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My Resume:
(male)
GPA 3.6(unweighted)
rank 38 of 295
SAT: 1140 (bad test taker/slow test taker)
EC's:
Vp of Student Council
VP of Class Council
Public Relations Officer for Volunteen (School Volunteer club)
NHS
Panel Member on the United Way of the Capital Region Youth Allocation Committee
4 years of high school soccer plus club team

Student Representative for Care Club (parent run organization)

AP - U.S. History (4)
AP - Government (currently taking)
AP - European (currently taking)
AP - English (Currently taking)
AP - Spanish (Currently taking)

My long term plan is to major in political science with a minor in criminal justice. After attending an undergraduate college or University I plan to go to law school. Here's the dilema. Because my mothers work is affiliated with Penn State I would receive 75% of tuition (does not include room and board). I know it's a great deal but I'm not too keen about going to Penn State; 40,000 students is a bit overwhelming but more importantly their political science program good but not that good. I feel as though I could get into a better school with my current grades except that it would cost a lot more, even with the financial aid packages.
I have heard that undergraduate schools don't matter a whole lot and that your grad school is really what's important because it has a greater influence on getting a job after graduation or not. Is there any validity to this? If not, then is it worth going to Penn State to save money that I could later use to pay for a good law school, assuming that I continue to have a good gpa in college.
So far, I see things this way. If I go to a state school I will have to have a high gpa to get into a good law school, LSAT's aside. On the other hand if I attend a good private school I may not have to receive as high a gpa to get into a good law school because the corriculum is harder. Is a fair way of comparing state vs private schools? Overall, I guess what i'm asking is if I should save money by going to Penn State or should I invest in my future by attending a good private school? Also, let me know of any other Universities with good political science programs that may be good picks considering my situation. I would greatly appreciate any suggestions. Thanks

By Lbtg43 (Lbtg43) on Wednesday, October 01, 2003 - 11:09 pm: Edit

well the way i see it is this...

if your interested in learning the most you can about a subject go to a good undergrad school

if you just want an easy to get job - go to a decent undergrad school get good grades and go to the best grad school you can(almost any grad school will accept you if you have the money-much different from undergrad)

saying you got your law degree or whatever you wanted to get from somewhere like harvard means just about the same as getting your bacheloers(sp) there too, to hiring companies.

By Ellemenope (Ellemenope) on Wednesday, October 01, 2003 - 11:35 pm: Edit

Actually, it is surprisingly important to get your law degree at a "name" law school if you want to practice a certain kind of law--Wall Street, big firm, etc. You can graduate from a "second tier" law school and get the same kind of job--but you will be held to a much higher standard (law review editor, HIGH gpa).

By Reidmc (Reidmc) on Thursday, October 02, 2003 - 12:15 am: Edit

Definitely consider and apply to Penn State. It's a good school, and it wouldn't hurt to start saving for law school, which can be very expensive. How good the poly sci department is would be a bigger concern if you were going to go right into government or go to grad school. For law school, I understand that the LSATs and recommendations are the key admission elements.

However, there is no reason not to apply to several other schools and see what you end up with for acceptances and financial aid offers though

By Carolyn (Carolyn) on Thursday, October 02, 2003 - 11:31 am: Edit

First, I'm not sure why you think the political science department at Penn State isn't very good - it's a nationally ranked program that has offers some great opportunities if you take advantage of them. You might think about contacting some faculty members and sitting in on some classes to get a feel for it.

Of course, you may not want to go to a school where your Mom works - I think that's a natural first reaction, although the University Park campus is so large it's not exactly like you'll be bumping into her. Also - does her tuition discount apply to all of the Penn campuses? Maybe you could find a smaller campus in the system.

However, as someone has already said, there's nothing wrong in looking at and applying to a few other schools as well and see what types of financial aid offers you'd get. Look particularly towards schools in the midwest (Ohio, Illinois, Wisc) where tuitions and costs tend to be less than in the northeast.

Good luck!

By Esquire (Esquire) on Thursday, October 02, 2003 - 08:28 pm: Edit

Thanks everyone for your opinions.

