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<p>What is your limit on affording rent? I had a friend live in a 1-BR in South Oakland (about 10-15 minute walk to campus, max) for $200 a person plus some utilities. It doesn’t get much cheaper than that. (And if you can find a house with a room or some roommates, rent really won’t be much for the South Oakland area).</p>
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<p>Like others said, there are other schools in Pittsburgh (Chatham, Carlow, Duquesne) that she might like. OR she could go to CCAC (community college) and get a bunch of credits for cheap before transferring over into Pitt.</p>
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<p>The engineering school here is fantastic. Basically everyone who wants an internship or co-op can get one using the career services. We also have an awesome employment rate upon graduation. And I’m sure I don’t need to explain how Pitt’s Bio-sciences/Med-related tracks are some of the best.</p>
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<p>Pittsburgh itself isn’t a big city (the actual city population is <400,000) and where Pitt is located is a neighborhood OUTSIDE of the city (Oakland). The nice thing about Pittsburgh is that it’s divided into these neighborhoods that each have their own unique identity. Oakland/South Oakland is mostly where you’ll find the big colleges (Carlow, Chatham, Pitt, CMU), students, cheap varied food, the parks, etc. I consider Oakland to be kind of small because I’m always running into someone I know on the street! Oakland is also walkable.</p>
<p>A quick busride away (using your student ID for free rides) will get you to some other areas: </p>
<p>Squirrel Hill- a more residential area with a nice street of shops and restaurants (Forbes between Murray and Shady) as well as a great (in my opinion) and cheap movie theater (The Manor) and more food down Murray. There’s also a Giant Eagle (grocery store) there that is Kosher.</p>
<p>Shadyside- You can bus or walk here. You’ve got a trendy shopping street (Walnut between Aiken and Negley) with lots of coffee shops and clothes options. Also some great food. Lots of Grad students and yuppies live there. There’s also a Giant Eagle Market District (bigger, better choices) in Shadyside (not on Walnut street though).</p>
<p>The Waterfront- An outdoor strip mall kind of place with all the essentials (Target, Bed Bath and Beyond, DSW, Office Max) as well as stores (regular mall stores), some restaurants, and a huge AMC movie theater.</p>
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<p>You will find friends at Pitt who want to study with you. Just talk to people in your classes about HW or whatever and go from there.</p>
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<p>Ok so realistically you can look these numbers up on your own, but to answer the question.</p>
<p>Pitt SSOE per semester: $8,390 per semester
Penn State: (Freshman/Sophomore): $7,781 per semester (Junior/Senior): $9,336 per semester</p>
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<p>I don’t know what Erie or State College is like, but since Pittsburgh is an actual, bigger city, chances are you’ll get better diversity here. Also the abundance of different types of people (yuppies, students, residents, professors, medical workers, etc.) because a variety of things to do in your spare time, clubs that are around the area, etc. Pittsburgh is also probably more liberal leaning than State College (and possible Erie) if those are things that matter to you.</p>