As a Northeastern alumnus I am glad tht the OP chose Penn State.
Lots of helpful comments here, and I commend you for weathering the “should I transfer” criticism. I know I already put my two cents in when comparing PSU and NEU, but since (disclaimer alert) my DS is going to PSU and I went to Cornell for grad school, here’s another two cents from me:
Yes, Cornell Engineering is more highly ranked, and has the Ivy “aura”, but unless your dream job is really Consulting or Investment Banking, it’s probably not going to be worth transferring from PSU to Cornell as an undergrad. Just get an M.S. or an MBA or even a one-year Master’s in Engineering after undergrad, if you really want to get some of that “aura”.
Not only is it $20K/yr cheaper, but chances are that you’ll enjoy your undergrad more at Penn State. Socially, Penn State beats Cornell hands-down. After all, Cornell is even more out there in the boonies than Penn State is. And of course, all things being equal you should have a better chance of getting excellent grades at Penn State, which could translate to even better opportunities STEM-wise than Cornell (MIT, Stanford, etc.) in grad school.
I live near NYC, in a town with a significant New Englander population. Northeastern, BU, and BC are constantly on seniors college lists. PSU may have a lower rep because Rutgers is a competitor.
Both Northeastern and PSU are excellent.
You can always go to an Ivy for grad school if you want to; I know someone with a Yale School of Forestry degree who has risen to VP at a Fortune 50 company. No one remembers where she went undergrad, but she presents as a “Yale graduate” (look up Yale School of Forestry acceptance rates - around 30% from what I read).
@TomSrOfBoston Why do you say so?
@foilist Thanks for your analysis and recommendation! Yes, I do think I enjoy that bit of “prestige” aura, but it isn’t everything!
@rhandco Why do you say Northeastern is more prestigious than PennState? Because I’ve heard the opposite a little more often…? And I believe Rutgers is a notch lower than PSU and NEU in terms of rankings (Not academics or whatsoever so don’t sabotage me! :P)
I said that because Northeastern is not looking for students who feel that they had to "settle’ for the school. If you went there with the intention of transferring up you will not integrate into the school culture and may be a downer to other students if you express your opinion that you deserve better.
It is generally a mistake to go into any school thinking you are going to transfer. First, you won’t fully embrace the opportunities you have been given at that school. Second, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. “I won’t like it” becomes “I don’t like it.” Third, it’s not so easy to transfer. And fourth, do you REALLY want to go through all this again?
Penn State and Northeastern are probably a wash at the undergraduate level academically. Northeastern can be more selective, so the average student is more accomplished. But the quality of teaching at PSU is at least as good. Check program rankings for relative strengths of the schools. (the US News rankings rely more heavily on the quality of students and selectivity than on quality of faculty, which is most of the reason why private schools are given a boost over publics in that ranking. And among publics, schools that can be more selective, like UVA and the UCs, get a relative bump. Again, that is totally irrespective of academic/teaching/faculty quality, which - to me - should comprise most of the value in any ranking)
Thanks again for the replies guys!
@Chedva Yes thanks for the pointer! My mom’s kinda got that asian mom pride and nags me to transfer to the tops, and I guess I am kinda pressured to transfer. I know I will get quality education no matter what, also thanks to ratemyprofessor.com. 
@TomSrOfBoston yes, this is true. It was my second choice at the time, but it was my biggest reach and probably THE top ranked school on my list. I’ll hopefully get to see the Seahawks slap the Huskies around in CAA play, though. 
Also, as much as I hear of UIUC on here, I’ve never heard ANYONE in my school or anywhere near me EVER mention it. What are the best things about that school? Genuinely curious.
@LBad96, UIUC is very strong in engineering & CS (STEM in general) as well as accounting.
People where you are almost certainly don’t know everything about every college in the US, so what you say isn’t surprising. Where are you located? Lived in other parts of the country?
@PurpleTitan I was born and raised in New Jersey. The most talked about Midwestern schools where I live are Indiana University, University of Michigan, University of Wisconsin, and Notre Dame. More people have heard of UNCW than UIUC in my town.
@LBad96, UNC-Wilmington?
In any case, there are plenty of schools in the East that most people in the Midwest haven’t heard of either, so that’s not surprising. In both cases, it’s a reflection of insularity and ignorance more than anything.
@PurpleTitan yes, UNC Wilmington.
And ignorance? Ouch. No way is my school better than UIUC.
Penn State and Northeastern are not that great schools for someone with those scores. I would need more information as to why he was rejected. However, I assume the main reasons where ethnic quotas and relatively bad grades. Maybe also mediocre ECs. Think you should have had some better safety schools. RPI, which waitlisted you, is way above the schools you got into, so I think you might have been able to get into somewhere a little down from RPI.
Well, RPI is not a well rounded school I believe, as its strengths are more towards the engineering and science side. Perhaps that is why its ranking is lower than penn state’s?
My understanding is that RPI is ranked significantly above Penn State. I think part of the problem is you overestimated your chances and didn’t apply to enough school at about the level of RPI.
I had comparable stats to OP and I viewed PSU as a safety pretty much, maybe a low match. I do not think that Penn State being a safety school made it any worse and I’m happy to say I will be attending as part of the class of 2019.
Penn State may have a higher acceptance rate but it’s still a great school, and it does have some very good programs.
^ remember that the situation is different for internationals though. A safety for a domestic applicant is merely a match for an international and everything else is reaches.
If part of OP’s study was in Asia, that might have hurt him, as he might have been viewed as international, which is even worse than being viewed as Asian American.
cool, guys! how about UIUC? is it a safety? and RPI?