<p>My son is headed to PSU for freshman yr. Should I start talking to him about
attending a different university? Am I setting him up at a school that will remain
troubled (financially) for yrs to come?</p>
<p>First, what does your son want to do? Has he expressed any concerns? These would be things leading me in helping my student.
Second what are his other options at this point? When you say “attending another university” do you mean other schools he was accepted to? Do you even know if this is an option?</p>
<p>I’m sorry I’m not really giving you an opinion if it’s a good choice to send him or not. I’m sure other’s will do that. I’d start with what my student wanted.</p>
<p>Thirdly, are you a ■■■■■?</p>
<p>The OP’s primary interest in this is that the DS wants a marching band. No PSU football, no marching band. </p>
<p>OK…</p>
<p>I have a friend in the same situation, I don’t even begin to know what advice to give. I would say let S go and see how it is this fall. They still have students so obviously will have classes and still have very good accademics. At the end of the day it is about the quality of education they receive.</p>
<p>It is up to your son. At this date, I would suggest he go there, press upon him that it is essential for him to do well academically–take a light load so not to be overwhelmed, and see how it goes. If he can’t get what he wants from the school from marching band to the right atmosphere, he should have himself in good position to transfer elsewhere. No one can say for certain, how things are going to be there.</p>
<p>My youngest had Penn State high on his list of colleges, and it has lost its lustre for him, but he has a long ways to go, and a lot can happen before he has to make such decisions. </p>
<p>What’s most important is for your son to do well academically at Penn State if he is to have the most options to transfer. College grades are the big consideration for acceptance as a transfer student that trumps everything else. If programs like band go down the drain, and if the consequences of what has been uncovered affect the students adversely, there will be a lot of transfers. As it is, I know a couple of kids who are considering it, and my college kid said he would, if he were going there.</p>
<p>Obviously, geographic proximity between the two states, and the fact that Ohio State offers ‘National Buckeye Scholarship’ to the OOS students matter. But I can’t stop wondering, does the scandal explain why there is now a massive influx of applicants / attendees from the state of Pennsylvania to Ohio State (Sandusky news broke out last October)?? Nonetheless, academically speaking or ranking-wise, I do not think PSU’s ranking will be affected in the upcoming USNEWS Best Colleges which is to be released next month, but it might next year due to the heavily weighted objective peer assessment score for institutional reputation, in which the student riot over at University Park on national TV certainly did not help its cause…</p>
<p>Geographic diversity (Columbus campus, autumn 2012)
Ohio State enrolls students from every state and territory. States with the highest enrollment:</p>
<p>500+: Pennsylvania (#1), Illinois, New York, California, Michigan
300 – 499: Texas, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia
100 – 299: Florida, Indiana, Georgia, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Utah, Minnesota, Missouri, Arizona, Tennessee, Connecticut
50 – 99: West Virginia, Washington, Colorado, South Carolina, Kansas</p>
<p>???</p>
<p>What is the concern? Are you concerned that PSU will get the death penalty? </p>
<p>Maybe your son should request a year delayed enrollment. Then this fall apply elsewhere so he’ll have a back up if PSU is severely penalized.</p>
<p>If the Clery Act violations are acted upon (which is not a given), federal funding and federal student loan funds could be in jeopardy. PSU also faces civil suits and will surely be paying out millions in settlements. And the NCAA-- who knows. </p>
<p>I think that for now and in the next several years, the academic value and standing of PSU will remain fine. But depending on the Clery ramifications and the civil suit payouts, THAT could affect PSUs coffers, and that could affect all students. In the short term, the football program (and marching band) could be affected, though I think they’ll be mostly okay.</p>
<p>Unless your son has some interest or desire to participate in something connected to the football program, I think attending Penn State should still be fine, maybe even better than before if the school reforms itself and its values as a result of the current mess.</p>
<p>It’s true that the school will make big payouts to the victims of the scandal, but I don’t think that will be a major disruption to the economic health of the school overall. Heck, colleges all across America lost billions from the recent great recession, and yet most of them are managing to muddle through and still keep the lights on.</p>
