Please help me decide between Penn State and Pitt?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I'm trying to pick between penn st and pitt and cant decide. Here are my pros and cons for each.</p>

<p>Penn state pros:
-My mom works for psu hershey med, so I get a tuition reimbursment, reducing my total costs to about 15k a year
-I have family members who are currently at psu who would help me adjust. I'm not always socially outgoing and I feel like them being there helps in that regard.
-I think its the better overall school. I dont know what I want to do yet and I think psu has the better overall undergrad programs.
-I have friends going to psu</p>

<p>Penn state cons:
-Its in the middle of nowhere.
-Im interested in music and would want to be able to go to live shows and maybe even perform too. I dont think theres any kind of music scene there.
-I think the atmosphere is kind of obnoxious. I get the whole school spirit thing but it seems to me that the students are kind of cocky almost. Its hard to explain what I mean.
-I've wanted to try pre med for years and really feel like that would be difficult at penn state due to the large size.
-The sandusky schandal tainted my view also. Obviously the faculty messed up but the students reaction to joe pa's firing emphasizes what I dont like about the school</p>

<p>Pitt Pros
-Being in a city appeals to me.
-I feel like pittsburgh might have a decent music scence (although Im not sure about this)
-I feel like the student body is more friendly and more similar to myself
-Theres more to do than drink
-I think I could do pre med there
-I have friends going there</p>

<p>Pitt Cons
-Overall pitt would cost me around 40k more than penn state. My family can afford that but obviously its not ideal.
-Im not sure if theres a lot to do in pittsburgh. I would really be interested in any of your feedback about that
-When I visisted it seemed like the campus was scattered throughout oakland and kind of lacked an atmosphere</p>

<p>Thats pretty much all I can think of. Right now I guess I'm leaning to psu. The pre med thing is big but I've honestly been doubting whether or not I am willing to put in the work to become a doctor so I dont know how big a consideration this should be. I dont think I can go wrong either way but I really appreciate any advice.</p>

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<p>Certain programs at either school are better at one than at the other, but it is somewhat disingenuous for someone to claim one is better overall. There are as many rankings placing Pitt ahead of PSU as vice versa, and admissions is more selective at Pitt but other metrics like graduation rates are better at PSU. It is a wash, depending on what majors you are interested in. But 40K is a lot to leave on the table when you don’t know what you want to do academically. The two atmospheres are quite a bit different. PSU is much bigger, much more greek, and rural while Pitt is very urban. The good news is, both are good schools, so you really can’t make a mistake. Choose the one that fits with your family’s budget and where you see yourself being happier and more productive.</p>