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Penn State or VTech? (poll)
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RabidMongoose
Lifer
Those engineering ranks you are posting are mainly the result of the graduate work, not undergraduates. I would suggest you go to the best overall school for undergrad while also taking into account the financial aspect.
Triumph
Lifer
I think my highschool GPA was 3.2 or something. 1210 SAT. NO extracurricular crap in 4 years of high school. No AP classes. I got into VT, but I didn't get into Penn State (main). Of course this was in 1997, and VT was just starting to get popular. But I think you have a good chance of getting into either.
You're from Fairfax? I swear to god, 1/3 of the people I met at Tech were from Fairfax. Got kind of old after a while!
sciencewhiz
Diamond Member
I strongly agree with that.
RabidMongoose
Lifer
Another thing I should point out is that the engineering school of Vtech and PSU will likely have different average SAT and GPA scores than the school average. Are the averages you listed for the engineering school or for the school as a whole?
timosyy
Golden Member
How would I go about finding "the best overall school for undergrad" ?
And .. School as a whole ... not sure how to find engineering school averages. Well aware of the difference, though =/
Edit : ack .. rankings for engineering were for grad programs. the overall ranking is just college in general.
sciencewhiz
Diamond Member
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/e...kengineering_brief.php
You have to pay if you want the whole listings (either online, or by buying the magazine). Your college education is too important to be cheap about, though.
TheLonelyPhoenix
Diamond Member
I'm a student at VT, I also got accepted to both VT and Penn State.
I heard the Penn was the easier of the two to get into, but then again I know people here who got rejected from Penn State and accepted here.
Both have excellent engineering schools, I chose Tech mostly for the campus.
Just go visit, talk to people, and make your own decision.
I heard the Penn was the easier of the two to get into, but then again I know people here who got rejected from Penn State and accepted here.
Both have excellent engineering schools, I chose Tech mostly for the campus.
Just go visit, talk to people, and make your own decision.
Don't listen to acemcmac, I know who he knows at VT and PSU, and, well, I wouldn't take them as reliable sources of information 😉 BS on the graduate thing too, I've seen rankings specifically stating undergrad, and PSU still beats VT.
I'm a freshman and a bit at PSU (was here during the summer, so I'm in my second semester). I'm not in engineering but my roommate is, he's sitting on the other side of the room working right now. Don't worry about being challenged, you'll be worked to death at either program.
I had similar qualifications as you, a 3.3 GPA, 1420 SAT, and also Asian, but not nearly as many AP classes (took 2). You should definately be able to get in, unless the requirements for out of state students are much higher. If you do decide to come here, slack off in some of those classes right away and enjoy your senior year, the admissions offer is unconditional except graduation from high school. Taking them again will be a nice GPA booster anyway.
Anyway I've been having a great time here so pick PSU 😛 If you have any questions I'd be happy to answer them or find someone more suited to answer them...Good luck.
I'm a freshman and a bit at PSU (was here during the summer, so I'm in my second semester). I'm not in engineering but my roommate is, he's sitting on the other side of the room working right now. Don't worry about being challenged, you'll be worked to death at either program.
I had similar qualifications as you, a 3.3 GPA, 1420 SAT, and also Asian, but not nearly as many AP classes (took 2). You should definately be able to get in, unless the requirements for out of state students are much higher. If you do decide to come here, slack off in some of those classes right away and enjoy your senior year, the admissions offer is unconditional except graduation from high school. Taking them again will be a nice GPA booster anyway.
Anyway I've been having a great time here so pick PSU 😛 If you have any questions I'd be happy to answer them or find someone more suited to answer them...Good luck.
TheLonelyPhoenix
Diamond Member
Seeing as I'm the only guy acemcmac knows at VT, and I have no clue who the fvck you are, I don't see how you have any right to judge how "reliable" i am... or anyone else, for that matter. So I'd like you to keep your personal attacks to yourself.
