Agree w/ post up thread. Wherever your son may go, make sure there are other options for majors. DS & most of his friends were going into engineering/computer science. A few have left the STEM majors completely & even those who stayed in engineering switched into a different program.
Make sure to come back and post about your experiences w/ visit at UPJ, as it would helpful for others.
@laralei I will check when we visit. Most likely we will attend an Admotted Students Day at Johnstown as it doesn’t look like an Engineering Day is scheduled. We are 4 hours away so will need to go the night before. My son does not want to attend Shippensburg’s Admitted Students Day as he said he has already visited and has no additional questions. I will post about our experience
I can see why DS wouldn’t want to attend yet another day at Ship. It’s still on his list, so really isn’t necessary. Although, I am not one for visiting campuses.
Hope he enjoys his visit & it becomes a viable option for him.
@laralei thank you, glad to hear you agree with him. His other reason was that he didn’t want to miss another day of school. Looking forward to the visit and hope it’s a helpful one.
As I mentioned in a previous thread, we are visiting Pitt Johnstown on Friday. Would someone let me know what questions I should ask? Part of the Admitted Students Day will be meeting the Engineering department chair. I am still somewhat concerned that PItt Johnstown is not ABET accredited yet. I might feel better once I talk to the dept. chair. Nonetheless I will leave it up to my son to decide whether he wants to attend Ship or PItt Johnstown. Thanks in advance for everyone’s help!
Could you talk to your son and see if he would have any questions about the computer engineering program there?
As a parent I would ask about coop opportunities and how they are going to ensure that the program will receive ABET accreditation.
Is it mirrored after the program at Pitt main, etc
Are there living learning opportunities? What are they? Can you visit or talk to someone, either a student or the director of a LLC?
What’s the process to get into honors (if it’s not automatic) as well as the benefits ? (If he’s already been admitted to honors, email the honors chair/director and ask if they can arrange a meeting with a professor, a chat and/ coffee with current honors students, and sitting in on an honors class).
How does the college and the courses engage with the Johnstown community?
Are there classes that take the students to Pittsburgh, say to the museums there or for other opportunities?
What does the college typically organize for evening weekends? (This will also give you an idea whether they plan for students to remain on campus on weekends - also check the library hours, should be something like 10am or noon to midnight on Saturday and Sunday, as well as the cafeteria, there should be brunch and dinner offered both days - if not, ask what the college has planned for the students on campus: food trucks, coupons to eat in town, grocery runs to cook in dorm kitchens, nothing…?)
What’s the co-op process and how is it facilitated? Does the career center maintain a database to help search?
Can Engineering students study abroad and have access to stem classes? Does financial aid apply to abroad time and are there extra scholarships?
Do Pitt Johnstown students have access to any career events or career fair at Pitt Main? In general, what is the relationship between Pitt Johnstown and Pitt Main?
Ask a student: what’s the best reason to attend Pitt Johnstown? A pitfall to avoid? Cool things to do on a weekend? What do you typically do on Wednesdays (answer should include class, clubs, work, homework, hanging out with friends - and not ‘wild parties’).
What’s your favorite class and why? Are there classes everyone should take? Did you live in dorms freshman year, what are the best ones?
Read the campus paper (try to find older copies - see if there’s a campus office where they can provide you with these.) What is getting the students excited? Outraged? Concerned? (<= Don’t get alarmed. This is college. It’s the way 18-22 year olds engage with the world). What do they report on, are the articles well-written? Are the discussions civil and interesting? Do they report on arts and culture in the area or in general or not at all? (College is also a time to watch films and plays, go to concerts and games, attend famous lectures/conferences…)
Try to eat in the cafeteria and try to gauge the good quality. Are the students social, chatting, meeting friends?
Observe the campus and its surroundings: is it well maintained or does it feel depressing to walk through? Is there anything within walking distance?
During the rec center visit, ask about whether they knew material, the conditions to work out there (is there a fee or is it included in the cost if attendance? Do students have to book materials/rooms ahead of time?) How easy is it for intramural teams to book and play?
I would ask if they can utilize Pitt main for co-op, job fair, internship opportunities. I think they do share that but might want to check on what Pitt main provides to satellite campus students.
Thank you @mommdc
@MYOS1634 Thank you! I don’t think there is a lot to do in Johnstown which disappoints me. These are great questions !
Wow, @MYOS1634, UPJ won’t know what hit them! 
Was talking to someone the other day, and w/ kids getting ready for college, topic of where kids are going came up. He mentioned his daughter is also considering Pitt Johnstown, as she is considering engineering & he won’t do PSU or Pitt main campus.
Maybe PA parents are getting smarter with their money.
Hope you and your son have a great trip @Collegefrazzled!
But if there’s a little something within walkable distance and something to do within a 45mn drive it’s usually good for students. The question about engineering majors being able to go abroad - if he goes Spring sophomore year or Fall junior year, typically it’d be enough to break the monotony.
