<p>Racist? Our local vietnamese restaurant is run by a PSU grad. He goes back to visit often. My son’s roommate on his study abroad trip was Korean. He has a number of african american and indian friends. Yeah, the white kids are there. But there’s diversity too. If you’re really interested, just do some digging into the statistics.</p>
<p>I was considering both when I started applying to schools but after thinking about it, i realized that i was only applying to one because they were both in state safety schools and i decided that if i had to end up at one of them as a last resort it would be pitt. I guess for me penn state was just too much of a party school(not that pitt doesn’t have parties and like sports, but i feel like a lot of life at penn state is foccused around parties and sports games and it would just be too much) and also a lot of people from my high school are going to penn state and i wanna get away from all that. that being said, after i ended up only getting into pitt and 2 other schools and pitt is one of the cheapest, i visited the school for the first time and absolutely loved it. i thought it was just a safety and didnt really consider it before, but now it’s my top choice. the atmosphere is great and the way that the campus is in the city yet still feels like a campus with tons going on in the city and on campus all the time, it’s just great. penn state, however, only has a campus so there cant really be as much going on. and because its in the city and oakland is so involved with the school, there are so many discounts for students and internship opportunities all around oakland. personally, i just think pitt is a much better option when comparing pennsylvania state schools.</p>
<p>lol, I never saw the appeal of Penn State and I still don’t understand why it’s considered Pennsylvania’s flagship public university over Pitt. Actually, I think it’s better this way.</p>
<p>in terms of academics, I think Penn State tops Pitt. When I visited Pitt, the student body there did not seem all that impressive, to be honest. I’m interested in going to PSU for bio, and it has over 50+ bio majors there, which is way more than i think Pitt has.</p>
<p>
Which specific major? Biology? Your theory is that you “think” PSU has more biology majors then Pitt so PSU must be better?</p>
<p>lol, I’m pretty sure both Pitt and Penn State have way more than 50 people majoring in biology. Your reasoning is extremely flawed.</p>
<p>Schrizto–Pitt is state supported, but is not really considered part of the Pennsylvania state system. For OOS students, very few seem to be trying to decide between the two; my daughter didn’t even think about applying to Penn State. Funny comment, miamonster, how many students did you visit with when you were on the Pitt campus?</p>
<p>I think miamonster meant varieties of biology (microbiology, biochem, etc.), not that I am defending that post.</p>
<p>lol, as if any school has 50 different variations of majors within biology. Either way, the number doesn’t fit.</p>
<p>MD Mom: Both Pitt and PSU fall under the convoluted “state related” school program in Pennsylvania.</p>
<p>[Commonwealth</a> System of Higher Education - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commonwealth_System_of_Higher_Education]Commonwealth”>Commonwealth System of Higher Education - Wikipedia)</p>
<p>Thanks–aglages. There goes that theory. And Penn has the vet school rather than Penn State–nonoe of it makes sense.</p>
<p>Penn State does not have a Vet School. The University of Pennsylvania does (Penn, the private Ivy League school in Philadelphia). Penn State and Penn are very different, unrelated schools.</p>
<p>Unless you are talking about agricultural sciences (in which Penn State is very strong), biology at Pitt would be superior because Pitt is so well regarded in anything in the health, bio, or medical sciences. In addition, all of its major research facilities and the major hospital facilities of its massive medical center (UPMC) are right on, or adjacent to, the campus. This provides undergrads easy access to a much larger number and variety of labs and facilities in order to gain experience conducting real, original research. Biology is primarily a research discipline so this is very important aspect of the program at Pitt, which greatly emphasizes undergraduate research throughout the universities departments. Further evidence of Pitt’s biomedical prowess is the fact has the 5th highest level of National Institute (NIH) funding in the country behind Harvard, John Hopkins, Penn (the Ivy in Philly) and UCSF. In contrast, Penn State is around 63rd in combined NIH funding, with only about half of that funding being at the main campus in University Park, which places that campus around 100th. NIH peer reviewed grant awards are the primary mechanism for funding academic health, medical and bioscience research, and thus NIH funding is a direct reflection on the quantity and quality of the research and faculty at an institution. I’ll list the US News rankings of Pitt and PSU’s graduate programs in these fields below. Most of these ranking don’t exist for undergrad, but many of the faculty are involved in undergraduate training as well, and host undergrads in their laboratories (as I hosted when I was an undergrad). Across the medical, health, and bioscience programs, schools and departments, there are 100s (if not 1000s) of labs conducting basic biological research on Pitt’s campus.</p>
<p>*The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) is ranked 13th as a hospital out of approximately 5,000 evaluated by US News (and in 13 of 16 specialty areas) and has 20 hospitals including one in Dublin, Ireland and a transplant facility in Sicily. It has a major international reputation. It’s flagship hospital, transplant center, and cancer center are on or adjacent to Pitt’s undergrad campus. PSU’s hospital is unranked in any specialty and is located 100 miles away from their main campus. Why is this important besides the prestige? Because the medical center provides both infrastructural and financial support to the academic medical and health sciences at Pitt. Med and health science school faculty have their clinical appointments in those hospitals and conduct their research in the university labs in adjacent facilities.</p>
