<p>How good of a school is Pennsylvania State?
As in how respected is it, how are it's academics, and is it worth going to from out of state?</p>
<p>It’s academics vary by dept/major. </p>
<p>It’s probably not worth paying OOS costs, especially if you have decent state schools.</p>
<p>What is your home state? </p>
<p>What is your major?</p>
<p>How much will your parents pay each year? What are they saying about paying the high OOS costs of PSU?</p>
<p>I am from New York, and I want to major in Finance. My parents are not paying anything.
I am trying to choose between Boston University, Penn State or New Paltz</p>
<p>If your parents aren’t paying how are you going to afford Penn State or BU?</p>
<p>Penn State does attract a large number of OOS students, mostly from the Northeast. I don’t think there’s much question it’s the strongest public university in that region. It’s quite strong in engineering (#16 nationally for undergrad engineering according to US News; the only schools in the Northeast that top it in that field are MIT, Cornell, Princeton, Carnegie Mellon, and Johns Hopkins). It’s also quite strong in undergrad business (#21 nationally, according to US News, ahead of any other Northeastern public but behind Penn Wharton, MIT, NYU, Carnegie Mellon, Cornell, and Georgetown).</p>
<p>In other fields it’s a bit more hit-and-miss: one of the very best in Earth Sciences, reasonably strong in Chemistry, Math, Computer Science, Physics, Econ, Poli Sci, Psych, English, somewhat less so in BioSciences, History, Philosophy.</p>
<p>Is it worth it? Depends on your financial situation, your in-state and private alternatives, and what you want to study. Penn State has a reputation for giving poor FA to OOS students, and even to in-state students for that matter, meeting full need for only 6% of its students with need, and on average meeting only 56% of need. Based on those figures, I certainly wouldn’t recommend it if you’re high need/low EFC, but if money isn’t an issue, it’s a place you can get a good education.</p>
<p>Edit: I didn’t see the “parents not paying anything” until after I wrote this. If that’s the case, I don’t see how Penn State could be affordable. On the other hand, BU isn’t great on need-based FA, either. I’d say wait and see what your FA offers are, and decide on that basis.</p>
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<p>Yes, the poor financial aid to in-state students means that high performing lower and middle income students from Pennsylvania do not have the obvious state flagship university option that those in many other states do.</p>
<p>*I am from New York, and I want to major in Finance. My parents are not paying anything.
I am trying to choose between Boston University, Penn State or New Paltz
*</p>
<p>I never understand posts like this. How does someone “choose between” schools that don’t meet need when families aren’t paying anything? </p>
<p>If this student is very low income, then New Paltz will likely be the only affordable school with a Pell Grant, TAP grant, student loans, work study and summer work savings.</p>
<p>Edited to add…</p>
<p>*NYU Legacy
Hello,
My great-grandfather graduated form NYU and was a major contributor to NYU building projects, He is on one of the plaques. My grandfather and father graduated as well. how much do you think this will increase my chances of getting accepted to NYU?
*</p>
<p>Doesn’t sound like this student is low income, unless parents are divorced and single mom is low income with little/no support from the NCP.</p>
<p>Penn State is very similar experience to UCLA, UNorth Carolina, UTexas.</p>