<p>Programs, social life, campus, reputation, admissions, etc.? Any opinions?</p>
<p>Very close in all areas so to dissect it further would be like splitting hairs. Only real big difference I can think of is that University Park is a real college town (but an isolated campus) whereas Maryland is just on a ugly strip (for the most part) with subway access to a major city (Washington, D.C.).</p>
<p>I have the impression that Penn State has a bigger sports and party scene than UMD, probably because there’s no city nearby. If there are a lot of people who live and breathe Terp football, I’ve never met them.</p>
<p>I’m not following the logic on parties … people in in and around cities go to fewer parties than other people? Sure, Penn State football is big time compared to Maryland but Maryland has a much bigger basketball program and lacrosse program.</p>
<p>Maryland is more selective. It has smarter students. By about 70-80 SAT points average.</p>
<p>I’d pick Maryland because of the location.</p>
<p>collegehelp, where would i fit in better academically if i have a CR-680, M-630, W-700 (1310/2010), lots of extracurriculars (girl scouts, sports, some leadership, etc.), 2 APs (USH - 4, English Lang - 5), lots of honors courses, and a 3.4 uw?</p>
<p>“people in in and around cities go to fewer parties than other people?”</p>
<p>Yes, and the parties are different (smaller). There are more other things to do. And there is no university in/around a city that has anywhere near the number of fraternity houses Penn State does (49 at last count). It’s not a perfect predictor – Arizona State comes to mind – but it’s a pretty strong relationship. Maybe someone who’s gone to UMD can enlighten us: can a girl reliably find a raging kegger on a Tuesday night at UMD? I bet she can at PSU.</p>
<p>If there are people who live and breathe Terp basketball/lacrosse the way they do Penn State football, I’ve never met them. You’d have to go to Duke to find basketball fandom comparable to the Penn State sports atmosphere, and even there it’s debatable.</p>
<p>Disclaimer: none of this is meant to disparage Penn State. In my experience, their alumni could not be happier, and they run the biggest student philanthropy in the world.</p>
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<p>Well you live in Chicago, so that makes sense, but they indeed exist.</p>
<p>Anyway, the easy answer to this is that if you dont like football, Penn State would be a very bad choice.</p>
<p>SmithE10-
You would fit in better at Maryland where you would roughly be in the 70th percentile. You are overqualified for Penn State.
Your credentials are good. Don’t sell yourself short.
It appears that you want a public university. Why do you have it narrowed down to Penn State or Maryland?</p>
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<p>Yeah, and maybe someone from Penn State should enlighten you about Penn State because obviously you didn’t go there either. </p>
<p>It’s fine to connect fraternities with parties and drinking but you’ve only gone there because your initial point was so absurd. People that want to party are going to party. The fact that cities offer “other things to do” doesn’t change that. But if want to believe that Boston area students, DC area student or Chicago area students are heading downtown on a Friday night to check out the art museums, enjoy the fantasy.</p>
<p>Penn State makes the list for top party schools as does Maryland. Separating the two on academics is a joke. Visit each school and try to figure out which one strikes you as a being a better fit. Should Penn State alums get on their high horse because they are rated higher. Should Maryland get on their high horse because of higher SAT scores? No and no.</p>
<p>well i really liked both schools when i visited, though i’m interested in public relations and communications so i feel like maryland might be a better fit, at least for the public relations part of that equation. definitely correct me if i’m wrong.</p>
<p>i like the location of maryland better than that of penn state, but the atmosphere of penn state is so much better. so i’m pretty torn (though i haven’t been accepted to either… haha), and hence why i’ve asked this question :)</p>
<p>my only issue is that i had a pretty severe concussion right before my junior year, which came along with fun things like memory loss and loss in ability to concentrate. and so, i wound up with a bunch of C’s on my junior year transcript. my grades improved as the year went along, but still, those C’s are there. my counselor rec explains them and gives the medical reasoning though, so i guess it’s okay. but i feel like i’ve had to lower my standards just a little. and right in the beginning of senior year i got into a nice little car crash and received yet another concussion, so we’ll see where this year goes. but so far i’m off to a decent start.</p>
<p>and, i don’t feel like i’m overqualified for penn state. i’m in the “yellow” which is a little scary, but oh well. i think i’d be happy at either place.</p>
<p>EDIT: to answer your question a little better, these are my top two because of their distance from home (northern NJ), programs, atmosphere, etc… they just clicked when i visited. i’m also applying to syracuse, uconn, jmu, loyola md, tcnj, quinnipiac, and rowan.</p>
<p>I think you have a very good ‘read’ on both these schools. Perhaps your luck on acceptances may solve the problem for you. </p>
<p>Best of luck!</p>