I have enjoyed the arguments on both sides of the PSU status, from posters more informed, better researched, than myself. I am going to wade in with some minor observations.
Northwesty writes, ‘In terms of dollars, Cornell gets about 3.4% of total budget from NYS. UVA gets 5% of budget from VA. PSU gets 7% of budget from PA.’
Yes, and our local school system gets maybe 99% of budget from state of NC. (Closer to 100% for the poorer schools without wealthy PTAs to pay for better soccer fields). From discussing college admission decisions with parents I know, my decidedly anecdotal-fed opinion is that most would be surprised at how little of state-supported university budgets actually comes from their (and others’) tax dollars. It seems that terms such as ‘state-affiliated’ rather than ‘state-supported’ might better fit PSU, UVA, and even the relatively better endowed UNC system?
An aside: Looking at date from Zinhead’s useful link back in #3, PSU’s Pell Grad Share is 11%, while U Penn’s is 14%. And ranking top colleges’ efforts on economic diversity, U Penn is ranked 39, while PSU is 152. Which does not mean that PSU is more ‘elite’, or than PSU draws more wealthier students than U Penn, only that the Ivy may be more accessible to lower income kids than the public, which may surprise the general public.