<p>cheapseats, i visited Penn State in the summer. I didn't visit the Smeal College itself, but I had an hour presentation on the Business program and i wasn't as impressed as i was at smith.</p>
<p>MightyNick- If I remember correctly, you can go on the waiting list for scholars. I guess it depends on how many kids that got in actually end up there. I thought you had to wait till Jr. year to apply to honors if you didn't get in initailly. I may be getting my schools mixed up. I'd vote for CP. Yes, the surrounding area is #@&^% , but right beyond that is anything you want...there is a huge IKEA, metro to get into DC, etc. Penn St. is in the middle of no where .</p>
<p>Mighty - we spent a weekend at Penn State recently - right before I got my admit to UMD. No cars up there freshman year - and no real train service to speak of - and its a lonnnggggg ride on Greyhound! At College Park - you can metro down to Union Station and hop Amtrak - or if you're lucky enough to have a car - and your folks let you bring it - youre allowed a car as a freshie. I plan to party my share - but bassed on this year and my friends who are spread out all over as freshmen - they do road trips to see each other on slow weekends to follow the party to each other's campuses - much easier to do that at CP! Just my 2cents - you can get an awesome education at either school. GGT</p>
<p>it seems as if in this case, location matters the most. If you want to look for internships, you're gonna get them in DC/Baltimore, not on some farm in Pennsylvania. Maybe Maryland is better after all. </p>
<p>I'll apply for Scholars and see if i can get in.</p>
<p>MightyNick-- keep up your GPA first semester and definitely apply for the honors program at Maryland your second semester. Also keep in mind that employers are going to look a lot more at your experience and involvement in business-related programs than anything general. UMD has a lot of business programs (way to plug QUEST everyone :-D haha) and plenty of internship opportunities.</p>
<p>something else you mentioned was that penn state has great housing for business students. that's awesome, but do you really want to live with all business students? for me, part of the fun of college is meeting people that enjoy and study all different things. my roommate now is a voice major; last year i roomed with a journalism major.....it's been neat seeing what they do and learning from them.</p>
<p>just a couple of things to keep in mind :) i'm biased, but i say go UMD.</p>
<p>lindz, do you still think its better for me to go to maryland despite the fact that i got into the sapphire program at penn state (similar to the scholars program at UMD) and didn't get into scholars at Maryland?</p>
<p>I thought my stats were good enough to get into scholars at UMD (2000 SAT, 3.9 W GPA, 200 hours of voluntary work at hospital + a few other things), but i was surprised that i didn't. :(</p>
<p>Well.
I'll be completely honest with you, and I'll make it known that I absolutely hate going against UMD in any way. :-P</p>
<p>BUT....Go for the Sapphire program. I just checked out their website and it seems great--much better than Scholars here would be for a business major. Obviously I don't really know anything about it, but it's a tailored business school program. The built-in study abroad option is great. It seems like they give Sapphire students some pretty neat stuff.</p>
<p>There's no equivalent to that program at UMD, and I think especially if you're interested in study abroad, or double-majoring or something, Penn State is probably your best bet with that program.</p>
<p>Hate to say it but I'd hate even more to give you "advice" that really isn't what I'm thinking.</p>
<p>well I got sapphire too. I don't think I'll be going to penn state though. i'll just make the best of the programs at UMD</p>
<p>lol yeah, i got into sapphire..but i also got into honors at UMD and i don't feel like passing that chance up =)</p>
<p>Lets make this the official skrew PSU thread.
PSU seems like fun but really I don't want to go there anymore</p>
<p>:-D that's the spirit!! haha</p>
<p>And NEXT year, with a new point guard - bball at Comcast will be awesome - bball at PSU was pathetic - half time show was the best part of the game. And once you're in the student section for football - who really cares if they win or lose - its the tailgate and fun of the fall day that counts the most! Give me Ralph over Joe any day - we don't need no stinkin Orange Bowl.</p>