Pitt Johnson or Penn State Altoona (Pittsburgh, Johnstown: transferring to, schools, university)

[okaydorothy]

Oh my poor kid. He has the above choice to make. He is pretty bummed as he wanted to get into the main campus's but got into the other campus's instead. Its ok. Amazing one of the kids in his class with a lower SAT score (1050) got into Penn State Main. The reason ; her dad is good friends with the powers that be.

Anyway, can anyone voice their opinions on either ; good, bad or ugly?

[guy2073]

There are a lot of reasons why colleges chose one applicant over another. He will be able to transfer to the main campus once he proves himself.

[okaydorothy]

Originally Posted by guy2073

There are a lot of reasons why colleges chose one applicant over another. He will be able to transfer to the main campus once he proves himself.

I keep telling him that. But when one kid takes AP classes, and honors classes and has a 1300 sat, and the other takes regular classes and has a much less sat, its hard to believe that there are other reasons besides knowledge of the inside. He will thrive no matter where he goes, but I was just wondering which campus would be better.

[Herodotus]

I prefer Altoona to Johnstown as a place to be. Don't know much about the two schools.

[Moby Hick]

Originally Posted by okaydorothy

Amazing one of the kids in his class with a lower SAT score (1050) got into Penn State Main.

Certainly people get into schools for different reasons beyond SAT scores, but are you comparing apples to apples? Sometimes people include the writing score and sometimes people don't. And then I understand the changed the formula just recently.

[stremba]

There can be advantages to going to the branch campuses. I am familiar with both Pitt campuses (main and Johnstown), although it's been quite some time, so I can't really speak to specifics about either one now. In general, though, the Johnstown campus had some very knowledgeable professors with smaller class sizes and more personalized attention. Pitt main is more of a research institution, and at least in my field (chemistry), the professors seemed to be more concerned with their research projects than with teaching undergrads. (I am generalizing here; there were some profs who were good teachers, it just seemed like many others were not interested).


It also is not true that your son would have to go to Pitt main to complete his degree. Johnstown offers BS programs in most majors. He could complete his degree entirely at Johnstown if that's what he wants to do. Educationally, Johnstown is quite good. It is with the extracurriculars and other things to do where Johnstown lacks. Johnstown is a small city that your son would probably find to be pretty boring if he's used to living in the Pittsburgh area. I am also pretty sure that university-related activities are more limited at Johnstown than at main. Overall, though, the Johnstown campus might be a good fit, and like others have said, he may have the opportunity to attend Main in a couple years.


Sorry, but I am not familiar with the Altoona PSU campus. City wise, though, Altoona is pretty similar to Johnstown. Both are relatively small cities that your son would probably find pretty boring.

[okaydorothy]

Originally Posted by Moby Hick

Certainly people get into schools for different reasons beyond SAT scores, but are you comparing apples to apples? Sometimes people include the writing score and sometimes people don't. And then I understand the changed the formula just recently.

I don't know if I am comparing apples to apples. I do know that my son did the essay part which now is a choice. Its just frustrating. I know all colleges have their reasons etc ; I have two sons ; one didn't study and got into his first choice last year. This kid did all the right things ; studies, applies himself in school, takes challenging courses, etc and thought he was doing the right things to get into his first choice or at least his second choice. Its such a frustrating game. Sometimes it seems to be better, or at least more fun to rock the boat and see where it lands.

[North Beach Person]

Originally Posted by okaydorothy

I keep telling him that. But when one kid takes AP classes, and honors classes and has a 1300 sat, and the other takes regular classes and has a much less sat, its hard to believe that there are other reasons besides knowledge of the inside. He will thrive no matter where he goes, but I was just wondering which campus would be better.

Happens all the time for various reasons. I had two students, girls, one year who applied to the University of Maryland College Park for Engineering.

One was the class's Co-Valedictorian with AP classes out the ying yang to include AP Calculus AB, had a 4.5 GPA (if I remember correctly) and a bunch of extra curriculars, National Honor Society, something from the College Board because she had multiple scores of 4/5, etc. She was accepted as a provisional student.

The other one had a 3.2, no APs, highest Math was Alg II/Trig, few extra curriculars. She was accepted as a full student in the program.

The difference was that the second student was a member of an under represented group in Engineering.

[Rust Belt Kid]

I think they are both rolling admissions, so someone that applies early has a better chance than someone that applies in the winter.

Both schools will be similar. Johnstown is probably the most rigorous Pitt branch campus, while Altoona probably ranks behind Behrend in that regard.

The likelihood of your son eventually transferring to the main campus is high, so he should base it on whether he'd rather go to Pittsburgh or University Park. That said he probably has an advantage over the people that do 4 years at the main campus. The 101 level courses at the main campuses are usually 300 person lectures that may or may not be taught by someone interested in teaching. By doing 1 or 2 years at a branch campus, they can get a better foundation in a smaller environment in (generally) easier classes.

[Goinback2011]

Pitt. It really doesn't matter where he does his first year or 2. The program he's interested in is #1 in the country at Pitt. He needs to get a post grad degree. If he graduates from Pitt in that field, it means something.