How hard is it to transfer from the division of undergraduate studies to Smeal or the college of engineering? If I get mostly A’s and B’s would it be likely to be able to transfer? Or even if I get all A’s can I still be declined?
Same answer as UConn. These resources are online or reach out to a transfer advisor at each school.
Here’s info for Smeal from DUS specifically.
But if you’re sure you want to study Engineerimg or business, apply to a direct admit school and take the worry out. Start in engineering, bcuz you can go engineering to business but the other way is more difficult.
@citrus333 As long as a student completes the entrance to major requirements and has the necessary GPA, “transfer” to Smeal or engineering is automatic. Students admitted to (pre)Smeal or (pre)engineering need to meet the same entrance to major requirements as students in DUS. See the undergraduate bulletin (link below) for specific course and GPA requirements. Finance requires the highest GPA (3.5), other Smeal majors somewhat lower. Engineering GPA requirements vary from 2.6 (e.g., Electrical) to 3.0 (e.g., Mechanical).
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But would one need to pick one over the other up front - in other words, the pre reqs will be different - depending on Smeal vs. engineering?
I didn’t dig that deep - but I assume that will be the case.
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You could do prerequisites for both freshman year, but would probably need to choose which path to follow by the end of the year.
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It’s not a transfer - most students aiming for Smeal start in DUS. DUS is the “pivot to anything major” (it’s not like “exploratory” which implies some colleges or majors are more competitive than for freshmen applicants or even closed - it’s actually WAY less competitive to get into either one from DUS: you take the classes and get the grades and you’re in).
ALL students are “premajor”: they express an intention, take the courses they need, and adjust when they see their grades. As long as you get A-B grades overall and your major pre-reqs get C or higher (because you really can’t major in Engineering if you can’t pass Calc1&2, you really can’t major in Communication if you can’t pass Freshman English, etc…) you’re good. You can’t be declined if you have the grades in the right courses.
However of course you need to take the right classes. For most majors, freshman year there’s A LOT of overlap between most majors so you can easily pivot from one major to the other, test classes and see what they’re like in case you’d want to major or minor in that.
It’s harder to pivot to Engineering because the path is more prescribed: first semester you’d have English 15/30H, Econ 104, Math 140 (calc) in common with Pre Smeal, but aiming for Engineering would require a specific science class, depending on whether you’d be aiming for a COE major, CS/CSE, EMS, or an Ag-related major like Bioengineering. Generally you’d take Chem 110 or CS. Whereas for Smeal you’d take Foreign Language 2 or 3.
Of course, you could take Chem or CS, not do well or decide that’s not what you want to do, and decide to use the science class as a science Gen Ed then take Foreign Language in the Spring alongside Math 112, Stats 200, Econ 102, etc. and be right along for Smeal. Or you could take foreign language in the Fall because you’re thinking Smeal, decide you want to do Engineering, use that FL class for Humanities gen ed requirements, and take Calc 141, Engineering Design, and Chem 110-111 in the Spring.
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@citrus333 @MYOS1634 and @kidzncatz are correct. Most freshman entering Penn State are “pre-major”. The ones that are direct entry are nursing, PGM, Musical Theatre, Turfgrass (and a few others, but not engineering or smeal majors).
It is NOT a transfer to a different major. If you start in Smeal, you are premajor and must complete the same exact pre-reqs as if you start in DUS. It is called entering your major.
Engineering and Smeal take different paths after freshman year. One thing to be aware of is that Smeal requires Math 110 (business calc) and Engineering requires Math 140 (Engineering calc). Math 140 > Math 110, so Math 140 can be used to fulfill the Math 110 requirement for Smeal. Math 110 cannot be used to fulfill the Math 140 requirement for Engineering. So if you are considering both, take Math 140 freshman fall and if you struggle or don’t do well, be ready to pivot, because the math and physics classes only get more difficult.
One thing to consider: freshman are required to take a 1-credit class in their college. It is designed to introduce you to individual majors in that college. While there will be overlap between them, consider taking that freshman seminar class in BOTH Smeal and Engineering.
good luck
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That’s a REALLY GOOD idea for all undecided students 
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