Please Help-- Penn State vs. Rutgers-N

[JamieB]

Hello everyone.  After a long hiatus from the forums i'm back.

As an international student I would really value all of your opinions.

I was admitted to Penn State with 8k/year and Rutgers-N with 6k/year.  Assuming I am able to keep the scholarships throughout law school (PS requires top 1/2, RN requires 3.0) which do you think I should choose? 

I was also waitlisted at Temple University and should I be accepted there I would go there even without a scholarship because of their trial advocacy program which is what I want to get into. 

Assuming I don't make it into Temple, which of the two schools above should I choose?  Please give me at least some reason why you made your choice

Cheers,

JamieB

[Ninja1]

Penn State, only because I'd rather live in PA and go to Penn State.

[JamieB]

That.... doesn't really help, but thanks for your opinion

[Ninja1]

No problem. For what it's worth, I looked into Penn State and it looked really good. And it's not in New Jersey. Consider that.

[lakers24]

No problem. For what it's worth, I looked into Penn State and it looked really good. And it's not in New Jersey. Consider that.

As someone who went to undergrad in PA and grew up in NJ...Where do you get off saying "its not in NJ" when PA isnt any better or imo worst.

I think both put you in the same position meaning you have to work extremely hard to find a  high paying job coming out. Rutgers is probably more competitive in NJ then Penn St. is in PA... because there is less competition.

You should probably go to the school that gives you the best chance to secure a job in the market of your choice. Oh, if you get into Temple then your decision is easy

[Team Awesome]

Have you looked into residency for both states? PA is pretty impossible. Is NJ more lenient? That could be a big change in COA.

[lakers24]

Have you looked into residency for both states? PA is pretty impossible. Is NJ more lenient? That could be a big change in COA.

If you sign a 12 month lease you get instate tuition immediately at Rutgers.

[internetuser]

Rutgers. Close to NYC (jobs, fun); get instate tuition deal; don't need a car; central PA is dead economically and culturally. Jersey City and Hoboken (where students often live) have a lot to offer and they are 15 minutes away from Manhattan.

[Team Awesome]

Penn State's quality is way below Rutgers, and Rutgers has a better reputation in the Philly area. If you're looking at New York, then Penn State is worth sh*t. Penn State JUST incorporated Dickinson, so maybe in 5 yrs or so they'll be better because Penn State can pump more money into it, but for now Dickinson isn't that great. It's good for Harrisburg and decent for Philadelphia, but it's going to be hard to compete against the Penn, Temple, Villanova and Rutgers kids if you're coming from way out at Dickinson. You just don't have the same access and doors will probably be closed b/c of it.

If you can get into Temple, go there. Their trial advocacy program is one of the best in the U.S. I'm fairly certain their mock trial team consistently beats out UPenn.

On a less-important note, I walk by the new law building at University Park every day to and from classes, and it's hideous. It looks like a giant airport terminal and is really far from anything else on campus, and about a half an hour walk from downtown. And by "downtown" I mean the College Ave. If you haven't visited State College, you might want to do that. It's a glorified small town and there's naught to do here but go to bars or drive to Harrisburg/Philly/Pittsburg. That's just my opinion though.

If you do get into Temple and get no money, keep in mind that you will be paying out of state for 3 years. As opposed to a 6k scholarship at Rutgers and what seems to be in-state for 2L and 3L. That makes for a pretty substantial difference in cost of attendance.

As for PSU, they didn't exactly just merge with Dickinson. That happened 8 years ago, so expecting them to do in 5 years what they haven't done in 8 seems unlikely. The connection to main campus just happened.

[Ninja1]

No problem. For what it's worth, I looked into Penn State and it looked really good. And it's not in New Jersey. Consider that.

As someone who went to undergrad in PA and grew up in NJ...Where do you get off saying "its not in NJ" when PA isnt any better or imo worst.

...

All of New Jersey that I've ever seen is a giant shithole. At least large parts of Pennsylvania are nice, even if some parts aren't.

Penn State's quality is way below Rutgers, and Rutgers has a better reputation in the Philly area. If you're looking at New York, then Penn State is worth sh*t. Penn State JUST incorporated Dickinson, so maybe in 5 yrs or so they'll be better because Penn State can pump more money into it, but for now Dickinson isn't that great. It's good for Harrisburg and decent for Philadelphia, but it's going to be hard to compete against the Penn, Temple, Villanova and Rutgers kids if you're coming from way out at Dickinson. You just don't have the same access and doors will probably be closed b/c of it.

If you can get into Temple, go there. Their trial advocacy program is one of the best in the U.S. I'm fairly certain their mock trial team consistently beats out UPenn.

On a less-important note, I walk by the new law building at University Park every day to and from classes, and it's hideous. It looks like a giant airport terminal and is really far from anything else on campus, and about a half an hour walk from downtown. And by "downtown" I mean the College Ave. If you haven't visited State College, you might want to do that. It's a glorified small town and there's naught to do here but go to bars or drive to Harrisburg/Philly/Pittsburg. That's just my opinion though.

Some strange brand loyalty issues going on here...