I have a question:
Why are people disappointed when offered 2+2 admission? I mean you still finish at UP and get a UP degree right? It’s just a matter of transferring after two years, which is guaranteed anyway. And applying in 2+2 INCREASES admission chances anyway right?
I applied for mech engineering 2+2 at Behrend and finish at UP, and seeing people’s reactions here, I am wondering if I made the right choice (I am international btw).
Am I missing anything?
@ziveli513 Re: blocks. Both my kids have learning disabilities, different disabilities, and weak in different core subjects. The style of block schedule they had seemed like it would work against them. We opted for a school with traditional scheduling, where they would not have long breaks in their weak areas. The new school has been great for my son. My daughter’s struggles continue. In her case, I think she just has to CARE first!
Hi @omnom2169 People have different opinions regarding 2+2. For my son, UP is his first choice and we are OOS. We are not familiar with the Commonwealth campuses and don’t see the value in paying OOS tuition for a school that was not on his radar even if he was to transfer to UP after two years. For him it’s UP or nothing in Pennsylvania. He has options with other schools, so if UP doesn’t work out, he’s okay moving on. He definitely has the stats for UP - in fact on the high end as advised by an Admissions counselor - however this combo of EA and Common App this year has thrown everyone off. So in one year he’d be a shoe-in, but this year he’s still currently ‘under review’.
@MyaCocoa yes I can see in your case u obviously had to look deep and choose for your precious kids 
We were fortunate that block worked well for us and our very large pa high school community so I wanted to put that out in “defense” of block schedules as a concept, has worked for thousands of our high school kids since 2009?
@omnom2169 Some people want UP because they really want the huge school, big football games, Greek life atmosphere starting their freshman year. If those things are of less (or no) importance to you, starting at a branch campus makes a lot of sense. In your case, I think starting at Behrend seems like a win-win situation. Behrend has an excellent engineering department and entrance to major requirements for mechanical engineering are less strict than at UP. So if you don’t get the 3.2 GPA needed to move to UP in 2 years, you could still receive a well-respected degree staying at Behrend (as long as you meet their entrance-to-major requirement of 2.4 GPA).
@ziveli513 The other thing is that a lot of types of schedules can be called “block” but not all create big gaps in time for subjects. So one also has to be clear which SYSTEM of block is being discussed. In other words, not all block schedules are created equal.
Also @lucyvanpelt.
I just want to thank you all for helping me get through these past few weeks! WE ARE!
@omnom2169 I think many pa students (like my d) have an emotional attachment to the UP main campus for reasons u will see in many posts, legacy family, grew up going to football games at UP, etc
Add to that for my d the high standards academically specific to UP classes, my d is an honor student so she wants to be with a population of mostly higher achieving kids without necessarily taking honors classes
So 2+2 isn’t appealing to my d for example for those reasons but might be perfect for many others
Also oos tuition factors in for starting at a branch for some who have other options
You are viewing 2+2 logically from abroad, which maybe sounds just right for your case
Imo don’t be swayed if you have researched all angles for yourself Good luck!
@omnom2169 , I agree with you. First you picked an excellent branch for engineering! Behrend/Erie is a beautiful campus (although cold/snowy) and with 4,000+ students, you will get the full campus experience. Engineering is such a tough program. If I were a student, and knowing all the weed out classes at UP, I’d personally opt for spending the first two years at Erie (2nd choice for engineering would be Harrisburg.) You should benefit from smaller classes and more 1-on-1 attention, which can help you tackle the more rigorous coursework, and hopefully boost your GPA so you can officially declare your major of choice prior to moving up to UP. I definitely don’t see 2+2 as a negative, especially for engineering. It’s a smart choice.
Thank you @greencarrot01 for that additional nugget of information. So theoretically the torture can go on until Feb 2nd midnight (PSU admissions coomittee decision on the 31st, 2 day lagp ortal batch release) ugh 
@omnom2169 Behrend is a beautiful campus and has some engineering majors that UP doesn’t offer for instance Interdisciplinary Business with Engineering Studies and Plastics Engineering Technology. My S went to UP his Freshman year and then took two weed out classes at Behrend over the summer. Then he could concentrate on one weed out class at a time.
@MyaCocoa good point.
But I think we agree there are many issues to consider all around! ?
Thank you everyone for the answers. I now understand that the degree of the value stays the same whether I do 2+2 or UP, and I definitely agree that Behrend is a good place to start for engineering. Considering Penn State did EA and Common App this year, I thought it would be smart to do 2+2 and have a great start at getting a Penn State degree than getting waitlisted or something at the end. My stats are easily in UP ranges, but I just wanted to be safe.
Anyway, I got acceptances at Purdue and Minnesota Twin Cities so it’s not like I am in desperate need of this acceptance, but when the comes for me to commit to a university, having as many acceptances as possible is a good thing.
UNFORTUNATELY, MY “APPLICATION MATERIALS ARE STILL BEING VERIFIED” IT IS SO ANNOYING.
Congrats to everyone who got decisions today!! As hard as the wait it, these days when all of the acceptances come through are fun!
@omnom2169 Behrend is a great campus. I think you made a very smart choice in seeing how the application process was rolling out this year. I expect you will have no trouble with admission into Behrend.
What’s the minimum GPA required for transferring from a branch campus to University Park after two years?
@ChineseInUSA That depends on the entrance to major requirements for your major. This information can be found in the Undergraduate Bulletin. Needed GPA varies widely, from 2.0 to 3.5.
@GmanCC - Seems as if they are doing batch acceptances by major. I’ve seen numerous engineering and DUS updates on the accepted 2023 page, but not much for other majors. Still anxiously awaiting a decision for the nursing program for DD. Good luck to your daughter!
As of now, I’m still waiting for a decision. I chose biology as my major. Stats: 3.65 GPA 1250 SAT. Everyone from my school who applied last year got in.
ANYONE WHO GOT WAITLISTED… have u received an admission decision?
@NJCheermom3 Same here! NJ Daughter Nursing, 1370 SAT, 4.25 W GPA, 5 APs, many honors and good EC with leadership and volunteer. Applied in EA. Nursing seems so competitive everywhere. I have seen that few have received acceptances to Penn State and I know the pool will be small but have a hard time thinking they don’t know who the are taking yet!