<p>I mentioned this in another thread…</p>
<p>I work in software engineering/development and sometimes I am called upon to interview candidates. As far as I know (correct me if I am wrong), Joe Paterno nor Jerry Sandusky has any ties to the engineering, math or computer science departments. I doubt they know what an operating system is, therefore that unfortunate incident will have absolutely no bearing on who I hire (or advise in hiring).</p>
<p>Of course if the kid’s scholarship is tied to the band, then I could understand the worry.</p>
<p>Blue Band is extremely competitive audition (particularly for brass and percussion) – so there is no guarantee that your son will make the band as a freshman, regardless. If that is the sole reason he wants to attend PSU, then yes, he should be attending elsewhere. There are many other opportunities to play an instrument at PSU, if that helps. But only one BlueBand</p>
<p>According to the federal government, it is not safe, as the university has failed to file their Clery Act documentation. </p>
<p>And I know that, as an employer, while I would try never to hold it against an innocent person, the first thing that will cross my mind when I see an applicant from PSU will be you-know-what. I’d fight thinking that way, of course, but you can be sure it will be in my mind - and in virtually every employer’s mind. It WILL have a bearing - unconscious in most cases - but there’s no question in my mind that it will. It shoudn’t - but it will.</p>
<p>I’d go to Pitt.</p>
<p>[Job</a> Recruiters Prefer State Universities Over Ivy League Colleges - WSJ.com](<a href=“Job Recruiters Prefer State Universities Over Ivy League Colleges - WSJ”>Job Recruiters Prefer State Universities Over Ivy League Colleges - WSJ)</p>
<p>Penn state is the #1 school of recruiters. </p>
<p>You don’t need or want to be employed by people who hold an entire schools population guilty for the heinous acts of a few.</p>
<p>The PSU alumni is the largest alumni organization out there. They support their university both financially and with a great network of employers</p>
<p>
Yes, it would be something that would come to mind, but would you really not hire someone because of it? How would you rationalize that to yourself?</p>
<p>Agree with sax and sylvan. Would you not hire a Catholic because of their sex scandals? Give me a break. I agree that the Clery Act violations and any penalties are a concern, but there’s no way to know right now how that will play out. But guess what? I’m typing this in my room at the Nittany Lion Inn. We’re here for the Arts Festival. The campus is beautiful. The classrooms are here. The town is lively. Students will be here this fall. None of the academic programs are suddenly less worthy because of the scandal. No matter what anyone says, there is so much more to thus place than football. So, so much more.</p>
<p>“Yes, it would be something that would come to mind, but would you really not hire someone because of it? How would you rationalize that to yourself?”</p>
<p>I would NEVER CONSCIOUSLY NOT hire someone because of it. But I do know that it would be rolling around in my brain. To deny that would be absurd.</p>
<p>Employers almost always hold in their minds the reputations of various colleges and universities which are often the result of things having nothing to do with the education or experience of the individual applicant. The reputation of X university, built on the fact that they had Y number of Nobel Prizes in physics, impacts the employment of the English major. It shouldn’t, perhaps, but there’s no denying that it does.</p>
<p>It IS so much more than football-so much so that it went all the way to the top as they denied and enabled what happened. Why would anyone pay money to a school that thought it was ok from the top down? While the non-sports departments had nothing to do with what happened, it’s become rather clear that those in charge of the WHOLE SCHOOL were just fine with Sandusky. And look at how many students turned out in support of Joe Paterno, even knowing that he knew. </p>
<p>There have GOT to be other schools more deserving of our kid’s time and our money. None of my kids would be going there.</p>
<p>PSU is continuing to rake in private donations - their annual giving is UP since the scandal broke. Alumnae are furious with the leaders, but still love their school.</p>
<p>In addition, most of the fines/penalties/lawsuit money will come out of the inurance company’s coffers.</p>
<p>The academic integrity and standards at PSU are not in question.</p>
<p>
I would, and will, let my kid decide that for herself. If D wishes to apply there then I don’t have a problem with it.</p>