I’m interested in premed/ bioengineering…SAT score: 2120- both are safe schools for me. Programs more or less similar. Pitt is SLIGHTLY more expensive than Purdue.
How do the cities compare? How about campuses?
Some other stuff I want to explore: music (not as a major tho), soccer (intramural)
Other academic interests i want to explore: psychology, journalism, comp sci
I don’t like feeling ‘lost’ in a sea of students, so maybe smaller will be preferable.
where do I have a better chance of aid? I’m a domestic applicant, with international schooling, single parent income (international).
I know UPitt’s medical school is very good. Also heard purdue grades harshly (not good for premed?)
Which would be a better option to apply to?
West Lafayette, Indiana is not anything close to resembling a city. They two schools couldn’t be in any more disparate of settings. Pitt is urban, in an actual city, with lots of city things to do (many of them free or greatly discounted for Pitt students, including free public transportation throughout the entire city).
Pre-med, bioengineering; anything in the health/bio sciences are significantly superior at Pitt. Most other engineering disciplines probably favor Purdue.
Pitt is about 1/3rd smaller than Purdue.
You can participate in nearly all (I believe) of Pitt’s music programs/groups without being a music major.
Any school is going to have intramural soccer.
Don’t eliminate a school because you hear “it” grades harshly. It is probably garbage to begin with, and a terrible reason not to pick a place. You probably hear that about Purdue because it has a lot of engineering majors. Bioengineering is going to be a tough major anywhere.
You really should try to visit both. They are very different. That said, it sounds like Pitt really fits your criteria better.
“Free transprtation throughout entire city?” Whoa…that’s great, actually. I’ve since decided that I will be applying to Pitt…question now is whether or not I’ll apply to Purdue 
But wouldn’t Purdue be like a whole city within itself? How is the atmosphere at Pitt? Sorry, but visiting is not an option for me 
No, universities themselves are not like cities. Pittsburgh is a mid-sized major city. Pitt is in the middle of Pittsburgh. The city and campus blend together.
Just a stupid question, but…is Pitt a good school overall? One way I judge a school is by their SAT profile, and Pitt’s median score seems to be around 1400. This may not affect my thoughts about the school, but I think it certainly explains what kind of environment and students I’ll be surrounded by.
Ok, sorry I am completely wrong about that. The 1400 is only Maths and CR-my bad!