@sgmom, congratulations on the Acceptance. Can you share stats please?
At least decisions are being made currently. It will be interesting to see how Penn State manages getting all of the remaining Early Action and Regular Decision applicants decisions by Jan 31st.
@Sgmom major?
94.5 k views of this thread, which started 11/2018
Would be so helpful if penn state admissions had a rep reply directly in this forum
The Pitt admissions forum on cc has Pitt admission reps who answer questions and clarify expectations
Would be good for PSU Public relations, and with so many views, efficient way to get accurate info out to prospective students
I think we who applied and are waiting this year would all love to know more behind the scenes insights directly from admissions
I just wrote an email suggesting same to admissions, fingers crossed
D applied EA direct to penn state- accepted Dec. (stats on decision thread). Good question regarding whether student applied common app or direct- I was wondering same thing- if those that submitted directly were notified soonerâŠ
Iâd rather see admissions working on actual admissions than spending time on a college forum (of which there are dozens and dozens) to modify parental expectations when the expectations of a Jan 31 decision have already been communicated.
That said, I personally hope Penn State does away with EITHER the EA OR the Common AppâŠor even bothâŠfor subsequent years. The common app adds tons of applicants that can too easily apply to Penn State and who may not be serious about it at all - which causes admissions to do more work for the same amount of enrolled students (however, lowering their yield making them look more selective) and EA applications should not be accepted unless they can guarantee a decision by Dec 24. That decision CAN BE deferral, but only if theyâve reviewed the application, not just because they ran out of time. Admissions bit off more than they can chew this year for sure.
Edited to add: Penn State admissions twitter answers questions in real time so many people get answers there. Admissions usually also has chat nights and they post things on facebook as well - for those interested in getting directly to admissions. You can also call and e mail, but of course, every time you do that, you only delay a decision for someone else because the admissions rep is answering your question rather than working on applications. Itâs a cycleâŠ
@jlhpsu Re: âbut only if theyâve reviewed the application, not just because they ran out of time.â I thought the same as you based on the update on the portal. But then we received a letter which really seemed to âsayâ something different. The letter referred twice to the ânextâ decision they would make about our son. My husband and I both read the implications differently - and more negatively - than how we read the portal notice. The letter left a strong impression that our sonâs materials HAD been looked at already, and the decision was to defer him. I think they are going to see how he stacks up with the Priority (regular) applicant pool, basically giving him a second (not first) chance to get in. My feeling is they took the cream off the top of Early, filled all the slots they intended to from that pool, and then had to roll everyone else together to fill the rest of the slots. But that is just guess, after lots of thought (read: worry).
Cream off of the top of early. My fear too, and looking at common data set the highest stat kids are not necessarily who enrolls
Feeling manipulated as penn state tries to bump up their selectivity number
Early action, my d stats are in upper end of stats but not the âcreamâ
Accepted as chem pre major at Ohio state, Pitt, Drexel, Rutgers and Clemson, all within 8 weeks or less
But number one choice of my d is penn state, legacy sentiment
Sigh
Just tried to log into the portal and got the message âan error has occurredâ , anyone else getting this?
@mattcccc Yep, got the same error
I just logged in. Maybe that means youâll be getting a decision.
I just logged in ok too. Hope error message means itâs news for yâall 
We had an error and now it back up to the same message as before.
@MyaCocoa I think EA at most schools is just thisâŠIf you are a sure âinâ regardless of who comes up behind, then you are in. But if you are not the tippy top they are going to wait to see what happens with RD. Otherwise, a pretty borderline stat kid could take up a spot for a much better qualified applicant. Iâm ok with deferral if thatâs the reason for deferral. Itâs better than a NO, which is what it would be during EA otherwise and itâs similar to the way itâs done at many other schools. Even if those who applied EA are now being considered with the Regular Decisions, Iâm ok with that ONLY if itâs because they didnât have the stats for EA admission.
What I have a problem with for Penn State this admission cycle is that the deferrals âappearâ to be because they ran out of time. I know some of the letters have made it sound otherwise, and perhaps they did look at some applications, but based on their portal message etc, it seemed as though they just ran out of time for the majority of students and said they will get to you in regular decision. Thatâs a tougher pill to swallow I think for many.
If all the extra apps were EAâŠand then there are all the usual apps for the regular end of January deadlineâŠand we keep seeing crashes and Common App problemsâŠis it possible itâs going to be a waitlist year? Donât most big schools always have one? I thought it weird that PSU sometimes does, and sometimes doesnât, but I guess thatâs seen as a positive?
Wow. A wait list
If we end up wait listed after applying early August with a reasonable expectation to be admitted that would be so sad, though my d has options so sheâll be fine
Friends with similar stats as my d, not highly competitive majors who applied in September and who never intended to commit were accepted in October
That kind of anecdotal info makes this process frustrating
@jlhpsu This is whole thing is hard because this is my first rodeo (with a child). I applied to college back in, uh, er, about 1980-81 when my HS diploma was still scratched on a stone tablet! So really, everything ABOUT this is new, including the ability to research colleges online beforehand and so forth. Back then, I donât even know if stats were available. I seem to recall that if you went to a big enough library you could access some really big book on colleges and dig up some data, but certainly nothing like now. I donât think we knew or cared back then what was going on behind the scenes. You applied.You waited for snail mail. You had NO idea what was happening for anyone else at your intended school(s). Thank you for the info!
Out of curiosity - when did your daughter hear from Clemson?
@jlhpsu I agree with you completely and appreciate your candor. In our specific case, itâs absolutely clear my kidâs application did not go to review until January, yet we received the same poorly worded letter about a âdecisionâ along with everyone else. It felt dishonest - instead of just being frank with the affected applicants, it felt like an attempt to sweep the admissions officeâs problems under the rug. Then you wind up with people feeling like @MyaCocoa, questioning how their child stacks up against an elusive pool - when itâs just as likely that the studentâs application hasnât even been reviewed yet.
Our kids have all worked hard to prepare quality applications and meet their deadlines this fall. At the very least, they are owed transparency, and a clear explanation if administrative issues lead to a delayed decision. Instead weâre seeing smoke and mirrors, and it just seems wrong.
@MyaCocoa HA! I remember looking up my colleges in the GIANT Petersonâs Guide to Colleges in the library. There was an index that you could search with majors and then it would tell you which schools had that major and then youâd flip back and forth and back and forth finding your schools to make a list! I went to college in 1990, so no new technology from 1980 lol. Back then, you applied, and you waited and you had no one to commiserate with either except your friends who were doing the same thing. Maybe that was better?
All of this instant gratification and deep diving into stats and worse, knowing who else got in with what stats has made things both easier (if you are top of the line) and harder (If youâre not) I think. And sites like college confidential can either be a saving grace or can drive people crazy -
Penn State occasionally has used the waitlist in years past, but rarely and for only a few kids if Iâm remembering the common data set correctly. This year would be the year though because they opened up the common app - but I still think (hope) itâs unlikely.
I think Penn State either needs to just say ALL decisions will be out on Feb or March 1 regardless of application date and let people wait it out (like many other schools do), or they need to streamline their process and deliver on their promises. A deferral is a decision, so technically they did give a decision by Dec 24, but I think if a deferral was an option they need to have spelled that out in the EA process. Itâs the first year, bound to be some hiccups - but I hope they get it straightened out soon.