<p>why do people come post on CC solely to defend their alma maters? it's pointless.</p>
<p>If you think people coming on here to discuss and defend their alma maters is pointless then you are on the wrong website. The website is for the purposes of discussing and comparing schools and issues relating to college. Who better to discuss the experience and credentials of a school than someone that went there?</p>
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But, although I understand Temple is improving, the fact remains it's "dangerous area" reputation dies hard. At least that's how it's viewed here in South Jersey. Personally I think if you want an urban university that has more similarities to Penn State, Pitt provides a much better overall environment than Temple, and is a better school than Temple.
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<p>Can we stop with the 'dangerous area' garbage? Have you visited the school? Better overall environment? In what respect?</p>
<p>Btw, jec, I love how you called me 'diontech'. Clearly you don't watch basketball, but being that you're a Penn State grad, that's entirely understandable.</p>
<p>I don't really pay too much attentions to rankings because they are someone's opinion and I believe that you can be successful no matter where you attend.</p>
<p>I agree Penn State is probably the "better school" but it doesnt always make it the right school.</p>
<p>Temple has a lot safer campus than people give it credit. The surrounding area of Temple is obviously more dangerous than PSU because it is not farm land.</p>
<p>As far as Pitt goes, I am from eastern PA so i haven't given it too much of a look</p>
<p>rocky, it's nice to see someone who isn't a fool by viewing rankings as the only option and as the correct way to judge schools.</p>
<p>I agree that the better school may not always be the right school for you, but it is your best interest to utilize the rankings. They are there to compare the universities. They are not a conspiracy to hold schools like Temple down. If you want an ubran environment, you should definitely make the trip to Pitt. It's very similar, if not identical, to Penn State UP as far as resources and academics go, so it would definitely be worth the trip. I am sure Temple can't be nearly as dangerous as people say it is, as people would be getting murdered constantly. I would suggest you take a look at other places, though, and then go back and look at Temple. You might see things differently.</p>
<p>Fair or not, I'm just saying Temple has that reputation here. It's a fine school but is not located in a desirable part of Philadelphia. Neither is LaSalle. Also Drexel, Penn and St Joe's aren't in great areas, but better than Temple or LaSalle. The immediate Temple campus is fine, I'm just saying North Philly overall is not known as a desirable, or safe, place to live. </p>
<p>The Pitt area, where I've been many times, is far better. Much more student friendly area.</p>
<p>Well it's not 'desirable', but that doesn't make it unsafe. Also, does Temple have a worse 'overall environment' because of a less 'desirable' location? Is that your implication?</p>
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It's a fine school but is not located in a desirable part of Philadelphia. Neither is LaSalle. Also Drexel, Penn and St Joe's aren't in great areas, but better than Temple or LaSalle
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<p>For what it's worth, Temple is emulating the same highly successful tactics of Penn and Drexel's "University City District" initiatives that have resulted in making U City a more desirable place to live.</p>
<p>lmao it's funny how people act like they know everything about a school soley based on rankings without having ever been there or knowing anything about it. Temple's campus fine, it's the immediately surrounding areas that are bad, but all it takes is common sense to avoid the dangers. You can get mugged or held up anywhere. If you're a yippie from the suburbs and walk around alone in the streets with your iPod at night, maybe you deserve to get mugged... </p>
<p>A lot of people live off-campus and love it. It doesn't take long to develop the street smarts needed to get by. That's why Temple has such a high retention rate because people get used to living here and it's actually not so bad as some people will have you think. </p>
<p>What about the fact that Temple is FAR more ethnically diverse than Penn State and is only a few subway stops away from center city Philadelphia? Surely those are factors for why people pick the school. Some people would actually think those are more important reasons to pick a school than subjective rankings from US News, believe it or not.</p>
<p>What is irksome to me and why I have chosen to contribute to this thread is that some posters cannot acknowledge that other points of view can have equal validity.</p>
<p>It is possible to acknowledge that Temple is a good university, excellent in some areas, with a lot of advantages for the right student, without it meaning that it is "better" than PSU. Yes, some posters do defend their school (current or alma mater) because it gets frustrating seeing a school with an international reputation frequently get over looked or even slammed because of the "dangerous neighborhood" or subjective "rankings" that do not take a schools mission into account. </p>
