I think it really depends on where you’re coming from and what YOU want, @MrAccountant.
San Diego is one of the most beautiful cities in the US, and I knew someone several years ago who got his accounting degree there and did fine as far as I know career-wise. I’ve never been to Indianapolis, but it’s certainly a bigger city than Altoona. State College is beautiful, but it’s a classic “college town in the middle of nowhere.” But you won’t be there for two years, so only you can decide if two years in Altoona is worth it to have your final two years at UP. PSU has fabulous job placement, but I really don’t think for someone with an accounting degree that’s as big a concern as some other majors.
I’m no expert on any of these schools. My son strongly considered PSU for engineering (but passed on it for another school that was offering him major merit money) and my sister is a Penn State grad. I’m all about value (cost in relations to quality). You say price isn’t a factor, but are they all the same price? Money spent now is money that can’t be spent later for graduate school, a home purchase, or whatever.
Also, how many years will it take you to complete these programs? Can you get in and out of IU in four years if you need to take prerequisites to get into Kelley? If it’s going to take you 4.5 years, you need to weigh the costs.
Are you planning to stay in the US or return home after you graduate? You need to figure out which school will help you meet those goals best. I can’t answer that for you.
As far as weather and parties go, San Diego is beautiful year round. The other two schools will be cold during the bulk of the school year. They all have party-hard reputations, but there’s no requirement that you do so.
I am a PSU alumni as is my husband and my daughter is at UP now. My husband and I both started at Altoona and had vastly different experiences. My husband LOVED it - I did not. I lasted a semester there and transferred to UP (back then, you could do that - you can’t do that any longer. It’s 2 years at the branch campus). I was made for a big school. At that time, Altoona was half the size it is now. If it were the nearly 5000 students now, I might have fared better. I also wanted to leave high school behind and literally 10 girls from my HS were on my dorm floor. I couldn’t wait to leave. You won’t have that same problem. But, my husband lived off campus both years and had quite the experiences with parties etc…
Altoona Campus is in the middle of a neighborhood. There is some shopping and restaurants nearby. But the main part of Altoona is some distance away (you’d have to take a bus if you didn’t have a car). Google map the campus and you will see what I mean.
I am actually taking my son there on a tour this week. It’s a beautiful campus and he has friends there now who love it. My point is, everyone’s experience will be different.
It is the closest branch to UP so a lot of kids go up to UP for football games and social life. The winters are harsh, but no different than at UP.
Keep in mind, that you are “pre major” at PSU also. You have requirements you will need to meet in order to officially be IN the major junior year. This goes for every single major at PSU.
If cost isn’t a factor then you really just have to decide atmosphere. To me, there is no better atmosphere than PSU UP and if going to Altoona got me there, that’s what I’d do. But, it’s not for everyone.
Where are you coming from internationally? Are you coming from a very big city? Rural area? What’s the climate where you live now? @MrAccountant
@jlhpsu, long time no speak. I hope your daughter is enjoying her time at UP!
Since you’re an alumna, I’ll defer to your insights about Altoona. Can you comment on how many internationals are on campus? Or even out-of-state students?
I guess I have a hard time imagining paying out-of-state tuition for a branch campus. They’re not that much cheaper than UP, are they?
The closest branch campus to me is Brandywine, and I don’t think they have many students from other parts of the state attending there, let alone the US or internationally. And I realize Altoona is a much bigger branch, but it’s still hard for me to picture an international student there.
State College? Most definitely, if the student can handle the weather. But the branches just seem like community colleges in comparison.
If I were forced to choose, I’d choose between SDSU (due to its location) and IU (because Kelley is top-ranked).
@MrAccountant, you might want to pose your question in the College Search & Selection forum so you can get more feedback.
@MrAccountant – You should also look into MAcc program at each school your considering.
My daughter is a CPA at one of the big 4, started in PA and is now in Boston. She graduated from a smaller LAC, but she is working with plenty of PSU grads.
@LucietheLakie She is loving UP (of course!). Altoona is 76% white and only 20% out of state - so that includes everywhere else and international. I can’t imagine there are many international students. But again, how comfortable a student is probably depends on where internationally a student is coming from. Some cultures will be closer to Altoona and others very, very far.
