<p>I got accepted to both and can't decide where to go. I want to do biomedical engineering. I'm from PA and have a scholarship to Drexel, so price is about the same. Drexel pros: in the city, co-op program, smaller school. PSU pros: social life, traditional college experience. Both have great engineering programs, so I was wondering if there was anything else i should consider on how to decide.</p>
<p>One big thing that Drexel might have is all of the nearby hospitals with possibilities for research positions, though that’s really only best if the professors from Drexel work there and recruit students from their school.</p>
<p>I’ve heard mixed things about Drexel from my friends that went there (I’m from southeastern PA, so a bunch went). Is your scholarship to Drexel contingent upon you keeping a certain GPA? It would be pretty terrible if some mishap leaves you with a 2.95 when you need a 3.0 and suddenly the school costs $30,000 more a year.</p>
<p>Yeah I’d have to maintain a 3.0. Money is pretty important, mostly because I would need to get a masters as well in bme. Im from southeastern PA as well. ive heard mixed things about the social scene at drexel, but everyone i talked to who goes there seems to really enjoy it.</p>
<p>Have you looked at the concentrations available at the two schools? They are quite different. If you have any idea how you want to use your degree, that might help you decide.</p>
<p>I would not factor PSU’s social scene as part of your decision. You will meet people, party, get drunk, and get laid just as much at Drexel as you will at PSU. At Drexel you have the whole city at your disposal, theres music to see, museums to go to and a ton more bars… Are you a cultured kid/you into music and art? go to Drexel. PSU has no culture and the student population is much more homogeneous. The social scene consists of frat parties, (the center around greek life at this university annoys many us), binge drinking and football games.</p>
<p>Plus check out Drexel’s co-op program, their job placement rates are pretty high.</p>
<p>P.S. This is coming from a current PSU jr.</p>
<p>Im not exactly sure how I want to use my degree. went to an open house for bme at drexel, professors seemed to know what they were talking about. was also impressed with the areas of specialization available at drexel. im definitely interested in doing a co-op for the experience, to see if i really like engineering, and it would look good on a grad school resume. penn state offers co-ops as well, but drexel is obviously more accommodating since its part of the curriculum. i really like the idea of living in the city, but i also like the campus and the unexplainable vibe at penn state. my sister went to psu and loved it.</p>
<p>As a way to counter Enginearsrfun’s review of PSU’s social scene, one of my good friends went there for undergrad and lived in the engineering special interest housing. He said it was a ton of fun since your classmates were in the same difficult types of classes as yourself. Parties were different from frat ones since a lot of them were, well, nerds, and weren’t huge into that scene.</p>
<p>I know for a while his hall was into BF:Vietnam, so someone would set up a server and they’d have enough people to populate a whole game.</p>
<p>Also, you should look into seeing if you can do a combined BS/MS at either school.</p>
<p>My S probably lived in that same housing for two years ([E-House</a> Home](<a href=“http://www.engr.psu.edu/e-house/home.aspx]E-House”>Engineering House)). He has managed to construct a reasonable social life (some drinking (but not enough to send him to the ER :eek:), girlfriends, a couple of clubs) and still make the dean’s list every semester. I think it is probably more important to consider the differences in the programs and coop opportunities when you are making your choice.</p>
<p>as for the social scene: i currently go to penn state, and it is what you make it. The assertion that every party is through a frat or greek life or whatever, is completely false. With a school this big, you can go to whatever kind of party you want, or no party at all, and still have a great time, so don’t worry about that. as for drexel, to be honest, i know nothing about it, but i’m sure you could have a good time at any school you go to if you want to</p>
<p>as for academics, i’m in mechanical engineering, and Penn state’s engineering program is definitely a good one, so you got that going for you i guess</p>
<p>THanks everyone for your help</p>