<p>My D was an AB student in high school who had to work hard in high school. She has been accepted to Penn State. Can an average student do well or will she feel overwhelmed by the size and the large classes. Is there extra help available if needed? Is Penn State the type of school where a student has to take charge?</p>
<p>Any info is much appreciated.</p>
<p>A few of my friends in high school went to Penn State and had a pretty good time. I think since it’s a large state school it might be a little easier to fall between the cracks, but they probably also have a ton of programs for students that are motivated enough to take advantage of them.</p>
<p>It’s really a personal preference as to how you deal with large classes. One of my best friends hated classes with fewer than 20 students since he was forced to participate in them. He really excelled in lectures where, well, the professor lectured for an hour and you took notes. If your daughter prefers smaller classes, hopefully she’ll be in a smaller department and start taking upper level classes quickly where classes tend to shrink in size.</p>
<p>An average student should be able to do just fine at Penn State, as long as academics are a priority.
It was named #1 party school, I think (hence the recent “This American Life” broadcast on NPR), so it’s something to be aware of. But, of course, if you are looking for a party, there’s one at every school…</p>
<p>Not an average student, and not an average school. I don’t think grades have anything to do with it, it’s just whether your kid can get something out of the big school experience. Certainly anyone with a 3.0 in high school and a 22 ACT can do just fine academically.</p>
<p>I have a friend that went there - he triple majored (engineering, art and math) and he’s a smart and talented guy so my impression of Penn State is positive.</p>
<p>Large state universities can have that impersonal feeling with large lecture halls and not always the best advising. There should be information on the schools website about tutoring resources available to students. In large lecture halls, getting access to the professor can be hard or impossible but there should be access to help from tutors. It’s a great time to learn about using study groups too if this wasn’t learned in high-school.</p>
<p>In smaller classes, professors usually have office hours that students can go to for help.</p>
<p>To some extent, the department can make the school feel more welcoming. Some departments have very large numbers of students in their majors and they can seem impersonal. Other departments maybe small so that the professors know the students making it easy for students to come in to chat. It may be worthwhile visiting the department offices when school is in session to get a feel for the department if the school isn’t too far away.</p>
<p>You might also want to ask this in the College Life forum in case there are Penn State students there. I don’t know if there is a separate forum for the school but that might also be a good place to post.</p>
<p>Oh, here’s the specific forum for Penn State: [Penn</a> State - University Park - College Confidential](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/penn-state-university-park/]Penn”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/penn-state-university-park/) It looks like there’s some activity there, so you might be able to get a slightly more specific response there.</p>
<p>If your daughter got accepted to Penn State University Park, she is a considerably better than average student.</p>
<p>The average students get sent to the branch campuses.</p>
<p>Agree with Marian. A lot depends on your major, too. My niece is an engineering major (senior) and is doing well (after a horrible first semester freshman year). She works her butt off and is frequently stressed out about her classes and her workload.</p>
<p>I think that’s pretty typical of engineers at most schools, though. ;)</p>
<p>My D is interested in communication disorders/speech pathology at Penn state.</p>
<p>It’s a state college. They will not hold her hand. They do not care if she passes or fails. If she keeps up, does the work and goes to class she should be fine. As she gets into her major she will get to know her profs and have smaller classes. Its a great school and anyone who wants to can excel and stand out.</p>
<p>Good Luck to her.</p>
<p>It’s a very big school with the typical big school concerns - big classes, big campus, not much individual attention. Both my nephew and my niece went to Penn State - they are brother and sister - my niece hated it and she was accepted to University Park. She is now at Millersville. My nephew, on the other hand, spent two years at a local branch campus then went to University Park for his last two years - he LOVED it and did very well. He was an above-average student, but wasn’t accepted to University Park, but he did well anyway. He graduated with a degree in journalism. He did his share of partying but he knew how to balance that with academics. </p>
<p>I guess what I’m trying to say is that it comes down to individual preferences. If your DD can handle the “bigness” of the university, she should be fine. If not, she may end up hating it, but that happens all the time. I’d have a real heart to heart with her and try to visit the campus before she makes her decision.</p>
<p>As others have said Penn State is what you make it. And the range of students is average to above average to very smart. I have a nephew there who was an excellent HS student and as he completes sophomore yr is carrying a 3.9 in the business program - he will declare specific major as a junior.