OOS tuition is VERY high even at the branch campus. It really depends on how much you want to go to PSU. If it’s all the same, and you want a big school right off the bat - then Altoona is probably not it. It’s pretty, but it’s small and not close to much within walking distance. Parties can be found at any school
^ 2+2 will likely have more straightforward requirements, but there are other factors in play… For example, if you’re not from PA you’ll be paying pretty high OOS tuition for two years at a branch campus, which might not be worth it to you.
The MAJOR really matters too. When my son elected to take the money from Bama, we figured if he wasn’t happy so far from home, he could always transfer to Penn State UP (he’d been admitted as an undeclared engineer at both).
WRONG!
He’s now a mechanical engineering major, and you CANNOT transfer into that major (and several others) at Penn State UP from another university. If you’re in that situation, and you’re in state, it might be wiser to go with the 2+2.
(Personally, I don’t think it makes sense to choose Penn State as an OOS student unless your parents can write the check with ease, or at least with just Stafford loans.)
So keep the potential majors in mind. Fortunately for us, my son has been happy at Bama, but believe me, I freaked out when I realized I’d missed that VERY important technicality when he made his decision two years ago.
@abeal123 Just had our accepted student day today for Smeal and @LucieTheLakie is correct. You can not transfer into Smeal from another university. If you want Smeal you have to begin at a branch campus if not admitted to UP.
DD accepted for summer session…doesn’t want to attend…thinking about Abington for a year then wants to transfer to UP. Is that possible? Undecided major
@TM1096 They usually don’t let you transfer as a sophomore. She can do the 2 + 2. Two years at Abington and two years at UP. My son didn’t want to do the summer either but heard from a lot of students who did it that they wouldn’t trade it and it was a great experience for them. He’s actually looking forward to it now.
@japsmom I too have heard that summer session is a great experience…she is calling admissions today…let her hear it directly from them. I am not opposed to 2 + 2 it would save a lot of money. PSU really expensive…certainly not like that when I graduated from PSU
@TM1095 Unless her major requires it, she won’t be able to transfer in Sophomore year. They only admit to UP for freshman year, or junior year…even if you are transferring from another university. My husband did 2+2 at Altoona many years ago, and I did a 1+3 at Altoona back when you could do that (1990).
Hello, am an International Undergraduate Student an I just got accepted into Penn State Behrend with this program, what will you reccomend, go to PSU and transfer after two years to the main campus or go to an european university like Exeter for example and study there instead?
Also is there anyway for me to transfer to the main campus earlier, or even better start at it? While my GPA is a bit lacking my SAT score wasn’t bad.
@kherpi You cannot start at main campus earlier than your second year if you were accepted to a branch campus. I don’t know the answer to your question about a European univ. as I don’t know anything about them. Behrend is a beautiful campus. Hilly though, and in North East PA so lots of snow. 60% of all PSU students start at a branch campus and end at Main campus. It’s common and people seem to do really well with that. I think it also depends on your major as far as deciding which university is a better fit. Good luck!
Just curious how many students come to Main campus from the branch campuses starting their junior year? It would seem that it would swell the student population of juniors and seniors.
UP has ~46,000 undergrads last I checked. There were about 8,000 in my UP freshman class. 46k - 8k freshmen - 8k sophomores = 30k juniors and seniors, or 15k each. So, 7,000 transfers junior year by rough estimate?
I am a senior at high school, going to college next year. And I want to be a landscape architecture. Is there any chance that I can through penn state 2+2 plan transfer to landscape architecture. what are the requirements and I have not take sketching before, and I don’t have any drawing skill, but I really want to do landscape architecture as my major, what should I do, and what should I prepare for landscape architecture as a major??? can someone please help me with this???
It appears to be a five-year program. Check out their change of major / campus section on the page above. If that doesn’t help, try calling the academic advisor listed on that pamphlet.
I am finishing up my junior year,about to start applying to Penn State. I would like to get into main because it is my dream school,but my parents are making me attend commonwealth campus the first two years,even if I get in, so would I be able to still take a double major/minor during my third and fourth years. I hope to study Computer Science and Business Management/Administration,with a minor in Political Science. How liberal or moderate is Penn State UP? I would like to attend a very moderate school,so I don’t recieve difficulty from others.