<p>*Pitt’ Med School is ranked 12th overall in primary care, 14th overall in research, and in six of nine separate medical specialties. Penn State’s medical school, located 100 miles away in Hershey, is unranked. </p>
<p>*The Biological Sciences graduate program at PSU is tied ranked for 42nd (mainly on the strength of its agricultural programs) while Pitt is tied for 46th, the same rank as Pitt’s neighbor Carnegie-Mellon University, with which it has many shared biological programs and joint faculty appointments. With the ties, 46 is exactly one spot behind 42.</p>
<p>*In the US News Health category, the following Pitt graduate programs, all with major research components on campus, were ranked: audiology (16th), clinical psychology (9th), health care management (20th), nursing (7th), nursing-anesthesia (5th), occupational therapy (9th), pharmacy (19th), physical therapy (2nd), public health (11th), speech-language pathology (12th), and social work (14th). In this category, PSU was ranked in clinical psychology (tied with Pitt at 9th), nursing (54th), rehabilitation counseling (3rd), and speech-language pathology (25th).</p>
<p>*As far as 2009-10 incoming undergraduate freshman student profile, here are the admission numbers for both schools’ main campuses, as reported in their Common Data Sets:
Average GPA: Pitt 3.87; PSU 3.55
Combined SAT 25th percentile: Pitt 1720; PSU 1630
Combined SAT 75th percentile: Pitt 2020; PSU 1940
Percent in top tenth of high school class: Pitt 49%, PSU 49.82%
Percent in top quarter of high school class: Pitt 86%; PSU 85.77%</p>
<p><em>Here are various rankings for the overall university according to a variety of publications:
US News National: Pitt 56; PSU 47
US News Public: Pitt 20; PSU 15
US News Best Value: Pitt 39; PSU N/R
The Center for Measuring University Performance: Pitt 29; PSU 30
Forbes all Public colleges and universities: Pitt 52; PSU 67
Washington Monthly: Pitt 40, PSU 5
ThePrincetonReview academic score: Pitt 80; PSU 74 (higher is better)
College Pr</em>wler overall ranking: Pitt B+; PSU B+
Newsweek (World): Pitt 37; PSU 40
Academic Ranking of World Universities: Pitt 50; PSU 45
Times Higher Education-QS world: Pitt 114; PSU 120
HEEACT world: Pitt 24; PSU 40
Global University Ranking (RatER): Pitt 42; PSU 74-77</p>
<p>Pitt and PSU, obviously, are in very different settings: one being urban and the other being rural in a typical college town. Both are good schools. It really should come down to where you are most comfortable and feel that you’ll be happiest spending the next four years.</p>
<p>going to pitt allows you to take classes at universities around the area such as cmu, duquesne, carlow, chatham, etc.</p>
<p>^^^^^ I don’t believe that Duquesne is part of that agreement, and the “opportunity” to take classes at other Oakland area schools is not as straightforward as you might think. You can only take a class at the other schools if the college where you are enrolled does not offer the same course. Also, you’re dead last on any registration priority listing, so if the desired class is full with students from that college, you’re out of luck.</p>
<p>Duquesne is apart of the program.</p>
<p>[Cross-Registration</a> - Office of the University Registrar at the University of Pittsburgh](<a href=“http://www.registrar.pitt.edu/cross_registration.html]Cross-Registration”>http://www.registrar.pitt.edu/cross_registration.html)</p>
<p>And it’s not as hard as you’d think. I got into a design course at CMU for next semester.</p>
<p>That’s good to hear about Duquesne, pandem. And I’m glad cross registration worked out for you. I just get tired of tour guides (et al) talking about how you can go to any Pittsburgh school and take take so many of your classes at another school. It’s a good program, but it is not an open enrollment program across the board.</p>
<p>That is true. I first tried to get into a specific design studio that was limited to 20 students. I was waitlisted, but my second choice (a lecture/seminar course about design) was open. </p>
<p>As long as the course isn’t higher level or major-specific, I don’t think it’d be unrealistic. Regardless, you’re only allowed to take one course per semester.</p>
<p>Pandem–is the semester schedule very different for CMU versus Pitt?</p>
<p>They are a week or so behind us in the Spring, probably due to the shorter Pitt break. (Pitt’s last day was May 1st, while CMU’s is the 11th.)</p>
<p>[Carnegie</a> Mellon Enrollment Services - Academic Calendars](<a href=“http://www.cmu.edu/hub/calendar.html]Carnegie”>http://www.cmu.edu/hub/calendar.html)</p>
<p>Their fall calendar is essentially the same, though (last day of Pitt finals was December 19th, and CMU’s is the 15th).</p>
<p>qaz
check out pitt’s rankings in philosophy- #2 in the country - that’s hard to beat!
I differ on your opinion of Pitt vs PSU. With regard to sciences, Pitt is hard to beat. You cannot neglect the research and internship opportunities afforded to Pitt students with regard to UPMC which is “on campus”- also, all large corporations and business opportunities are a short “free” bus ride away for students. PSU students often come to Pittsburgh for summer internships.
Check out the statistics for admitted students to PSU and Pitt. Also, check out the stats for the current student body. Also, check out scholar awards- you will note that Pitt excels in these areas over PSU.</p>
<p>PA resident, son is in 3rd year student at PSU, daughter a senior in hs is applying to Pitt. Being PSU loyal I was so impressed with the Pitt campus on our recent visit. The school offers so many activities thru the city, free transportation, discounted sports and cultural tickets. Living in the hicks of PA, my daughter loves the urban setting just outside of the suburban campus. Additionally the most major factor in her choice is the fact Pitt is still a medium school compared to the enrollment at PSU. Both kids are interested in the medical field with my son being a schreyers hs. That being said, Pitt honors program did not seem to compare to the PSU program although very few have that opportunity.</p>