@PurpleTitan My bad. I know Penn isn’t Penn State. I wrote the wrong thing:)
@LBad96 it is very important not use subjective terms such as " better," although I do understand that you are entitled to your opinion. The two schools are pretty comparable. It is best to visit both and decide which works best based on major, cost, etc. Both schools will lead to successful careers if you take advantage of what they have to offer.
In terms of specific departments, RU has a renown philosophy department.
PSU has a strong alumni network.
PSU seems to be considered more prestigious by many NJ people.
In the Midwest and out West, they’re seen to be about the same (though PSU would be more known because of football).
Nonsense. Penn State may be “better” and “more well-respected” in the minds of NJ high-schoolers, but otherwise they’re very much peer institutions. And if attracting OOS students is the main criterion, then UVM, Alabama, and Delaware are all better than Penn State.
Even Ohio State considers both Penn State and Rutgers to be among its peers. (And clearly Ohio State thinks it’s pretty special!)
If you look at the distribution of Math and Critical Reading scores Rutgers has a substantially higher proportion, almost twice actually, of students scoring above 700.
This would be consistent with what I see on Naviance from our local NJ high school, students with higher grades and test scores go to Rutgers and those with bigger wallets, Penn State or Delaware for the big “prestige”.
Thanks @LucieTheLakie for the wonderful responses
“Michigan State University may be close to Ohio State University on the football field, but it’s one of the few Big Ten schools OSU does not consider an academic peer. The Spartans, Purdue University and the University of Nebraska are the only in-conference schools not listed.”
That’s pretty funny. So tOSU thinks Michigan and Northwestern are academic peers but not Michigan State and Purdue? Wow.
One could argue that since Indiana has two flagships that Purdue does not have the breadth of academics that tOSU does. Having a D who goes to Purdue (she chose not to apply to tOSU) and another D who preferred Purdue to tOSU that’s as far as I’ll go in defense of their position.
It’s different because those states either A) have low state populations or B) have their in-state students coming in with an incredibly weak academic foundation (Alabama), so they have to have an OOS majority to be taken seriously.
Rutgers is honestly a decent school but I just don’t rate it as well as I do Penn State. Certainly not Ohio State. I have no idea why the adults here tend to overrate it.
@OnTheBubble my school actually has higher-rated students going to PSU and UDel.
@LBad96 This thread isn’t about you.
OP, what are the costs for both?
@albert69 I was merely responding.
OP if you’re OOS for Rutgers then it’s not even worth it, trust me. There are only two NJ schools (Princeton and Stevens IT) that are worth touching if you’re from OOS.
You keep moving the goalposts, @LBad96.
I’ve already seen what constitutes “proof” in your thinking. Let’s just put it this way, I highly doubt any of your social science professors would find it persuasive.
@LucieTheLakie I mean, if using incoming student stats isn’t “persuasive” then that’s fine with me.
Bit of a moot point anyway since if Rutgers isn’t worth it out of state, neither is a Penn State branch campus, which is where OP would be spending two entire years.
@luciethelakie @rjkofnovi “That’s pretty funny. So tOSU thinks Michigan and Northwestern are academic peers but not Michigan State and Purdue? Wow.”
Plus, An Ohio State University also lists that its academic peers are Penn, Harvard,Yale, and Columbia. Michigan and Northwestern are lucky they even made it on the list!
From a midwest perspective, I agree that Penn State is better known here to the average person here. Penn State is also better known than all of the Ivies here. Best known is a small plus, but there are many other things to consider.
I also know that Rutgers has better programs in many subjects. They are both very good schools. I would choose the best school for you in your area of interest.
“Plus, An Ohio State University also lists that its academic peers are Penn, Harvard,Yale, and Columbia. Michigan and Northwestern are lucky they even made it on the list!”
I was referring to B1G schools only. 
Those “institutional peer” surveys are comedy gold. I keep imagining a bunch of under-paid worker bees in an institutional research office having a good laugh at the ridiculous stuff they submit on those forms.
The only reason I shared that was to make the point that the vast majority of people who matter – employers, grad schools (and Ohio State!) – will consider Rutgers and Penn State to be peers with different strengths and weaknesses. Unless money is no object, neither is worth paying a serious premium over the other for, and for sure neither is worth incurring debt beyond Stafford loans in order to attend.
It would be a stretch for OSU to be a peer school with Michigan and Northwestern - forget about the Ivies.
Counting all 4 years, Rutgers will be very slightly cheaper than Rutgers. around 5k for the entire 4 years. This is including the 2 years at Erie
Wait @KnightOne , you are comparing starting and going to Rutgers NB to starting at Penn State Erie?