3.72 weighted GPA
ACT 25
SAT 1130
5 years of foreign language
3 years Varsity football
JV tennis captain
Scholar Athlete
Founder and President of High School Club
Summer internship with US Congressman
Male- OOS
Would attend Summer, but prefer Fall
** Political Science major
I’d really try to boost the standardized test scores, on youtube there is a channel called supertutortv that has some amazing tips for improving your scores. The scores seem to be the only real downfall of your application. Otherwise you have some really impressive extracurricular activities! Sounds like you’d be a wonderful addition to the PSU campus. Good luck!
@wingzone , what is your unweighted GPA and # of advanced and AP courses?
Unweighted 3.5.
11 honors and 1 AP
@wingzone , I think you should be fine for college of liberal arts if you can get your SAT score up another 150 or so points. Your SAT is about 100 below the 1250 score published for the 25th percentile. Your test scores could be a red flag to the adcoms. Best of luck! I’m sure you’ll find posts where kids with your stats were accepted while others were rejected. its Tough to know. Your best bet is to apply early and indicate a willingness to start in the summer.
Thank you for your advice.
Apply to Political Science as soon as you get new test scores in the 1200s (prep with a tutor or join a class) and by the end of October at the latest. Indicate willingness to start in the summer.
Is it affordable? (You wouldn’t get any financial aid, beside the 5.4k federal loans. What’s your parents’ budget?
An ACT of 25 is equivalent to SAT of 1200-1220, so your ACT is stronger than your SAT. You may want to study for and retake the ACT instead of the SAT. I think you have a good chance of admission, especially if you apply early and are willing to start in the summer. As mentioned above, check with your parents about finances. Penn State OOS costs are >$45,000 per year, summer session adds another >$11,000, and financial aid will be limited to the $5500 direct student loan.
I think going DUS for fall would be a target but redo if you can SAT or ACT… in orientation you might be able to transfer to political science. Applying early to give you a chance to negotiate with admissions
Political Science is equal in selectivity to DUS so there’s no advantage to applying DUS. Summer session would be an advantage.