Lots of very smart people there in all different majors; and lots of avg. B kids there too.</p>
<p>I guess a good question to ask the OP is what she considers average? is your D a 3.5 student in college prep classes or has she challenged herself with honors and AP’s? how are her SAT/ACTs? </p>
<p>real average kids these days are not accepted into Penn State UPark; I’m assuming 3.0-3.3 kids with corresponding SAT/ACT as being average…</p>
<p>if your D has higher grades, she is not necessarily average…</p>
<p>My D had a 3.7 average in college prep level courses but only opne AP class and one Honors class.</p>
<p>Large universities like Penn State can provide resources and experiences that simply can’t be found at smaller schools… particularly in the sciences and engineering where a small school student simply won’t have access to some of the things at a much larger research university. However, yes it takes a certain type of student to succeed at a large university. </p>
<p>It’s true that at a large school you can fall through the cracks, but it’s untrue to say that you won’t get personalized attention. You will get that attention, but you have to seek it. </p>
<p>This is a gross generalization obviously, but those that tend to do not so well at large schools are those that expect things to be handed to them and expect more spoon feeding… those that succeed tend to be the opposite–very outgoing and the type that will go knock on doors to get what they want. Personally I think that’s fine since you need to be a go getter in the real world so better to start sooner rather than later. </p>
<p>For the outgoing type-A science/engineering student that wants access to the best research labs and the best equipment then a large research university is likely the best choice… they would likely get bored at a small school. Equally for those who prefer a smaller campus and more intimate atmosphere a small school may be the better choice.</p>
<p>I’ll answer this question because I find Penn State and UMCP to be fairly equatable (so many people from MD go to Penn and vice versa that to me they’re basically the same school haha). </p>
<p>Some majors are going to be really, really difficult to succeed in if you are not “gifted” in a certain area. For example, comp sci, engineering are two majors where you really have to be more than “average” with hard work. If your D had to work really, really hard at math in high school, she would have to work really, really, really, really, really, really hard at engineering in college.</p>
<p>Other majors/classes, I didn’t find a discernable difference in difficulty of work, only in quantity of work. Ex. English/history classes didn’t require more depth of thought, just more work (I did take exceptional English/history classes in high school, but, just sayin’). </p>
<p>I’m not saying engineers are smarter or their major is harder or something. I am saying it’s a different KIND of work. For engineering class you make take one test which determines your grade (or two). Now that class might be geared toward the naturally
talented, who doesn’t want to do a lot of extra work outside of class (he/she is not required to). Now, for a history class, you may have to read 100s of pages and write a 20 page paper. In that case, it’s not necessarily about who is smarter, but who has more endurance. </p>
<p>I think, IN GENERAL, college is not geared towards the “naturally smart but lazy” but rather to the “average but hard working.” In general, I found college work no more difficult (and sometimes considerably easier) than high school work…HOWEVER it was 10x MORE work and requires 10x MORE discipline, etc. for a person who skated by in HS. </p>
<p>If your daughter worked hard in HS, chances are she has the dedication and work ethic to do well at any college which accepted her. College definitely separates out those people who want to skate by with their intellect, and those people who want to put in the work (with the exception of some majors, which require a lot of work and a certain special aptitude for a particular subject).</p>
<p>Generally it is the “average student who worked hard” who succeeds in college, not the “smart kid who didn’t do squat and still managed to get As”.</p>
<p>Thanks for the responses. Sounds like there is extra help if a student seeks it out. I think it comes down to a student figuring out how to work hard/play hard and how to schedule her time.</p>
<p>PSU is a very large university - I have been to State College numerous times. You should know that PSU is a HUGE party school. As other have noted, if a student can get around the partying, dealing with the bureaucracy, the large class sizes and lack of personal attention, one can succeed. It depends on the child. Some thrive in the large environments, some fall through the cracks or suffer from not being able to function with the distractions and lack of personal attention</p>
<p>Like most colleges, Penn State appears to provide a wide range of academic support services: [Academic</a> Support - Penn State Undergraduate Admissions](<a href=“http://admissions.psu.edu/life/support/academic/index.cfm]Academic”>Academic Support at Penn State - Undergraduate Admissions)</p>