Carolyn
Any branch campus for Penn State seems too small for me. Call me picky but I figure that it's easier to make a big school seem small then it is to make a small school seem big. I hope that makes sense.

Any ideas on other schools? My list of schools looks like this. Reach schools Cornell and NYU.
Good Matches are prolly American U. and George Washington U. Safety school is Penn State. What do you think my chances are at Cornell and NYU? Also, What do you think of the following schools?

UNC - Chapel Hill
Rochester U.
Tufts U.
Ohio State University
U. of Virginia

By Carolyn (Carolyn) on Thursday, October 02, 2003 - 09:16 pm: Edit

Tufts, UVa and UNC-chapel hill are all reaches for you with your current stats (especially as an out of state student for UVA UNC). As an alternative to UVa Charlottesville, consider James Madison or Mary Washington (both UVa schools). Or, perhaps consider Rutgers or one of the SUNY schools like Albany or Binghamton. GW and American are realistic matches.
Cornell is going to be a very big reach.

Suggestions: Syracuse's Maxwell School, Boston U., Fordham. You might also take a look at Elon in North Carolina.

Smaller private schools also worth looking at: Bucknell, Denison, College of Wooster, Skidmore, Dickinson, Washington & Lee Franklin & Marshall, Hamilton.

By Xyz155 (Xyz155) on Thursday, October 02, 2003 - 10:46 pm: Edit

Sorry Man but I would not be acting like Penn State is a safety school for you (besides the fact that your mom works there). I have a 3.6 unweighted a 1200 and loads of ECs and I dont think that I will even get in there. Now I understand that you might live in State College or are just sick of the place, cause I am 2 as are most kids that live in PA. However, its hard to deny that it is an outstanding school academically and no offense but w/ your stats, which are very good and I'm not trying to be mean or anything, but I dont think you are going to be able to get into a school that is any better.Good luck!

By Jamimom (Jamimom) on Friday, October 03, 2003 - 02:37 pm: Edit

It depends on the state school and the private school. It also depends on the person. I am very attracted to LACs (most are private) and feel that the larger state universities are better for graduate students.
However, that said, many disagree with me. As you probably know, people love Penn State. And it is ranked as an excellent school. It all comes down to what environment is best for you. There are kids who have trouble with large schools and the way they are run that would do better in a more nurturing environment. I don't believe that it is easier to get good grades at a state school than a private one. There are LACs that bend over backwards to ensure there students get the best education possible and have excellent graduate school acceptance rates. And at the larger schools it is often difficult to even approach a professor who would not know you from the 100s of others in each of his classes. It can be tough to excell in such impersonal courses, especially if you need a little individual attention.
My friend is a professor at Pitt. Her kids get the equivalent of Pitt's tuition which is good at any accredited college. So it would cost her the same to send a kid to Penn State as it would to go to Pitt. I don't know if Penn State's tuition plan works the same way. There are quite a few reasonably priced smaller schools in Pa that are state run that are not Penn State satellites; Clarion, Indiana U of Penn, West Chester. Bloomsberg, Shippenberg, Slippery Rock---I can't remember them all. Also Pitt and Temple are state schools. Then you have great little schools like Wash & Jeff, Allegheny, Westminster. Grove City, York that vary from low to high costs that are more LAC in nature. So just in state, you have a lot of options.
Some of those posts were quite right about the selectivity of Penn State. I do know kids who were turned down with stats higher than yours. They say at Penn State unless you are a tagged applicant (development, sports) they only plug in 3 numbers for the decision: SAT scores, Class rank and date of application. So if you want this school even as an option, you'd better get that ap in fast. I don't know if being an employee's child gives you a tag; it does at some school, it doesn't at others.
Caroline has some schools to look at as well, and I will throw in UNC (Asheville) one of the best public LACs as opposed to Chapel Hill which is a stretch for even top applicants.

By Ricanitalian69 (Ricanitalian69) on Wednesday, November 05, 2003 - 02:41 pm: Edit

If you are looking for political science private schools in NY that are good, also check out Pace University. http://www.pace.edu/dyson/poli_sci/index.html

Fordham University also offers a pretty good program.

Much luck!