I applied as a rolling admissions for Computer Science major. On my common application I entered my “End Campus” as Harrisburg.
I have been accepted into ‘Capital College’ for Computer Science. I looked up on Penn state’s website and there are 3 colleges for computer science – Capital College, Behrend College and College of engineering.
I am not sure how good the Capital College is, on the US news website only Penn State – University Park ( which has College of engineering ) is ranked as 30 for CS.
Can someone please help me with how good the Capital college is, what are the differences between them/if any. Is CS different at each college.
Is anyone’s PSU portal website down right now? My internet is working fine but cant access the admissions portal. Haven’t checked today and curious to see if anything has been posted.
@greencarrot01 mine is down as well
@annao2019 hopefully that means they’re releasing a new wave of decisions so the portal is down.
@greencarrot01 @annao2019 Mine is down as well.
Mine is working
@AmeyaJain Capital College is Harrisburg, which is what you requested. So it looks like you were admitted to Harrisburg campus. I believe it will be the same curriculum at Harrisburg as at UP as most majors can complete a 2+2 starting at Harrisburg.
@jlhpsu I see, thank you very much for clarifying.
So just to confirm, the CS course and studies at Capital is probably the as UP, right?
Did anyone’s picture change on their PSU portal before they were accepted? Some people reported that their picture changed from Old Main to the Nittany Lion shortly before they received their acceptances.
@AmeyaJain As @jlhpsu mentioned, Capital College is Harrisburg campus, one of the larger branch campuses. Harrisburg has a Bachelor’s degree Computer Science program but the entrance to major requirements appear to be different than those at University Park. You might want to contact the CS department at Capital to ask some questions about their program and how it compares with the UP program.
its taking forever to load to get onto the portal log in page. is the portal still down?
@AmeyaJain I agree with @kidzncatz . Call Harrisburg and ask them. While it is true that the major can likely be started at Harrisburg and completed at UP, the requirements for a 4 year degree at Harrisburg may be different. We would only be speculating at this point. Another option is to look at the recommended academic plan for UP Computer Science and Harrisburg Computer Science and see where there are differences.
mine is still down 
Odd. When I check the site on my mobile phone it’s slow and the site times out. When I check from a desktop computer it works. No decision tho. Lol
Until now, I thought when posters said applications are dealt with randomly that in the end they would still be treated fairly
To see students who have every reason to believe they have a good chance according to published admission stats let alone enrolled student stats wait listed or sent to branch campuses or just still under review after months and months of hopeful waiting is disheartening
And though I am truly happy for all who get accepted, truly, now we are seeing on the decisions only thread signs of priority review applicants with lower stats than some EA who were not accepted or still just waiting—-the priority review are being accepted
How is that fair when there is a wait list?
Does it mean that date applied really has no weight?
A student gets wait list and then one who applied weeks later with similar stats gets accepted to the same major?
I don’t expect an answer, because We have been told by veterans here over and over, it’s random
And no posts here can give all details considered by admissions. I get that
But how can that be fair in the end, I may be wrong of course factually, but it sure feels unfair somehow
And FWIW, our portal is fine and says under review
Still
1/31 is almost here
Applied DUS and still waiting to hear back… deferred on 12/22 and supposed to hear back by 1/31.
The portal is working for me now, but is extremely slow and took a couple minutes for it to finish logging in. No decision yet though, I have a strange feeling that once we get into midnight, some decisions are going to be released.
Edit: Nvm its still down.
I can’t get on either. Been trying for a few minutes now…
Mine is working fine. Ugh lol
@ziveli513 I think there are a few factors that come into play. Remember, you are reading what people post on a posting board.
Some differences:
- major (ie. college). Smeal, Engineering are two of the colleges where standards are tougher.
- GPA. A 3.8 at HS #1 may not equal a 3.8 at HS #2. I would imagine that AO’s know the different HS and how they compare (at least within a region). I remember when we moved and were considering two different school districts. I asked a friend (in Admissions) about them - “are you better to be top 10% at School A or top 20% at School B?” The answer was “You have to make that decision, but everyone in admissions knows School B.” That was a factor in our decision.
There are no two candidates EXACTLY (not shouting, just emphasizing) stats. And there may be information we are not aware of. If you are Milton Eisenhower’s grandchild/great grandchild, you have a “hook” that other candidates may not. (He was president of Penn State when they went from “the Pennsylvania State College” to “The Pennsylvania State University”). Not saying they aren’t qualified, just that we don’t see everything.
So, my point is… while on the surface things may not make sense, there may be other reasons. Of course, given this year, we could also just throw logic out the window (along with the process) and they may have just thrown darts at the wall also.
hope you hear good news tomorrow.