<p>Hey, all. I've been accepted as a transfer to UPenn. I was planning on going until today, when I found out that I didn't get housing. Call me crazy, but I don't know how comfortable I'd be getting thrown into the entirely new environment there and not living on campus.
I currently have a full scholarship at Ohio State. I'm still not sure how good of a school it is; people either love it and swear it's just as good as Penn or hate it and tell me I'm crazy not to go to Penn (where I'd go in debt up to 20-25k).
I'm studying economics.
The deadline for my decision is tomorrow around 3 PM, since my housing at Ohio State must be terminated by tomorrow if I'm leaving.
Any helpful suggestions?
Thanks!</p>
<p>I would stay at Ohio…</p>
<p>Why?
10char</p>
<p>and yes, i realized i accidentally posted this twice. hate my internet…</p>
<p>I mean, UPenn is a great school, but Ohio isn’t a terrible one either, is it? How have you liked it so far? </p>
<p>Also, Penn is leaving you with a pretty large debt - I don’t think it’s worth it…</p>
<p>On top of all that, you don’t have housing yet at Penn, so isn’t that going to cost you time and money as well?</p>
<p>lol. No housing in Philly. *whistles</p>
<p>you have to ask yourself if the future you are hoping for and planning for could be more easily achieved from attending a “better” institution. UPenn will obviously prepare you in many more ways than Ohio State. Professors will be better, peers will be better, you’ll make connections with some very brilliant people who will most likely go on to lead successful lives. Personally, I would hook up with 2-3 other Penn transfer students who are in the same situation as you, and ask them if they would like to room with you in a nearby apartment. The housing situation would feel almost the same, rooming with other students, the only difference would be the distance from campus and proximity of other students. Perhaps you could pick a popular apartment building that many other Penn upperclassmen also room in.</p>
<p>Yeah, the education would certainly be better there. And I could always find off-campus housing. The two things that are bothering me are the possibilities for networking and friendships that could be lost entering as a transfer to an off-campus location and the debt. I’ll only go about 20k in debt, but if I stay at OSU, over the next 3 years I’d be paid about 15-20k. So, that’s a 40k difference. Is it worth 40k?</p>
<p>I transferred as a junior, and only got to spend one year on campus after doing so. The experience left me feeling less connected to my new school than I would have wanted.</p>
<p>Transferring was still the right thing for me, but primarily because it allowed me to become a resident of a new state, whose flagship university I attended for law school. One reason that was important to me was that it allowed me to graduate with less debt, ultimately.</p>
<p>I’ve attended an Ivy League school, another prestigious private school, and a flagship university, and am not at all convinced that Penn will better prepare you for your future than Ohio State. </p>
<p>Student loans feel abstract when you’re incurring them, but very concrete when you’re paying them back. Penn is offering you a marvelous opportunity, but so is Ohio State. It’s your call, but you shouldn’t feel like you have to go to Penn.</p>
<p>If you were planning on transfering to Penn, don’t let the housing situation stop you. Students are hardly in their room anyway. OSU is a very good school, but it is not on par with Penn. If you were at Cal, UCLA, UNC, UVa or Wisconsin, I would recommend you keep your full ride and stay at at your flagship university. However, OSU is not quite at that level. The key issue you should focus on is graduating with a debt ($20-$25k is not huge but it is very significant) or debt-free.</p>
<p>Thanks for the input.
And, before this whole housing mess today, the main issue was the difference between the educations and the debt.
Graduating 20k in the black from OSU vs. 20k in the red from Penn makes this an extremely difficult decision.
Like I said, I could always find housing. But is Penn worth 40k more than OSU?</p>
<p>Some questions to think about:</p>
<p>1) Do you plan on going to grad school eventually (doesn’t have to be right away)? Then where you studied as an undergrad is not as important as getting good grades, as long as the school is a good one, which Ohio State is. </p>
<p>2) Forget about what random people think, what do you think of OSU? Is the school environment and economics program a good fit for you? Have you visited UPenn? Do you plan on taking classes at the Wharton School? This might be a unique opportunity that you can’t get at OS. $20-25K does not seem like a heavy debt, especially if you plan on working after graduation. An average salary should pay it off in 2-3 years at most if you’re reasonably frugal. </p>
<p>3) Do you know anyone in the Philly area who can help you with this transition? You might want to live in an off-campus apartment building where there are other students your age. (The internet is a great tool for that.) May have to pay more, but it would feel like a dorm. Just move there early to give yourself plenty of time to get used to the new location should you choose to transfer. You should be fine. </p>
<p>4) Have you asked your professors for opinion on the two programs, and how each might benefit you? I think UPenn has a better reputation among employers particularly outside the Midwest. May give you a slight edge with getting that first job interview. </p>
<p>5) Are you more or less an independent sort of person? Do you like living in a big city? Assuming your home state is Ohio, would you get so homesick that it would adversely affect your studies? Then it is better to stay and excel than to struggle. (By the time you get used to the new environment, it’s time to graduate already. Two years is a short time.) On the other hand, it might be an excellent growing experience for you once you step out of that comfort zone.</p>
<p>I think Penn is worth $40,000 more than OSU, but it really depends what you intend to do with your degree.</p>
<p>OK, correction. $40K in debt essentially, instead of $20-25K. In this economy (not likely to change much in 2 years), I don’t know how easy it is to get a job with an economics degree, so it might not make economical sense.</p>
<p>Just to clarify something: off-campus housing at penn is CHEAPER than on-campus.</p>
<p>If I were in your situation, I’d go to UPenn regardless. Just find some others to room with off campus, or figure out where “everyone else” is rooming that are off campus. Depending on what you intend to do with your degree, your debt should be paid off in a few years (just as Techie1988 said).</p>
<p>Ultimately, it’s your decision. UPenn and OSU are two completely different universities that both have their pros and cons. For an economics major, though, I would go to UPenn.</p>
<p>$20-$25K seems like a manageable amount of debt for a Penn graduate. OSU is a good school, but by no means one of the top public universities. I think you should go to Penn.</p>
<p>I have to agree to bruno123. Penn is appreciably better than Ohio State and is well worth the relatively overall small investment.</p>
<p>The honors program at Ohio is outstanding. If you can participate in this, I would absolutely go to Ohio without hesitation. </p>
<p>Even without the honors program, I would probably choose Ohio because it is a good school from which you could graduate without the financial burdon that Penn would give you. As someone else said, consider this if you plan on grad school.</p>
<p>Also, I don’t know the Philadelphia area around Penn, but crime is an issue in many areas of the city. Check it out.</p>
<p>
I don’t know about Penn, but at my school almost everyone lives on campus. I think that is a huge issue, especially when you’re going to a place where not only do you not have friends but also everyone else has already made them. I think it’s a biggie for how much he’ll enjoy Penn, and plus the debt he’ll incur (which is really 20k+full scholarship at Penn from an economics point of view) makes Penn look like a much worse deal every second.</p>