@MYOS1634 Good point about going abroad. I know that Pitt participates in the GE3 program (Global Engineering Education Exchange) along with a lot of other US and foreign universities . It’s objective is to enable engineers to study engineering abroad while taking required courses in the major - something that a lot of study abroad programs fail to do. I would specifically ask if Pitt - Johnstown students have access to this program.
@Collegefrazzled : looking forward to your report 
College visit went well. My son likes the college. I am giving him some time to decide where he wants to attend. They do utilize Pitt main for co-op,and internship opportunities. It didn’t sound like they push for co-ops. Co-ops are not required but are available. They recommend it to anyone still trying to decide what to do – which path to take. However, all of the faculty have worked in industry so they teach a lot of practice and help students make decisions about career routes. They are not currently accredited but do not foresee this to be a problem. Busing to the Pitt football games is included in the tuition. They also provide busing to Pitt Main once a month for a weekend trip. In addition they have a bigger bus trip each semester (NYC, Maryland). Dorms were nice, they reminded me of a ski lodge. Rooms are much smaller than the rooms at Ship. We saw the Freshman Dorms. Laundry and game room are located in the basement. Dorms include refrigerator/microwave. I was told the upperclassman dorms are bigger. The student that gave us a tour told us he moved off campus but plans to move back on campus because it’s more convenient to get to classes. We were able to eat lunch in the cafeteria. Food was good. They had a lot of variety to choose from. The weekends they open for brunch instead of breakfast because the students tend to sleep late. Students told me there are lots of activities planned on campus. There is an application they can load on their phones that tell them what activities are going on. They get discounts to a local movie cinema and there is a nearby Mall. When we visited, it was snowing and lots of snow on the ground! My son said he likes the campus now so will probably really like it in the Spring when you can see the grass and it’s warmer out. I can’t thank everyone enough to suggest this branch campus. I can’t remember who told me but I am grateful. Now I need to research what type of loans to take out to pay for the tuition. My guess is there is a forum somewhere on this site for that.
That sounds great! I am glad he enjoyed his visit!
I believe @MYOS1634 first suggested UPJ in post #36.
I was talking about Bradford campus because I knew about the scholarship there, but I did not know that UPJ also offered a good scholarship, and had a four year computer engineering degree.
Sounds like they have good resources and support for the students there.
Coop can be a good thing, you earn money and don’t pay tuition during that term. It would delay graduation a bit, but could make it easier for him to find a job.
You or he don’t have to decide about that now.
From what I remember, UPJ was the lowest cost option of all the schools.
About $13,900 for engineering tuition and fees, right? And another $9,900 for room and board.
So $23,800 for direct billed costs. Minus his $5,500 scholarship. So $18,300 per year.
Encourage your son to look for a part time job now, so he has it for the summer.
If he can earn $3,000 and takes his $5,500 freshman student loan, then he’d have $8,500.
So then that leaves $9,800.
You said you have $3,000 in a PA 529.
Have him talk to his guidance counselor about local scholarships. Even if they are only for one year, they can help.
I think Ship was a bit more. If tuition, fees, room and board are $24,500, then with his scholarship it would be $22,500.
@mommdc Pitt Johnstown is about $19,500 and Ship is about $23K. He will take out the Federal student loan. I am not sure if I should use the entire 3K in my PA 529 or not. I am also not sure if I should take money from my savings right away to pay this year’s tuition or spread the money out for the 4 year tuition. I am thinking about taking out a private loan in his name and I will co-sign. For my oldest son I took out a Parent Plus loan and then paid it with a Home Equity Line of Credit. I want to do things differently because the loan is now in my name. I think if it was in my son’s name then he would take ownership for the loan. Right now he is not paying me for the loan because he was recently laid off so wants to wait until he gets a job. I have to research what bank will give the best rates. I heard Citizen’s Bank is the best. I am so overwhelmed with this.
Do you have financial aid awards from both schools?
I don’t know much about private loans, but as a cosigner the loans will be in your name too, right? What are the interest rates?
The goal is to borrow only what’s absolutely necessary.
If you can cover the first year with savings and 529, that might be preferable to interest accumulating already on a private loan.
I know my S is going to apply to all the local scholarships he is eligible for, and he is going to work this summer.
Maybe after a year or so your son will want to do a co-op and he can use that money towards school as well.
@mommdc We received financial aid awards at both colleges. My son told me this afternoon he wants to go to Pitt Johnstown! Thank you @MYOS1634 for suggesting this college! It’s true the private loan will be in my name too.
I am happy for you and your son!
UPJ is a great choice for him!
I was just wondering if the financial aid award included just direct billed costs like tuition, fees, room and board, or if it also included estimated miscellaneous expenses like books and personal expenses that the school doesn’t bill for.