Classes for some of those hard majors such as engineering and business need to remain top level. Many of those student transfer to main, so they have to have the academic rigor to proceed at main. I don’t believe it dilutes the product. Just speaking for engineering and business. Those rankings remain very high.
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The point is that there is no distinction. An engineer graduating from Behrend will have a resume and LinkedIn that reflect Penn State. A hiring manager will not differentiate…or even know. There are certain business and engineering programs offered only at branch campuses, so that’s the only indication.
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Theoretically that is true, but reality may or may not be different. It would be very interesting to see a comparison of the actual rentention/graduation rates and average GPA broken down by major for the transfer students from the Commonwealth Campuses to UP for the final two years versus the students who started at UP for the final two years.
If you wait 4 years I can give you some data from my 2 sons!!
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These days with the way HR can easily research the background of job candidates online, it is extremely likely that a prospective employer will know which campus the candidate obtained a degree especially for sensitive jobs where a thorough background check is done. I am not saying that there should be a distinction made between campuses, but you have to be extremely naive to believe that at least some employers won’t make a distinction.
One other thing to note is that an Engineering Degree earned at Behend is not a degree granted by the Penn State College of Engineering, but is a degree granted by Penn State Behrend College, so I am pretty sure that many prospective employers will figure it out pretty easily:
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I think they are vested in having it be considered equivalent. I think there’s at least a program or two you HAVE to do at Behrend. And some really smart kids stay at Behrend even though they could transfer to main.
I’m told the diploma says the same thing no matter where you graduate. DuBois? UP? Brandywine?
Same diploma.
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Just saw your post above. I guess it’s not the same diploma!
I hope your sons go forth and are highly successful at whichever campus(es) they attend.
There are certain majors you must finish at a specific branch campuses. I believe mechanical engineering technologies is one of them (hence the diploma that was shared).
I guess it isn’t the same diploma.
Plastics engineering is offered only at Behrend. I think the same is true of international business. I am not familiar with the other branches.
I agree that I wouldn’t want to spend four years at a branch campus, but that would primarily be for reasons outside of academics. I disagree that there will be much distinction on the basis of where the degree was completed. It may be harder for branch students to access internship opportunities, for instance, though this is less of an issue now that many interview processes are all virtual. After the first job, most employers will only care about skill and experience.
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The Diploma does not specifiy the location, but it often does specify the college within the University that awards the degree. For instance, a business degree earneed at UP will state the degree was awarded by the Smeal College of Business, while a business degree earned at another campus may say some other colelge instead of Smeal. It is very tricky because apparently some of the “Colleges” that are nominally based in UP will issue degrees at other campuses too but some won’t and then your degree may indicate a college that tips off the campus location or is just a tip off that the location is not UP as sometimes the college listed will just be “University College” which consists of 14 of the 19 commonwealth campuses. It is all very tricky and seem likley to have been purposely designed not to be completely transparent.
I don’t know whether most prospectively employers care whether a newly minted engineer got his degree while attending Behrend or UP, though I suspect some might especially if they have a lot applicants to choose from. One thing I do know for sure is that they will be able to figure it out pretty easily if it does matter.
Good grief sir, let it go. There is no hidden agenda by some secret university society to dupe your kid into falling for some sort of campus scam. I graduated from an ivy League school, have had my diploma for over 30 years, and have never once been asked to see it by a prospective employer. And if you knew me, you would think I was lying that I went to an Ivy league school!! This is getting more than a little tin-foil hattish. What exactly is the trick you speak of, and what is their purpose of not being transparent? What are you stating the end game is - is it to con you into going to a campus you didn’t realize you were going to? I can tell you don’t like being told you are wrong. I bet you are wonderful to go through TSA screening lines with…
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I don’t think there is a conspiracy, I just think that PSU is trying to push a false equivalency between their campuses in an effort to save what is obviously a failing system (attendance at the Commonwealth campuses is doen 30% since 2010 - 20% since 2016) that is causing a huge financial drain on the entire university system. I also think that they could word the rejection letters better to not give rejected applicants who get 2+2’d a false, if fleeting moment of joy before they realize that they got diced. Regarding transparency, nothing about the college admissions process in the US is transparent and that is problematic. My son has also applied to several Dutch Universities and it is refreshing to see how transparent their process is. They lay out the criteria, which are all objectively quantifiable and you either meet the requirements or you don’t and so you know ahead of time whether you will be admitted or not for most programs. Some universities have a fixed cap of spots available for certain majors in which case you apply and if you meet the criteria, your scores are ranked against other candidates and you are offered admission in the order of your ranking. In the case of one school for computer science, they allow anyone who meets the base criteria to take an entrance exam and then offer the available spots in order starting with the students who have the highest exam scores.
Regarding your college degree, why would I care where you went to school?
By the way, I have no problem with someone telling me I am wrong. I will fully admit that it is possible that I wrong about this as it is just my opinion
I am a PSU alum and in-state. I think this is a case of perception based on distance. When my son received his letter, the first thing I scanned for is campus. That said, I did wonder if friends not familiar with PSU looked for that, because I can see how it could be confusing. I do not think their letter is intended to be misleading. I think it is intended to convey to the student positivity… it may not be their first choice, but it is still an accomplishment.
I have heard several times that it doesn’t show on the diploma…my understanding is this came from “it doesn’t show on your diploma which campus you started at, only the one you graduated from.” Difference between that and the ones where the whole degree is earned at a different campus.
I know the PSU system is not going to appeal to a lot of people, but it’s been fantastic for some. Many of the branch campuses are in somewhat rural areas and have given students an opportunity to start their education at a very reasonable cost, commuting from home, while being prepared for upper level courses at the main campus. That said, those campuses are not going to appeal to out-of-state students and are probably not sustainable if they are only attractive to the locals who are best served by them. It’s a bit of a dilemma, and the best solution would be adequate state funding, but in the absence of that, Penn State has to try to make it work.
I understand the frustrations, but the problems do not arise from evil intent. There are people who benefit from the existence of those campuses.
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Accepted OOS to Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing!
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Does anyone have insight into the Waitlist process? My daughter received a WL decision for UP. I’ve found very little about it…is this a soft rejection or do people really come off the waitlist?
Agree with this. And how they benefit differs. For some, it’s a back door way to get into main campus with high school stats that might not cut it right away. For others it’s a way to reduce costs for either 2 or 4 years, either through lower tuition or living at home. And for others who might not WANT the main campus experience, it’s a way to get the PSU pedigree somewhere else.
I’d say the bigger scandal is that in state tuition at the state-related universities is higher for PA residents than they would pay for OOS tuition at some other state flagships.
Cheaper for me to send my kids to University of North Dakota, Arizona State or University of Idaho. WAY cheaper when you bring merit into the mix.
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If you are from another part of the country, the 2/2 is very confusing. As is knowing the meaning behind the 2nd choice campus. I feel bad when I see ppl from CA asking if Berks or Altoona are the main campus. Then to make it more fun, they offer you $6K/year for the first 2 years at the satellite campus. Even more if you stay past that time. There has to be a better way. I showed my DD the sign in the envelope when she initially got in to Altoona and she said “WE ARE not going there…” Guess it’s time for me to exit the chat…
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You have to read the fine print that if you take advantage of the 2+2 and eventually move to UP, you lose the scholarship awarded at the branch college for those remaining years.
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