Penn State vs. U Del.

<p>My out of state daughter got in to Penn State, UP, undeclared major. SATs 1980; WGPA 3.7 with a lot of honors, APs, but not super high grades. </p>

<p>She won't hear until U Del until March, and she/I aren't sure it's worth waiting for. Can anyone comment on how Penn State and U Del compare in academics, general well-being of students? Just for perspective, we live near NYC in a suburb. She is decent in sciences and math, but is also interested in humanities. </p>

<p>Good luck to everyone who is hoping for good news!!!!!</p>

<p><a href="http://www4.**************.com/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www4.**************.com/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>This site is a student review of colleges. Several comments talk about the surrounding town and crime. Personally, I would feel safer for my daughter at Penn State, but I have never been to see the University of Delaware.</p>

<p>**************.com</p>

<p>Ultimately, it's your D's decision.
Has she visited both schools? Is tuition a factor?
IMHO, I would prefer my D at Penn State.</p>

<p>Thanks for your comments. I think DD is inclined towards Penn State, so I was just asking about a general comparision. That said, I realize that it's kind of like asking about the difference between apples and oranges.</p>

<p>hey, I think both are good schools...and are roughly comparable in academic quality.
I would have some safety concerns at UDEL.
I know more about PSU since my son goes there.<br>
State College has some crime but it's usually not serious. The town is very student oriented - lots of shops, restaurants etc.
Football is huge. School spirit is off the charts.
Lots of drinking (think that's true at UDEL too)
Business, Sciences, Engineering and other specialized programs are very strong.
Beautiful campus...GREAT ice cream.
Most of the kids who go there love it. S can't wait to go back after every break.
It can be a place where you get a great education and have fun. But I also see kids who put too much emphasis on the fun part.</p>

<p>I disagree with toneranger regarding level of academics. I think PSU is a better institution.</p>

<p>I also agree with editor that Penn State UP is ranked higher academically. I know that all school admissions have become more more competitive, but UDel was for a long time considered more of a "safety" and I know kids who couldn't get in to PSU and went to UDel.
Having said that, UDel seems to be a school where the students all love it and are very happy there. In this day and age, we need to be vigilant and relentlessly stress with our D's the need to be very, very aware of safety issues no matter where they go, especially when the drinking and partying are thrown in the mix.</p>

<p>I agree with Editor and PSUfan82. Despite the fact that I did go to Penn State University Park, which does give me a good amount of bias, I did recently graduate from UP and when I was coming out of high school UDel was pretty much always either the back up or safety for people applying to University Park. Don't get me wrong, UDel is a good school, but Penn State UP is ranked higher and has stronger academics.</p>