With the new process (starting Fall2026) it’s going to be basically impossible to go from Econ to Finance.
Students are either admitted to Smeal directly or to DUS.
Those in DUS (or Econ switching to DUS, or perhaps straight Econ…) who have completed all the Smeal premajor requirements (in addition to their original or fallback major’s) can be selected for whatever Smeal major still has places once the Direct admit students have sorted themselves out. Finance is always the most popular so there won’t be any place left.
Students with sub-3.5 GPAs are typically offered a branch campus. This is compounded by the fact you only have 2 years of French when Smeal or CLA really want 3, 4, or AP. Penn State doesn’t superscore so they’d only consider the 1310. In short, unless you plan to start at Abington or Altoona, Penn State is not happening.
@TheRealMango: if you’re serious about Penn State being one of your top choices and if you can afford it, your best bet is to check Summer (not Fall, just Summer ) and choose Agribusiness as a major - it’s a collaboration between Agriculture and Smeal, with excellent professional outcomes, and they don’t mind if you only had 2 years of a Foreign language. You’d start in July with the LEAP program - check out the 2025 Penn State thread about it, or ask questions, I’ll gladly answer. You may still “be branched” but Agribusiness/Summer probably your best shot at attending University Park. The likely outcome beside LEAP/Agribusiness is your being admitted to a branch campus, where you spend the first two years, then if you meet the basic requirements you automatically transition to UP for Junior and Senior year. Students at Altoona, Behrend, Abington, or Harrisburg are in the 3.2-3.5 range. You could even start as pre-Smeal there. What would be best from your point of view if you had a choice?
Seconding @AustenNut’s fantastic UCincinnati recommendation above. Sounds perfect for everything you want. 