As I said before, I'm not going to preach either way, both are great schools. The rankings at this level are irrevelant, both are extremely good and rated closely in comparable areas, and the quality of the program varies greatly with your specific engineering field. For example, Virginia Tech has the nation's #1 mining engineering program (the most highly paid engineering discipline, with the possible exception of nuclear). As I said, visit campuses, talk to people, and do some research. I don't foresee you having trouble getting into either school.
yeah, tehy're bickering about EE.... I dont know what kind of major aswedc is, but I know he doesen't have the guts for EE... CS or CE possibly, but not EE.....
I'm a CS major.... you engineering guys are teh unloose @ math.... hell I can barley keep up with calc 1 stuff... good luck
TheLonelyPhoenix
Diamond Member
I'm an Electrical Engineer (at VT, the curriculums for EE and CpE are equivalent for the first two years). As I remember, PSU and VT had almost identical programs for that discipline. However, VT now has a top 3 in the world supercomputer, while PSU went and spent their money on a stock trading floor for their business majors. Says something to me.
TheLonelyPhoenix: I was referring to [censored] actually. My bad, no personal attack intended. And if he gets offended, well, he's probably too stoned to get offended 😛
acemcmac: I've been here 10 weeks, so take that 😎. Anyway, you go to West Chester so what do you know about college 😉 j/k And yes, I'm not in EE or CS, but does EE or CS at WC have a 54k starting salary? I thought not. 🙂
From the replies here I'm thinking which school is better for you really depends on what kind of person you are. I don't want to get anyone else in this thread pissed off, so give me a PM if you want to talk.
acemcmac: I've been here 10 weeks, so take that 😎. Anyway, you go to West Chester so what do you know about college 😉 j/k And yes, I'm not in EE or CS, but does EE or CS at WC have a 54k starting salary? I thought not. 🙂
From the replies here I'm thinking which school is better for you really depends on what kind of person you are. I don't want to get anyone else in this thread pissed off, so give me a PM if you want to talk.
TheLonelyPhoenix
Diamond Member
You claimed to know acemcmac's contact at VT was an unreliable source. That contact is me. I don't know who you are. Thus, it follows that you probably don't know who I am. I fail to see how this wasn't a personal attack.
[EDIT] On a side note, do the other guys here a favor and dont use their personal info in a reply unless they choose to disclose it themselves first.
I went to PSU about 20 years ago. At the time, I think it took about 1200+ SATs and maybe 3.4+ GPA, for a Caucasian applicant to get into the Engineering Program. A friend who was a minority (black) got in with somewhat less, but I can't recall exactly. But that was long ago, so I don't know what the current standards are.
General comments about PSU:
--alot of nothing around you. If you like to ski, Tussy Mtn. If you like to hike, bike, fish, etc, many state parks. We use to go into the state parks, hook a rope up to the bumper of a Jeep, and snow surf. If your the outdoorsy type there is much to do.
--party time, it excels here. Probably enough on that subject.
--school - if you are self motivated, you can learn. If you need to have close teacher-student interaction, PSU is definitely not for you. My classes ranged from 1000+ in the beginning to 6 at the end. Some classes were so big, that I would only show up for tests as the classes were the same crap tought 20 years before I got there.
I think the first 2 years of PSU education is designed to weed people out of engineering that cannot learn on their own. The grading system is generally on a huge curve. In many of my classes 60-70% grades equated to A's. I remember getting a 40something on chemistry final and my grade actually going up to a B+. The general testing was SAT like in form with multiple guess answers, however the answers to choose from (except one) were all the resultants you would get if you made a mistake in your reasoning or mathematics in the course of solving the problem. All answers were designed to trick you.
The second two years was better. I think the philosophy was if you could make the first two years on your own, it's time to really teach you something. Some classes actually had mandatory attendance. And a few very advanced classes had 15 or less students. Classes actually got pretty demanding at this level. I did acually use alot of what I was taught.
Overall I would recommend the PSU-type engineering program if you are a self learner and handle stress well. That aspect alone of PSU has greatly helped me in the construction industry. If you like or need alot of interaction with the teachers, I would not rate it near the top.
