Has anyone heard of opportunities to alter or change application major to get accepted into summer LEAP program at University Park? Any success stories. Any less competitive majors that are more accepting?
D applied to Eberly / Biology but doesn’t want to be a Dr. Thoughts on College/majors similar to Biotechnology that might be more applied? Less competitive on the application process. Accepted into 2+2 program. 3.7 GPA / 1100. Good EC experience. College of Agriculture has similar areas of study, is that considered less competitive than Eberly / Biotechnology?
Short answer, yes. The college of Ag is considered less competitive than Eberly.
When admissions evaluates applicants, are the applicants evaluated against all applicants ( all colleges ) or are they evaluated against only applicants whom applied to the specific college?
Certain majors have higher entry GPA averages than others, so they aren’t going to compare a liberal arts application to a Smeal application because they aren’t trying to get into the same place. Smeal applicants are compared against other Smeal applicants. That’s why the 3.6 Average GPA for admitted freshman isn’t actually all that accurate - because as you can see from the decision threads, people need A LOT more than that for Smeal, Engineering, Nursing, etc…
@psufan55:
Yes, College of Ag has a lot of “applied biology” majors that are much less competitive to get into than Eberly (and have better job prospects to boot!)
@PSUfan55 , Immunology & Infectious Disease and the Toxicology majors are good options out of Ag. However, while these are easier programs to get into, they aren’t necessarily easier to complete. If you compare the recommended academic plans for those programs against those at Eberly, these majors share much of the same required coursework. Even though these majors are housed out of a different college, students often still take a year of chem, year of organic chem, biol or micro, year of physics, plus have heavy math requirements, etc.
Just my two cents, but what it’s really going to come down to is the math. For most of the pure science degrees, even those out of College of Ag, the student would still need to get through Calc 1 and Calc 2, which isn’t easy. If the student doesn’t excel at calculus, chances are they aren’t going to get through calculus-based physics, which is required for some programs. Unless you are a math whiz, you will need to look for degrees that require the more basic algebra-based “introductory” physics (PHYSICS 250/251).
FYI…this is why picking a major now is kind of ridiculous because you really wouldn’t know all of this unless you work with an adviser. PSU expects students to switch and switch again based on how they perform in the earlier courses.
Biotechnology (Clinical Lab Science option) is an awesome program as you can earn the degree with the lower level physics and more introductory organic chem sequence… plus HUGE job potential. My son almost went this route, and may end up switching to it. It’s ideal for those who like medicine but don’t want to work with patients or go to med school. Advisers told us students get job offers before they even graduate as clinical lab scientists are in demand.
Terrific insight. My daughter was accepted (Fall 2020) into toxicology but also considering immunology and biotechnology, all very similar. Agree on picking a major now feels early, but will certainly look at each path and their respective requirements with an advisor closely.
Daughter emailed an advisor in Eberly and she highlighted the fact that regardless of whatever major/college you start in, keep sight of other majors/colleges you might want to get in to and don’t fall behind on key classes, which is also terrific advice.
I had applied EA to Smeal and was accepted to 2+2 starting at Altoona. I was really disappointed because Penn State is my top school so I called admissions in December (about a week after I received my initial offer) and asked to be reconsidered for Economics in the Liberal Arts college with a summer start, I received my acceptance to UP within 5 days!! I also ended up calling back a few weeks ago and reapplied under economics for just fall…still waiting on that decision, but it was ultimately a very easy process, the admissions counselors were very nice. So yes there are success stories!!
My stats for comparison:
GPA (weighted): 3.6
SAT: 1250
OOS
3-varsity sport athlete, recreation cheer coach, youth group member, Spanish Honors Society, work experience with 3 different jobs, among other forms of volunteer work.
Female
Caucasian