Which offer of admission should I accept?

[rkaz]

I have been accepted to the undergraduate schools at UW-Madison and Penn State and plan on majoring in -

1.Physics and

2.Mechanical engineering

Which school should I go to and why?..I would appreciate any and all suggestions.

My plans for the future are to do extensive research into very advanced space propulsion such as fusion, antimatter, Planck energy (warp drive/wormholes..)...hopefully through acceptance to grad school at MIT...

Please, please please advise..

 

[dontbesilly]

Well, if you want my two cents, the UW physics program appeared excellent when I visited it. I don't know much about Penn State though.

 

[nightowl03d]

Both institutions have a fine undergraduate physics program. So it comes down to which place offers the best environment for focused study. When it gets really cold outside, there is nothing to do but study. Therefore, since Wisconsin has much colder winters than Pennsylvania, I would recommend UW-Madison.

Can't speak for the Mechanical engineering side of things.

 

[imastud]

Both institutions have a fine undergraduate physics program. So it comes down to which place offers the best environment for focused study. When it gets really cold outside, there is nothing to do but study. Therefore, since Wisconsin has much colder winters than Pennsylvania, I would recommend UW-Madison.

wow that's the first time I've heard that reasoning used to choose a school and the first time I've heard someone laud wisconsin's winters as being good for anything except for snowball fights or other winter sport activites.

 

[G01]

Both institutions have a fine undergraduate physics program. So it comes down to which place offers the best environment for focused study. When it gets really cold outside, there is nothing to do but study. Therefore, since Wisconsin has much colder winters than Pennsylvania, I would recommend UW-Madison.

Can't speak for the Mechanical engineering side of things.

As a PA native I got to vouch for my own state! Our winters can still get kinda cold! I was accepted to Penn-State but decided not to go there. Penn State is a great School, but I wasn't one for the giant university atmosphere for my undergrad experience. For your first couple of years your classes will be huge. State College is a nice town, but is surrounded by miles and miles of farms and trees, so its not a big city type atmosphere. (This is assuming your going to the University Park campus and not one of the other satellite campuses.)

One Good thing about Penn State is that they have a gigantic alumni association which can give you connections to places you may never have thought you could have had connections. Another is that there are educational opportunities there that you may not get at a smaller institution(more course offerings etc.) Also don't forget about the Penn State Creamery if you like Ice Cream!


Good Luck making your decisions, both schools are great by what I hear.

G01