<p>Hi. I also posted this on the U Pitt discussion, but I'm interested to know what kind of responses I'd get over here.</p>
<p>I know it's kind of like comparing apples and oranges, but could anyone answer the following Q. For my well-traveled daughter from the NYC area who is an undeclared major and is pretty social but not super outgoing, for whom school comes very easily but she doesn't really have a focus yet, can you help outline a few of the difference between Penn State and U Pitt? I know they are in quite different environments (city vs. state college) and different sizes. My daughter is a very undeclared major. She has been interested at various points in history, science, math... so it's hard to tell where she'll end up. BTW, we live in an NYC suburb, and she loves going into the city..
And naturally, the decision is totally up to her anyway.
We are about to visit U Pitt. Ater visiting PSU, she was 100% sold, but lately she has though she ought to consider some other acceptances before May 1 passes.
I am really curious about what people on this board would say.
Thanks!</p>
<p>I have child #1 at PSU. I visited Pitt with child #2. The campuses are so very different than each other that I would venture a guess that your daughter will know which one is for her after the visit. Does she want the resources of a small (compared to NYC) city, or does she want a town where everything revolves around the university? Whose to say which is “better”? The football atmosphere at PSU is awesome, but Pitt basketball is amazing too. Academically they are similar, so it is really going to come down to “the feel” of the campus. Good luck! (I know which I liked better, but that was based solely on where I feel more comfortable.)</p>
<p>Yeah I’m going to Penn State and my brother goes to Pitt. Pitt’s campus in Oakland is nice, and I really think it’s unfair to say that State College revolves around PSU, but that Oakland doesn’t revolve around Pitt. Drive down Forbes during the day and students are everywhere; go in the restaurants and bars and they’re all packed with students. The Cathedral of Learning literally towers over Oakland. Basically, Oakland is dominated by Pitt and nearby CMU.</p>
<p>With that said, State College and Oakland are very different places. Penn State has its own, self-contained campus, whereas Pitt has its buildings intermingled with various restaurants and businesses. Penn State has become increasingly friendly to pedestrians, whereas Pitt is divided by 5th and Forbes, two, one-way, 4 or 5 lane boulevards.</p>
<p>It’s really impossible to quantify the benefits and shortcomings of each school’s campus. Overall, the schools are basically equals in terms of academics, so I think most people make their decisions based on the “intangibles.”</p>
<p>If she is undecided Penn State has DUS (Division of Undergraduate Studies) option. It is for those who don’t know what they want to do. It is more than just enrolling “undecided”
[Division</a> of Undergraduate Studies](<a href=“http://www.psu.edu/dus/]Division”>http://www.psu.edu/dus/)
I do not know if Pitt has anything similar.</p>
<p>I recommend that you send in your deposits etc. to Penn State ASAP. Registration for classes, housing etc is all based on when you sent in your deposits. My son sent in his deposit in early March, and this was relatively late; he ended up with a late FTCAP (registration and orientation) day and it was hard to get into arrange a decent course schedule. His friend sent in the deposit even later, and he ended up in supplemental housing with 8 kids in one room.</p>
<p>That being said, PSU has a great division of undergraduate studies (undecided majors). The guidance counselors are full time, they don’t teach classes on the side. My son lives in Discover House, floor for undecided majors and it’s been great for him. It fills up quickly,though.</p>
<p>This blows. I get to register for classes April 1st, and most of the courses/sections that I want are already full. I can’t imagine what incoming freshmans have to deal with.</p>
<p>We just visited Pitt last weekend for my son. The incoming freshmen have a mandatory academic orientation May-June called PittStart. The students take on line placement exams in advance (except some foreign lang. they take there) and then when they attend PittStart, make their schedules for the fall. I like that idea. PSU does placement testing I know (at FTCAP), but I don’t think my daughter had time set aside to spend a weekend in her h.s. senior year to make her fall schedule. It may be different with Schreyers…</p>
<p>I didn’t mean this as a negative…just that there are other colleges in Pgh. State College is what it is because of PSU. It’s just 2 different atmospheres. One isn’t better than the other…they are just different that each other.</p>
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<p>Applemom- I have two daughters one at Pitt and one at Penn State. The daughter at Penn State likes to have fun, but also takes her coursework seriously. She was not thrilled with a large school but has managed to find people and activities that make it smaller…she see someone she knows a few times a day! She has thought about so many majors and Penn State allows you to try or explore all the options. She took the initiative to speak to advisers in various departments to determine what the curriculum and job market would be, and if they matched her interest. I think she has ruled out four different majors, and she is only a freshman. Her primary interest is in the agriculture department, but she has spanned journalism, education, photography, etc. Only a Penn State could you find such diverse majors. State College feels safe to me and I have always lived in cities. It is a town…a college town.
My other daughter lives off campus now, loves the city of Pittsburgh and could not imagine being at Penn State. She is friendly with lots of people who are not students, whereas Penn State, I am not sure if that is possible…
So I think the environment is what is so different…my daughter who is at Penn State never considered Pitt…when it comes to academics they are the same, depending on the individual strengths of the department.
Hope this helps.</p>