General comments about PSU:
--alot of nothing around you. If you like to ski, Tussy Mtn. If you like to hike, bike, fish, etc, many state parks. We use to go into the state parks, hook a rope up to the bumper of a Jeep, and snow surf. If your the outdoorsy type there is much to do.
--party time, it excels here. Probably enough on that subject.
--school - if you are self motivated, you can learn. If you need to have close teacher-student interaction, PSU is definitely not for you. My classes ranged from 1000+ in the beginning to 6 at the end. Some classes were so big, that I would only show up for tests as the classes were the same crap tought 20 years before I got there.
I think the first 2 years of PSU education is designed to weed people out of engineering that cannot learn on their own. The grading system is generally on a huge curve. In many of my classes 60-70% grades equated to A's. I remember getting a 40something on chemistry final and my grade actually going up to a B+. The general testing was SAT like in form with multiple guess answers, however the answers to choose from (except one) were all the resultants you would get if you made a mistake in your reasoning or mathematics in the course of solving the problem. All answers were designed to trick you.
The second two years was better. I think the philosophy was if you could make the first two years on your own, it's time to really teach you something. Some classes actually had mandatory attendance. And a few very advanced classes had 15 or less students. Classes actually got pretty demanding at this level. I did acually use alot of what I was taught.
Overall I would recommend the PSU-type engineering program if you are a self learner and handle stress well. That aspect alone of PSU has greatly helped me in the construction industry. If you like or need alot of interaction with the teachers, I would not rate it near the top.
SUOrangeman
Diamond Member
What? No mention of GMU? (slaps forehead)
I'm sure that PSU and VT have fine programs (I was headed to VT on a piece-mail full-ride way back in the day). However, GMU presents several opportunities right under your nose.
Think about it. Do you expect to work in State College or Blacksburg ... or would you be better served getting an education in what may be the best IT region on the East Coast? I didn't realize it at the time, but several faculty members are very active in industry. Heck, I'm now a co-worker of folks who taught me only a few years ago!
Given GMU's relative youth (what a 40-year-old university), it's not set in its ways resting on its laurels. We've got Nobel and Pulitzer honorees and all types of other distinguished faculty coming out of our wazoo. I'm sure that other schools have similar credentials, but the air of aristocracy at some schools makes those folks untouchable. You might get invited to dinner with a prof at GMU!
I also believe that GMU is the most diverse (within the top 5, at worst) school in the country. And now, we are officially the largest school in the state ... yes, larger than VT and VCU. Don't automatically assume that GMU sacrifices academics in the process of growing.
I could go on and on, but I won't for now. I strongly encourage you to give GMU a serious look. After all, I'm not asking you to travel hours!
-SUO
GMU BS Elec. Eng 1997
I'm sure that PSU and VT have fine programs (I was headed to VT on a piece-mail full-ride way back in the day). However, GMU presents several opportunities right under your nose.
Think about it. Do you expect to work in State College or Blacksburg ... or would you be better served getting an education in what may be the best IT region on the East Coast? I didn't realize it at the time, but several faculty members are very active in industry. Heck, I'm now a co-worker of folks who taught me only a few years ago!
Given GMU's relative youth (what a 40-year-old university), it's not set in its ways resting on its laurels. We've got Nobel and Pulitzer honorees and all types of other distinguished faculty coming out of our wazoo. I'm sure that other schools have similar credentials, but the air of aristocracy at some schools makes those folks untouchable. You might get invited to dinner with a prof at GMU!
I also believe that GMU is the most diverse (within the top 5, at worst) school in the country. And now, we are officially the largest school in the state ... yes, larger than VT and VCU. Don't automatically assume that GMU sacrifices academics in the process of growing.
I could go on and on, but I won't for now. I strongly encourage you to give GMU a serious look. After all, I'm not asking you to travel hours!
-SUO
GMU BS Elec. Eng 1997
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