<p>Bubbles, perhaps that is a common saying in your part of the world, but I have never heard it before, so it can’t possibly be quite as common as you think.</p>
<p>What I have heard often expressed to young adults who are considering where their friends are going to school as one factor in a long list of considerations in choosing their school is to be prepared that those friendships may not continue to be the same. Be accepting that your best friend now may be ready to break away to a new group before you are, and that may hurt. Be aware that you may make many new friends easily and be drawn to a group that your friend(s) are not and this may cause resentment and conflict. All of these things are absolutely manageable, and part of navigating mature relationships, but go into this scenario with your eyes wide open as to the potential drawbacks that may (or may not) occur.</p>
<p>Make sure this is one reason you are choosing this university and not the reason. Consider strongly if you would choose it as your number one dream school if you knew absolutely no one attending. That may help to clear the answer. Students pick one school over others for any number of reasons from academics, the campus, the food, the football teams, distance from home, social, you name it. You can only go to one and I’ve heard some pretty crazy reasons for knocking a school off the list. Going to a school because your friends are there vs a higher ranked one wouldn’t be the craziest. I’m not saying it’s my advise, it just wouldn’t be the oddest thing we’ve heard on CC.</p>
<p>“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>
<p>…and your clear evidence to support the above statement? Not all public universities are equivalent. For just one example, Michigan has a huge endowment compared to the other two public schools. The brand name will remain strong and not suffer if/as state funding dwindles. That is something to take into consideration as well. </p>
<p>[List</a> of colleges and universities in the United States by endowment - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_colleges_and_universities_in_the_United_States_by_endowment]List”>List of colleges and universities in the United States by endowment - Wikipedia)</p>
<p>Fair enough, rjkofnovi. Michigan’s endowment is impressive. The whole place is impressive. It’s a great school. Spend 15 minutes on the campus, and you can see the endowment writ large. But for the purposes of someone entering college for school year 2013-2014, there is every reason to believe Penn State and Maryland will still be in operation. Mostly I was agreeing with tk that if one were to consider that there are 3000-plus colleges and universities in the United States, then the differences in quality among programs ranked 7, 10 and 23 (or whatever) are probably small in relative terms. The rank difference in the CS programs at these schools is, IMO, probably not going to make a huge difference for any given individual. There are lots of variables, some of them predictable and some of them not. </p>
<p>Even if there were a difference, I would be surprised if someone could make a case that the difference is worth whatever $XX,XXX per year differential there would be between in-state tuition at Penn State and out-of-state tuition at Michigan, assuming Penn State is the in-state option (which is an assumption; perhaps not the case?). But forget money: If you thought you’d be HAPPIER closer to home at a GOOD school with people you like, and that’s important to you, is the GREAT school really going to be better for you? Lots of smart, capable kids choose these other schools and live to talk about it. </p>
<p>FWIW: If you look at Payscale data (I take this information and offer it with a grain of salt), the average mid-year career salaries of the three schools are quite close (Mich: $84,200; Maryland, 87,100; Penn State, 83,000). </p>
<p>So just to clarify: I’m not saying “stay home, young man [or young woman]!” I’m saying factor everything in and make a decision that works for you. The fact that Michigan has a well-deserved cachet does not mean it’s necessarily the right decision or a “no brainer” for the OP.</p>
<p>“But for the purposes of someone entering college for school year 2013-2014, there is every reason to believe Penn State and Maryland will still be in operation.”</p>
<p>I have no doubt that both schools will be in business for some time to come abs. However with the uncertainty of state funding nowadays, it would be prudent for any student looking at attending any university to make sure his/her choice will not be adversely affected by this economy.</p>
<p>^^^Indeed.</p>