Hey guys,
I have recently been accepted to Penn State University park and Villanova for mechanical engineering. I’m torn between the two schools. With price aside, which school is better for engineering.
Thanks!
Did Villanova release ED decisions ? They are not rolling admissions.
States on their website that ED will be out Dec 15th
You can’t possibly have been admitted to Villanova ED yet. Decisions aren’t out. It’s be better if you made it clear ita a hypothetical.
Nevertheless, I’ll respond.
It will hinge on two factors:
- do you want to take a theology course as well as a Humanities course dealing with Ancient texts (including Scripture, philosophy, classical literature up to the Renaissance) and a Humanities course dealing with Modern thinkers (Reformation, Absolutism, Age of Baroque, Classicism, Enlightenment, Industrial revolution…)? It’s a first year requirement at Villanova.
- how comfortable are you in the very large, lecture classes at Penn State? How much do you expect your college life to be “country club lite” and what’s your tolerance for a large, public university?
Of course, getting into Schreyer would change things wrt Penn State v. Villanova: did you apply?
The key factor is likely costs, what did the NPC indicate your net price to be at each? What can your parents afford out of pocket (from income and savings only)?
Sorry for the confusion. I have received acceptance to Penn State, but have no doubt about being accepted to Villanova. #4 in my class, 4.0 unweighted gpa, great test scores, etc.
I know Penn State has a highly regarded engineering program, but it’s also very much a party school. I’m not going to college to drink and party.
I’m not necessarily put off by the large lectures, as class size decreases as you get into major specific classes.
I’m not necessarily drawn towards the required Villanova classes, but also not opposed. I’ve been leaning towards Villanova, however, as I feel like my quality of education will be better. No TAs, professors aren’t necessarily there only for their research, etc.
I’m just looking for some opinions because both schools are different and good in their own ways. Thanks!
Engineering is more highly regarded at Penn state but quality of general education will be better at Villanova, unless you’re admitted to Schreyer. Schreyer mitigates this with a lot of choices when it comes to gen eds. The Schreyer first year sequence is very good for instance, with speeches to make, blog posts to write… You also have a lot of choices (v. The restricted nature of the gen eds at Villanova). And Schreyer classes are only taught by professors. Tip: always pick the discussion section led by the professor, unless the TA had been there a year or more AND is excellent.
Personally I’d pick Schreyer over Villanova, but in terms of regular PSU v. Villanova I’d hesitate as you do.
As for party school, it’s true in general but not for individuals, in that like all big state schools there are tons of activities provided on campus (crafts, free films, concerts, outdoors trips…) So that students who complain there’s nothing to do but drink really show their own lack of initiative and curiosity. Penn State being a party school shouldn’t be a criterion (especially since Villanova has lots of students choosing to drink too 
).
However the engineering classes getting smaller isn’t really true, they’ll be large throughout I think.
@bodangles?
Penn State does claim that their engineering classes go down to 25-30 jr/senior year. (A lot of kids change majors realizing how tough the major really is).
I hadn’t really given much thought to the honors college before hand. Thanks for pointing out all the positives. I’m going to fill out my application for that soon now! Thanks for the insight.
Honors College selection rests on course rigor (and grades), essays, EC’s, and letters of recommendation. (Beside all the perks, acceptance comes with a scholarship).
However I think that for this year deadlines were 12/3 so HURRY … hopefully you’re a good writer because the essays will be evaluated by professors who want to see how you think and whether they’d want you in their (discussion-based) classes. So a half baked effort on essays is not good, but turning in that application late isn’t a good idea… you’ll have to balance time v. quality. Do your best.
For me, ChemE major classes (thermo, heat transfer, etc.) have still been around 100-250 people, even junior and senior year. Maybe they make more of an effort to offer multiple sections of required classes with mechanical, because I believe that major is larger than mine.
Thank you! The deadline is 12/20 so I have plenty of time and the worlds best English teacher to review my writing. Thanks guys 