<p>Yes, mmmgirl, “College is a time for trying new things.” It is not impossible to try new things if one chooses a more local option rather than going away. </p>
<p>If costs are equal or not a concern, go where you want to go, is what I say. You will make new friends wherever you go, and you are unlikely to keep the exact same group of friends you go in with, even if you do choose to go the more comfortable route. Choosing a school based on having an instant set of friends is not the worst reason in the world to go to a school, if you ask me, particularly if you feel that will make it easier for you to adjust. You know that better than anyone else. </p>
<p>Those of you who think there is a meaningful difference in the academics of these three schools, can you please say upon what you base your assumptions? Gone to all three of the schools? Visited all three? Studied the credentials of the profs at all three? Analyzed the achievement of graduates of all three? Done anything other than look at what U.S. News says? I understood that recruiters love the heck out of Penn State. Not that that’s the only reason to go there or a reason to choose it over the other schools (I expect recruiters love Michigan and Maryland as well), but there’s certainly ample reason to believe that a computer science graduate of Penn State will have reasonable job prospects. If you take a big picture view, as tk21769 suggests, it would be hard not to conclude that the educational opportunities at these three schools are more or less equivalent.</p>