Accepted!!
SAT: 1200
GPA: 3.9/4.06
Rank: no rank
Extra: Many - Captain Swim Team, AntiDefamation League Peer Trainer 3 years, NHS, Many hours of service, Work, Science Olympiad… etc
State Residency: PA
Ethnicity: White
Gender: F
Applied date: October 4
Applied Early Action?: Yes EA
Decision date: 12/19
Decision/College: Accepted Fall 2020 DUS
Campus: University Park
So excited seeing many acceptances!
May I ask what are the incentives to apply for summer start (other than trying to graduate a semester earlier)? My apology for being clueless about this. Thanks.
@lucyvanpelt, In D’s case her stats were slightly below the middle 50% for UP, so we knew selecting summer start could increase her chances, even though we still hoped for fall admission. Based on the stats I have seen, she could have just as easily been offered fall as summer, although it appears they accepted more OOS (translated higher tuition) kids with lower stats for fall, at least in DUS. Of course when preparing applications you have no idea how many schools you will actually be accepted to, so you cast as wide a net as possible. If PSU summer start was her only option, then it would be a no brainer and we would make it work financially. However, when PSU is not your first choice, and other equally or more attractive traditional fall start offers come in, the summer start then becomes a negative. All else being equal, if I had an extra $7K+ to spend, I would prefer to take the entire family an a meaningful vacation over the summer instead. But since I don’t, the $7K+ would put a serious dent in an already outrageous fall tuition. PSU is still on the table as an option, just not as attractive an option as if it was fall start.
I was accepted on December 5th, but I only realized it on December 14th when they sent me an email about the “Next Step”. It was unexpected and I was very confused at first ?
I was accepted on December 5th, but I only realized it on December 14th when they sent me an email about the “Next Step”. It was unexpected and I was very confused at first ?
Sophley, mine is also HHD. I think I have only seen one HHD and that is a high scorer.
Okay, I thought I posted that weeks ago!
Hello everyone, my son received his answer today – 2+2 Hospitality Management, College of HHD. I realize that his stats may not be like everyone else’s, but I hope that gives people hope. My son has some learning disabilities and his middle/first high school would not provide him good accommodations – he worked his rear off and brought his GPA up .5 in just one year. He’s a super guy if I do say so. This is his first choice. We will write to them and remind him he is willing to do summer.
SAT: 1150
ACT: 25
GPA: 3.0; Current quarter 3.939
State Residency: In-state (PA)
Gender: M
Applied date: 10/06/2019
Applied Early Action?: Yes
Decision date: 12/20/2019
Decision/College: College of Health and Human Development (HHD)
Campus: 2+2 Brandywine (Media)/University Park; selected summer option
Extracurriculars – Scouts, work (in the hospitality industry), Community Service
AP: one course this year
@Yocco3 thanks for the answer… makes sense!
I don’t think that admissions is necessarily admitting OOS kids with lower stats because of more money. I guess I’m not that cynical. There are many more things that go into an admissions decision. I know a 4.0 from the HS I went to is nowhere close to a 4.0 from my kids’ HS. But their HS is known for strong rigor, so that helps them. Not all schools are created equal. Not all GPA’s are created equal. Penn State is about 70/30 PA/OOS. (as opposed to Michigan which is about 50/50). Maybe I’m wrong, but if you truly believe our state-related school (which still does receive financing from the state) is biased against in-state students, I would encourage you to call your state legislators and have that conversation.
ACT: N/A
SAT: 1410
GPA: 3.8 UW
Rank: 28/330
Extra: German Club, Stage Crew
State Residency: PA
Ethnicity: White
Gender: M
Applied date: 8/16
Applied Early Action?: Yes
Decision date: 12/20 (letter says 12/19 but portal updated today)
Decision/College: Accepted, Liberal Arts
Campus: UP
Seriously thought I was gonna get deferred to the Priority deadline lol
do y’all think they will post decisions for nursing tonight?
probably not. my daughter is so nervous it’s killing me!!!
They posted decisions for BSN-DN got in!
i got my acceptance for nursing at UP around a week and a half ago!!
Does anyone know how the housing situation works? I am international and haven’t had the opportunity to visit. How do they choose roommates? Are the bathrooms communal? And how are the freshman dorms?
@cicirom: Look at the housing thread pinned at the top of this forum.
There are various options (Schreyer, Living Learning Communities, renovated, old…)
DUS is not always the least competitive major at Penn State. The last few years with so many students applying DUS as back-door ways into Smeal, the DUS pool is usually pretty competitive.
Since she was accepted for summer, that means they have already evaluated her for fall DUS and she didn’t make the cut. So the only thing you could do would be to change to a different major for reconsideration.
Also, keep in mind that SAT scores are only 1/3 of the decision and it’s also really difficult to compare GPA’s across different school districts as different schools weight differently.
For what it’s worth, both of my kids did LEAP and LOVED It. One did it at UP campus and the other chose to do it at Altoona even though he didn’t have to for admission. My daughter who did summer LEAP at UP campus had the time of her life. I’ve often heard of kids who don’t want to do summer. I’ve literally never heard of anyone who didn’t love summer at PSU after they did it.
Sophley, I could not agree more. We see it here every year, right? People desperate to go to UP campus (or bust!). My daughter was the same. It was UP or nothing. She did fine, but many of her friends who were the same did not. Especially if they were in a heavy STEM major. My son started at Altoona, and due to his major (at the time), he had to go to UP in his sophomore year. It was a disaster. I think he went from a 3.5 at Altoona to a 1.7 that semester at UP. It was a HUGE adjustment. He’s a second semester junior and thankfully back up to his pre UP GPA, but for a while there, we were thinking he was coming home. He will be the first person to say that he should have stayed at Altoona longer, or even all 4 years. The smaller classes and the more personalized attention from nearly every department was what my son needed. Sitting in a lecture hall with 700 other students is not how everyone can learn. For my daughter, she thrived in the big environment…as I did in 1990. But it’s not for everyone.
If PSU is a reach - start at a commonwealth campus. It can be the difference between finishing in the major and flaming out.
@jlhpsu thank you so much for your insight as I did not realize DUS was so competitive. She was leaning Btwn communication and business and her academic rep suggested DUS but now with other acceptances she’s received from other schools summer is not as appealing as she has potential other commitment. Really happy to hear about how competitive DUS has become as I have Another daughter applying to colleges in another year so very helpful
ACCEPTED!
ACT: 23
SAT: 1120
GPA: 3.2 UW 4.2 W took Hon and AP classes throughout HS and doubled up on sciences and math classes.
Rank: 212/371
Extra: Art major, strong portfolio (got into TU TSOA when 16 yrs old) President of multiple clubs, played varsity club soccer, Ran XC, Ran and threw varsity Track and field, played HS soccer. Won awards for art pieces in solo exhibitions for my school.
State Residency: Out of state
Ethnicity: caucasian
Gender: F
Applied date: Oct. 21st
Applied Early Action?: yes
Decision date: Dec 21st
Decision/College: School of visual art/ arts and architecture
Campus: University Park