State flagship vs. Ivy League. Deadline tomorrow

<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>Are you looking to go into a career that will let you pay off the debt fairly quickly? If so, then take Penn.</p>

<p>Actually, I’m not completely sure what I want to do. I was thinking professor after getting a Ph.D. but I’d be open to even just doing consulting or small-level management if I don’t go to grad school.</p>

<p>If you don’t really know what you want to do then accumulating 25k+ in debt probably isn’t a good idea when your alternative is going to a good college for free where you feel more comfortable.</p>

<p>Work with the housing office at Penn and secure a safe off-campus apartment. You’ll adjust. Don’t pass up Penn.</p>

<p>I’d certainly be in favor of Penn, but I’m assuming that the debt is a total of 20-25K, not that much per year. I’m also assuming that you’ll have at least two years there to get the benefit of the experience. I’m a huge advocate of living on-campus, but 4 out of 10 at Penn don’t, so it’s not as if you’ll be isolated. Penn commuters will have come from all over the world to West Philly to center their lives around the campus. Many OSU commuters will be driving back and forth from home. There’s a qualitative difference there.</p>