A big difference will be where you hope to work. Penn State has a topnotch reputation in MD, DE, NYS, VA and New England, in addition to PA - East Coast/Mid Atlantic.
Pitt is well known in PA too but is stronger in the Midwest.
I can’t compare with Pitt, for all I know it’s the same there, but I know the PSU career fair is booked a year ahead of time by companies that want to make sure they get Penn State interns and employees.
The alumni network is among the top ones in the country, lots of potential interviews.
Pitt will be smaller and definitely more urban.
Penn State just opened a whole new Engineering “campus” for design&innovation.
Compare the curriculum, the classes you take your first year (is it “front load math&physics, discover design&engineering once foundations are solid”? Or is it “use design and engineering to teach math&physics”? - no idea whether either Pitt or PSU use one or the other so do your due diligence !) What’s the retention rate from 1st to 2nd year? Nationally, 2/3 would- be engineer give up or realize it’s not what they thought it’d be, and pivot by choice or by force. What is it at both?
Write down the schedule^ he should follow in order to pivot to Psych if he does well - his adviser would likely suggest Stats 100 rather than 200 (stats for humanities vs for social science) since officially he’d be in Italian premajor. If he requests that schedule there’ll be no problem, he’ll be 100% on track for the psych major.
No! The TO button never disappeared! We just always checked to see if we could get into Lion Path anyway and then one night we got past the unauthorized message! Our jaws dropped as we were not expecting it because that was not the pattern on this board.
He applied for Biology but is also considering Psychology (applied to a few school as a psych major). He has a 3.67 unweighted GPA (high school doesn’t offer any weight), 10 honors, 5 AP, 2 DE. PSU GPA recalculation should be around a 4.0. He has a 30 ACT but submitted test optional. Great ECs, leadership, and 3 sport athlete, and legacy.
Should he ask for reconsideration for Psych or DUS? He is debating between med school and law school at the moment. We are using the GI Bill, so summer start is not an option.
4.0 UW, 5.0 W
PA resident
TO (because PSU Admissions counselor recommended it on school visit day)
8 APs (Physics, Chemistry, Bio, Calc AB and BC, Psych, English, US & World Hist)
Legacy plus sibling currently at UP.
Applied Aerospace Eng.
Submit the 30, apply for Psychology (or DUS, not sure which would be best but if he applied to Psychology majors at other universities I assume there are clear indications he’d be well-suited for that major).
If he sends email about reconsideration, he could explain about the GI Bill making summer start impossible and any AP scores (or DE grades) in Biology, Stats, Social Science.
Don’t forget to post stats&rigor (APs etc) to help others gauge their chances 
this does not bode well for my kid. She’s freaking out.