My son started at Altoona and transitioned easily to UP campus. The process is seamless as long as you are on track for your given major. My son went to UP after only one year because his major at the time required it, and he sank pretty fast up there. He pulled it together after a horrible semester, but he will be the first to tell you that he wasn’t ready for UP at that time. Staying at Altoona for 2 full years would have been a much better route for my son. He is now finishing up his junior year at UP and doing well.
My daughter started at UP and did fine…but it all depends on the kid.
Engineering at UP is extremely challenging and the first year weed out classes weed out A LOT of students. Engineering at Harrisburg and Behrend campuses are very good and an excellent start at Penn State. Lots of kids stay all 4 years as well.
60% of all Penn State grads started at a commonwealth - it’s a great system that allows all different kinds of kids to become part of the Penn State family. My daughter is applying next year to engineering and while she has the grades to start at UP, she is applying directly to a commonwealth campus because she wants smaller classes and more personal attention during that first year engineering.