<p>I applied to three schools so far, Rutgers, Penn state and Lehigh.</p>
<p>I got into Penn state and according to a friend it is likely I'll get into Rutgers too.
So right now I think I narrowed it down to Rutgers and Penn. Which one would be better suited for me? In terms of Academics, opportunities after I graduate, atmosphere in campus. If I go to Rutgers I'll definetely commute because it's much cheaper, and I'll have to dorm if I choose Penn. A close friend of mine recommended Rutgers because over there people will take their studies more seriously than at Penn State because of its party school reputation. Personally, I'm not a partier, but I like to have fun and this doesn't necessarily have to involve drinking. I also might feel uncomfortable in an environment where people just slack and don't care about the stuff that matters. However, Penn State engineering is one of the top programs in the country, especially for my major. Sooo I'm a little confused on what to choose. Any suggestions?</p>
<p>Personally, I visited Lehigh and didn’t like it. It was very stereotypical “frat, nerds, and preppy girls” and had little to no diversity. Either one was a drinker or nerd looking down on drinkers and that bugged me. But maybe I just had a bad time. </p>
<p>I’d say Rutgers, any school is gonna have some partying and any engineering school is gonna be hard but I just don’t like the largeness of Penn state.</p>
<p>I don’t know much about Lehigh, but I’d go with Penn State if choosing between there and Rutgers. Every big state school is going to have partying, but there are also going to be students that don’t. So I wouldn’t make a decision based on which school has less parties when comparing two large state schools. To my knowledge Penn stage is a better engineering school than Rutgers, which is one reason why I would lean that way. Another reason is that if you go to Penn State you’ll be able to stay at the dorms. </p>
<p>Living in the dorms during my undergrad was such an amazing experience, I couldn’t imagine not having it. Unlike high school, you don’t make that many friends from classes, your core group of friends gets made in the dorms. So if you decide to commute, you are really going to miss out on that aspect of college life. That isn’t to say you won’t make friends in classes, but it will be significantly harder to make a close group of friends.</p>
<p>I got into Rutgers too! Penn state ranks a bit higher, but I didn’t even apply there because it would cost like twice as much for me to go out of state. If cost is a big factor, go to Rutgers. It’s a decent school, and it’s also pretty big and has plenty of social opportunities.</p>