@Mecsesq1 wow. That’s a very disappointing possibility,
if it happens again this year many people will be upset I’m sure
My d would agree with your family members, UP is her 1st choice
But luckily Pitt and two others where she is accepted are close behind and getting closer every day as I learn more about the psu policies
@greencarrot01 Same as my son who applied for Engineering. As soon as he received the admission decision I called admissions for Summer UP consideration since we are OOS. Now we are awaiting for that new decision. My son’s stats are higher on the GPA. Good luck!
@greencarrot01 Did you ask for reconsideration for SMEAL and summer, or DUS and summer? A 3.6 is generally too low for Smeal, but you could get in DUS summer with those stats.
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Why would anyone be upset if they were offered a ton of money to switch to a commonwealth campus? You either say yes, or no. It’s an offer, not a demand. The year they did that, lots of students went with the money to save money for a year and lots of students declined and kept their UP offer. No harm to anyone…
Re: committing to off campus housing. Just be prepared that SOME places will want you to fill out an app and give them a deposit check just to hold your place on their waiting list…before you or your student ever even see the apartments. You aren’t likely to see pictures of actual units. Just floorplans. Lots of disreputable landlords who keep deposit checks. I love PSU but this whole housing process makes me ill.
My student had better luck living further from campus in one of the nice, newer all-inclusive apartment complexes. She drives a mile to the commuter lot, but has own bedroom, own bath, free parking, gym, free clubhouse and gourmet coffee bar and they include a free bus pass with rent. And rent there is about the same as getting a shared room in an older apartment adjacent to campus that would charge upwards of $100/month for parking. My kid thinks it’s worth the one mile drive.
@sophley thank you so much for sharing your housing insights
Knowing the whole housing process makes even you, a tough cookie, feel ill is eye opening
I keep learning new things to consider every day here in this thread
Helps pass the time as we wait!
@jlhpsu When I talked to the admissions counselor she told me that there was no point in going for DUS since I know what I want to do and applying for Smeal summer program was the better option because it would start me off exactly where I need to be. She didn’t really make it clear to me that DUS was my best chance of getting into UP summer program basically, so I ended up applying for the Smeal Summer program. But since you said my GPA is not quite up to mark for Smeal in general, i’m not too hopeful as of now.
Should I consider calling in and changing to DUS since a decision has not been posted for me yet? or should I keep it for Smeal Summer?
@greencarrot01 sorry for jumping in, but do you have family members who are advising you in the process of psu application?
It concerns me as a parent that after speaking directly to PSU admissions about your specific situation that you are seeking specific advice from an Internet forum
Maybe it would be good to talk to family? School counselor?
Best wishes, there is so much about this that is confusing that in your personal case family or others who know you may be best
Take care and good luck
@ziveli513 I wouldn’t disregard advice that @jlhpsu is providing on this forum. The advice previously provided to me aligned with a recent conversations I had with Admissions. In addition, both parents are PSU alums as well as their children are current Penn Staters. Just saying. ?
Not discounting anyone’s advice
Just saying that a student in this forum may need to have family guidance
Maybe they do, but I felt compelled to mention
General advice is great, case specific advice in this forum has been problematic for parents if you search just last month or so in this thread
Or other threads, not everyone gets good advice borne out by outcomes afterward
But yes lots of good advice here
Especially parent to parent
I agree @ziveli513. What I find amazing since I joined this site early last month is the advice from student to student especially with the so-called ‘chance me’. Really, some advice from one student to another on chances of getting in on their stated stats? I mean it’s like the blind leading the blind. Even some of the stats posted are questionable. So I understand that some advice can be taken with a grain of salt.
meanwhile no update to d portal
Anyone anywhere hear of any decisions issued since 1/2?
Before the holiday break decisions were being posted almost daily on the decisions only thread
Now none, which may mean nothing but is noticeable
@spr70nj yes good point. General advice in housing etc based on personal experience is terrific and I’ve learned a lot
But specific advice directly to a student regarding changing application info is risky I think
@ziveli513 btw I saw your post on FB, still no response. Lol
@spqr70nj thought I would try asking about decisions on fb admissions since the answer about snow was answered pretty quickly lol
Oh well, eventually the wait actually will be over
?
.
@greencarrot01 I am very surprised admissions told you this. Did you talk to an actual admissions rep or the person who answered the phone? They are not the same thing.
Smeal is THE hardest college within Penn State to get accepted to. What the other poster is referring to is one parent who says that their child was admitted to Smeal with a 3.6 GPA. I’m still personally convinced that wasn’t for UP or that there were extenuating circumstances not presented here. A 3.6 admit for Smeal is extremely rare.
Applying DUS is a work around for getting into Smeal. It does not put you behind whatsoever and the admission requirements are not as strict.
I’ve made it clear, although one poster continues to have issues, that I am not affiliated with Penn State admissions. My username with PSU included is because I am a Penn State grad. It’s my username in a lot of places. It does not indicate I am affiliated with Penn State nor that I am trying to pass myself off as such (as I’ve been accused). I’ve been a volunteer on this board for years and years and I let students know of trends in admissions. No one here can know everything. Can a 3.6 GPA get into Smeal - maybe. Does it happen regularly, absolutely not. If you were my child, I would advise DUS and summer application. In the end, as always, the decision is yours.
@greencarrot01 hope you are discussing advice received here on the internet with family members
Anyone would agree with that I believe ?, meanwhile good luck, hope we all hear something soon
I’ve been lurking and wanted to respond to the concerns that frustration with the admission process will translate into frustration with everything else.
I am a Penn State alum, and am now on the faculty of a large state university. I taught my first lecture today. Of 150 students, a handful came up after class to introduce themselves and just say that they were excited for the class. It made my day, and I will keep talking to those students, and whoever else decides to come to my office hours, or make an appointment to see me, or walk back to my building with me after class, or do research in my lab.
I am where I am today because I struck up the same kind of relationship with one of my professors at Penn State. It is a BIG school, but that one professor put me in touch with a colleague that became my first job, which became my best recommendation for grad school, and so on…
We faculty welcome getting to know students and helping them along. At a place like Penn State, you just have to be one of the ten kids who comes up to the podium after class.
@ziveli513 I do and my parents have been extremely supportive and helpful, its just that the nature of this question was more specific and would have been best answered by someone who has had experience with PSU and it’s overall process. This was confusing for them as well as me, so I decided to post it on the forum to get some responses that could point me in the right direction.