>Penn State Schreyer Honors College is another option -- you would get Penn State's superior engineering program, be among a select group with stats comparable to the average ivy leaguer's, and save a ton of money.</p>
<p>I've also heard that University of Delaware has a very good chemical engineering program.</p>
<p>I notice you aren't considering MIT....why? It is nearly in the same geographic region and also has a stellar reputation.</p>
<p>i am, im just being realistic</p>
<p>Upenn in a heartbeat, one is an ivy league school, the other is borderlined tier I. I always think it is much more important to attend the better school overall. Engineering curriculum is pretty standardized, reason that big state schools do well in engineering rankings is because the researchers there publish more.</p>
<p>UPenn vs. PSU? Well, I think there's a couple of questions you need to ask yourself:</p>
<p>First, let's just post some facts:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.seas.upenn.edu/depts/index.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.seas.upenn.edu/depts/index.html</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/grad/rankings/mba/brief/mbarank_brief.php%5B/url%5D">http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/grad/rankings/mba/brief/mbarank_brief.php</a> ---> be aware, these are Graduate Rankings, not undergrad... I couldn't find those as easily.</p>
<p>Now, let's ask a few important questions:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Is your first priority engineering, or business?</p></li>
<li><p>What kind of debt are you willing to incur?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Both schools are strong both in engineering and in business. UPenn has a respectable engineering program, and one of the most highly regarded business schools in the nation. Penn State is a perennial Top 25 engineering school (currently #16 for undergrad) and Top 50 business school (don't know the current undergrad ranking, so the only information I can provide is that the Grad school is currently #37). So they both are reputable within the two areas of interest.</p>
<p>However, if Engineering is your first priority, and business second, I think Penn State is definitely a stronger Engineering school. Penn State has higher rankings and more to offer in that it has a long list of available degrees in engineering, and tons of different concentrations within which you can specialize in. That's not to say Penn isn't a solid Engineering school, it's just that I think PSU has a decisive edge.</p>
<p>On the other hand, if business is a top priority, and the engineering aspects arn't as important to you, then Penn is absolutely the better choice. PSU has a solid business program, but it pales in comparison to Penn. No contest. If you are thinking about double-majoring in engineering and business, but really just using the engineering degree to help give you a decisive edge in the business world, Penn is a better choice.</p>
<p>Also, take debt into consideration. This will depend on how much financial support you will be able to receive from you parents, how much financial aid you will qualify for, and how much scholarship you will net. If you are a Pennsylvania resident (which it may be safe to assume, since the only two schools you have chosen to compare happen to lie in the same state), the savings that Penn State will provide could be huge.</p>
<p>The CollegeBoard website reports that Penn's tuition is more than $32,000 per year, with room and board adding another $10,000 per, and nearly $3000 worth of other expenses, placing the cost around $45000. The same website reports that PSU's in-state tuition is at a little less than $11,000, with room and board running less than $7000, with around $3000 more worth of personal expenses. In-state costs for PSU are less than $20,000. Out-of-state tuition is nearly $10,000 more than in-state, however.</p>
<p>So, if you're in-state, tuition at PSU will be more than $21000 less than at Penn. At then end of 4 years, that's 84 thousand dollars less debt you may have to take on. That's an awful lot of money. And if housing at Penn really is 10 grand per, you're going to be able to save another 3 grand per year on housing.</p>
<p>Now I understand that a school like Penn can and will offer a solid financial aide plan, if you qualify for one. The savings you will get at PSU will more than likely not be as staggering as the numbers I've quoted as a result of this. But you can still get financial aide from Penn State. Granted, it will not be as much, but you rarely get as much aide from a public school, because tuition has already been cut in an effort to lure talent from the more expensive private schools. As sabertooth already mentioned, getting accepted into Schreyers will guarantee a couple thousand dollars a year worth of scholarship, and the college of engineering will offer it's own scholarships as well.</p>
<p>My little sister is going in to her freshman year at Penn State this year. With her SAT score of 1520, she bagged more than two thousand a year from the Honors college, and six grand a year from the college of engineering, therefor reducing her tuition costs to an incredibly low level. (she also was awarded several private scholarships, but those were the two from University that she received).</p>
<p>On the other hand, if prestige is what you want, Penn certainly has a lot of that, were-as I think most of the public perceives PSU engineering as more of a "roll-up-your-sleeves" type of school. The name certainly won't carry as much weight in some circles, especially those in the very highest of upper-echelon business.</p>
<p>On a final note, though, if you really kick butt at PSU undergrad, you can still apply for (and have a solid chance of getting in to) an even higher-ranked engineering school for graduate work. And if you don't dominate, but rather just perform "well", you won't have sunk yourself deep into debt for an undergraduate degree. When I choose schools, I really felt like a small amount of debt was important to me, so I choose Penn State. Please don't interpret what I've said here, though (with my admittedly biased opinion of PSU), to say that I don't think Penn is a great school. Overall, it's superior to PSU, and has a level of name recognition that PSU does not. But when it comes to engineering, PSU gets the nod in my mind.</p>
<p>thanks a lot, im out of state, texas resident. But i really need to go far away for college and penn state is really similar to UT. I'm also applying to lehigh. What are the differences in lehigh and PSU? umm why do i wanna go2 PA? Amish fetish i guess.</p>
<p>Lehigh is an absolutely beautiful campus... again though, PSU's engineering program is ranked higher, and has more degrees available. I believe when I was looking at colleges in 2002, PSU was ranked #14 and Lehigh was #36. You'll pay more for the private schooling at Lehigh, just like we say with Penn. Bucknell is another PA "Patriot League" school with a solid engineering program, with all of these same rules applying.</p>
<p>If Pennsylvania is really what you want, have you considered CMU at all?</p>
<p>I'd also urge you to reconsider your position on UT Austin... in state tuition is a bargain at less than 6 grand per year, and UT is a very reputable engineering school...</p>
<p>Girlfriendmb, if you want a school similar to Texas-Austin that is strong in Business and Engineering, check out Michigan-Ann Arbor and Wisconsin-Madison.</p>
<p>i refuse to go to the midwest</p>
<p>That's cool and I realize that. But University Park is more "midwestern" than either Ann Arbor or Madison. In fact, Ann Arbor and Madison are not at all typical of the Midwest.</p>
<p>i have to get out of texas, this place makes me wanna kill myself. I've looked at CMU and it seemed impossible to get in as an engineering major. Is that really true? Unversity Park seems really laid back with a big college life kinda like texas a&m without the conservative rednecks.</p>
<p>CMU is very tough to get into.</p>
<p>And it's a great engineering school... I choose Penn State because CMU engineering is not much better than PSU engineering, and it's certainly not $80,000 better, IMO.</p>
<p>But if you are out-of-state, the savings wouldn't be quite so drastic...</p>
<p>CMU is a top-notch engineering school, no doubt about it. However, I think it's over-hyped for several of it's departments. When it comes to EE and Comp E, CMU is about as good as anyone out there (except MIT, which is head and shoulders above just about everyone in just about every field of engineering). But some of it's other departments arn't as dominant as some people make them out to be.</p>
<p>It's certainly a great school, though.</p>
<p>I would take Penn over Penn State without regarded to cost. You could also look into schools like Georgia Tech, Cornell, and UCSB.</p>
<p>im also looking into schools like USC, UCSD, and Johns Hopkins. which are better than penn state?</p>