<p>I'm looking for one more "safety" school to apply to... And I don't know if Penn State or U Pitt should be it. </p>
<p>I know the schools are somewhat similiar academically. However, I'm interested in hearing about the key differences between both schools...</p>
<p>Thanks guys for your input!!</p>
<p>Pitt's easier to get accepted, while Penn State's main campus is getting harder....Psu is probably superior academically in the eyes of most, but not by too much...Penn State is bigger, more of a football greek life party school, while Pitt is more urban (psu is farm country, but it's a cool college town nonetheless)...Pitt's bball team destroys Psu's, and the football team at Psu is better NOW (it's amazing to me how quickly people forget that psu was embarassingly bad in the early 2000s) but Pitt fb is certainly respectable...probably need around a 1200-1250 for Psu main with a solid gpa, and maybe 1130-1230 for Pitt...anyway that's my totally random assortment of info on those two schools, filled with information you probably already knew...yea</p>
<p>Just to correct you, OBrien, Pitt is not easier to get into. The 25-75 SAT percentile at Pitt is 1130-1330 vs. 1100-1300 at PSU. 45% of Pitt students were in the top 10% of their high school class vs. 40% at PSU. Pitt accepts 52% of students vs. 62% at PSU. USNews gives Pitt a selectivity ranking of 66 vs. 87 for PSU.</p>
<p>Penn State Main is definitely harder to get accepted to than Pitt. When considering those numbers, think about the number of applications PSU gets vs the number Pitt gets. Both are popular, but Penn State receives far more interest (98,000 applicants last year). Also, are those numbers for Penn State as a whole or just University Park? Either way, I have done many regional studies on the selectivity of state affiliated schools in PA, and students rejected by Pitt and accepted to PSU-Main are few and far between.</p>
<p>The numbers for both schools are main campus. And 98,000? The actual number (for main campuses) is closer to 30,000, while Pitt got around 20,000. Sorry, but the numbers don't lie. Princeton Review gives them both a selectivity rating of 89.</p>
<p>They're both quality schools, in different ways. It depends on what you're looking for. </p>
<p>Penn State is strong in the sciences and engineering. They also have a fairly good business program. The surrounding area is a small college town. </p>
<p>Pitt is really strong in philosophy and the humanities, and decent in most other fields. The honors program is really strong. The surrounding area is very urban.</p>
<p>Point: Both are good schools. You'd get a quality education at either. Pick the one that suits your personal needs.</p>