<p>Believe it or not, there are plenty of proud Owls who chose Temple (an ad featuring Bill Cosby ran with that tag line back in the 80's) over PSU and some over some Ivies (a generous merit scholarship did it for me).</p>
<p>Know what you want, and what will stimulate you academically, socially, and culturally. Know what your financial obligations will be. Then choose accordingly. </p>
<p>If you want big time football spirit, Temple is not the place for you. If you want to be pushed out of your comfort zone intellectually, socially and culturally, maybe you don't want a rural, more homogenous, large state school now matter even if it also provides an excellent reputation. </p>
<p>This proud PA native with plenty of PSU alums in the family, found my years at Temple to be challenging, stimulating, frustrating at times, yet years where I grew leaps and bounds. I am proud to have mastered my field, learnt about Philly and met many people I never would have met. "Hoot, Hoot"</p>
<p>jec7483... you love to argue with people don't you? It seems like you do not have enough self-confidence... you need to go onto a message board, insult others and their schools just to make yourself feel better... I am on this board to look up discussions on mba programs and lend a helping hand to young high school students interested in the school I graduated from. I question your purpose.</p>
<p>"jec7483... you love to argue with people don't you? It seems like you do not have enough self-confidence... you need to go onto a message board, insult others and their schools just to make yourself feel better"</p>
<p>I come on here and help people that don't believe in the rankings understand why they don't. It's always because their school is not ranked well. Schools are not poorly ranked because of a conspiracy or misunderstanding, it's just that the experts for judging schools and those in academia were not as impressed with the opportunities and resources of one school in comparison to others. I am sure Temple dangerous campus plays into that, but there are other reasons beyong that that impact their ranking. I always hear, "Ranking don't mean everything." Obviously, but they are a large resource to distinguish between the resources and academics of different universities. </p>
<p>Omniscient1, we continue to run into each other because you constantly put comments on different threads that I believe have no foundation whatsoever beyond your personal opinion. It doesn't make me feel better to correct people like you, as it is just frustrating that there are people out there like you with such a skewed perspective on schools.</p>
<p>Temple is by no means a bad school, and I'm sure that many of their graduates have gone on to lead successful careers. However, not only is Penn State a consistent top fifty university (Temple is tier three as someone else on this forum had mentioned), but it is also shown by many rankings to be among the top 100 best universities in the world (Top</a> 500 World Universities (1-100) and Top</a> 100 Universities: Top Universities Best Colleges Top 100 Colleges and Universities). No disrespect to Temple, but Penn State is a better school.</p>
<p>I wouldn't put too much stock in any place that has PSU above Vandy, USC, CMU, UNC, etc.</p>
<p>No one is disputing that PSU is a better school, how much so is the debate, which is a waste of time. Also, stop with the tier three garbage. We're not a tier three school, no matter what some arbitrary rankings say.</p>
<p>If Temple is Tier 3, then Drexel would have to be. And if I recall Drexel is somewhere on the US News list of tier 1 schools (albeit not very close to the top)</p>
<p>jec7483.... You are forcing rankings down others throats... Rankings hold weight only when considering grad school programs. Forget the rankings and tell us how you enjoyed your four or so years at Penn State... What did you study?... What was the atmosphere like?... Which academic programs were popular?.......... or go to threads, look at people's stats and tell them if you think they have a chance or not... if not, what could be some alternatives... You have the experience to really help people.... please do not use the us news rankings as your primary source of advice.</p>
<p>While they should not be the sole reason for a person to attend a certain university, rankings can be a significant factor. Many prospective employers take rankings into account, so they should not be dismissed by any means.</p>
<p>No, they definitely dont take them into account...</p>
<p>Good answer, eloquent in it's brevity. Rankings help set the standard of which schools are better than others, which can make a person more desirable for a certain job. I am not saying that every employer uses rankings; in fact its very unlikely that they would be the main reason for hiring one person over another. They can be, however, a very important part of deciding which college to attend. To say that they don't matter at all is ridiculous.</p>