ECs/leadership/awards donāt really matter at Penn State, except as an āicing on the cakeā type of thing. Itās really 2/3 (GPA Ć rigor) and mostly test scores ā if no SAT/ACT, does your daughter have a few AP 4s and 5s to submit and list on her application, on CommonApp and/or in her PSU statement? Most relevant would be 4-5s in AP Bio, AP Stats, AP Psych or their equivalent. She should retake the SAT or ACT and try to score at least 1300 to have a shot - TODAY is the last day for LATE REGISTRATIONā Sept 13 SAT.
DUS is probably about as competitive as Psychology but itās worth a shot, especially if she doesnāt have the above AP scores/classes or equivalent.
Your daughter sounds like a very good student but one for whom the āone size fits all/huge schoolā PSU process doesnāt allow her to show her strengths. Definitely visit PASSHE campuses near you if you can (they would be likeliestl, some have Honors Colleges), perhaps solid colleges such as Juniata (very good for Psychology) or run the NPC on Clark University (also very good for Psychology). Allegheny and Susquehanna are very good colleges too. These are smaller and thus have a more personalized admission process, which would allow your studentās ECs and leadership to shine. A college that really likes involved students is Hiram, probably a safety.
Ok, excellent ā donāt apply TO, and submit them all - make sure to request the SAT scores be sent automatically to PSU and around October 15 check if they did receive them since that gives you time to course correct before Nov1.
My child is applied EA August 1st to College of Education, UP first preference with summer consideration. They are very borderline with 3.68 unweighted, 4 honors, 1 12th grade honors and 2 12th grade APās. Not submitting SATs. Has tons of ECās but I know that doesnāt matter here. Any thoughts on how this may play out from experience?
For Education, ECs that show genuine interest in children or young people (coaching or tutoring or teaching Sunday school or being camp counselor.. etc) can help.
If the GPA is all B+ A- A it may work for Elementary or Special Ed, or if she has lots of As in the subject she intends to teach as well as its affiliates (if you intend to teach science you canāt just have an A in biology, you need good grades in all Science courses and in Math, for instance.) Or were the As outside the 5 core subjects and the Bs in core subjects? How the GPA was achieved will be key (and, to a lesser extent, what she intends to teach).
3.68 is okay for education but a total of 7 weighted courses would also make things iffy unless her school doesnāt offer many honors/AP classes (did she take foreign language through level 4 or AP? Math through precalculus or additional math? These would also ācountā). So, itās not a target, more of a low reach (= reachable, roll the dice but definitely have targets and likelies on the college list). @lucy_van_pelt what do you think?
Thank you for all this. She is mostly all A-ās, 2 B+ and 1 B in honors Chem. Has taken up to Pre-Calc and taking Stat, AP Bio and AP Psych this year. Her goal is rehabilitation services for Pre-OT or PA school post undergrad.
Hi! Reading thru the thread as my son is getting ready to submit. He will be checking summer session but really has no interest at a branch (we live less then a mile away from one) did your child check both summer and branch or just summer?
Check a branch far away from or close to home because AFAIK you wonāt be able to submit if you donāt, but if not admitted to UP thereās traditionally been a āsecond chanceā called āreconsiderationā for students who know they will attend, by switching to a less selective major/college and Summer. You can agree as a family that if Fall or Summer UP is not happening even after reconsideration, youāll forget about PSU (āchin up, itās their loss ā) and focus on the āuniversities that love you backā - just make sure you have a list built from the foundations up, with 2 decent choices that are affordable and sure things for admissions. Could be UMaine, West Chester, Miami Ohio, SUNY Oswego, Susquehanna, Allegheny, LaSalle, St Joeāsā¦ then all is cherry on top Good luck and do return to let us know how it went!
Ohhh so to clarify (heās our 4th but our older 3 are already graduated from college and it has been years since any applied to PSU and things have really really changed lol) to even submit PSU app, you have to ācheck offā branch campusās? Summer LEAP he would absolutely be fine with doing so thatās not an issue also is there still a place to list family that has gone to PSU, or is that not even a thing anymore? I really appreciate any guidance!!!
Apologies for one other question. Applying thru common app vs my Penn state portalā¦ there is no advantage to applying direct to PSU, they are read the same etc etc or am I mistaken? Thanks again!
Theyāre read the same but the CommonApp no longer has the option of a Psu-specific essay so if you want to write one (to highlight legacy, specific reasons for interest in PSU, etc) rather than send your CommonApp essay, youāre better off using the PsuApp. CommonApp does let you indicate what university your parents attended if thatās all you need to say and youād rather not write an extra essay.
Keep in mind the essay only has a marginal weight, the main part of the decision is GPAĆrigor (and, to a lesser extent, test scores if submitted). It may matter in marginal cases, where the applicant is neither a slam dunk nor clearly *really* reaching - so if the essay may make a difference itās worth doing, especially if your child is a good writer and/or if youāre like me, a āno stone left unturned means no regretsā type of person
For UP, in December. It doesnāt matter whether you applied 8/1 or 10/1, itās not on a first come first serve basis unlike, say, Pitt. Some of the very top applicants, whose stats show PSU is clearly a safety or an āif Schreyerā proposition, may hear in November but itās pure luck their application was reviewed early. If a student is a top student and doesnāt hear by Dec 15, it doesnāt mean anything, it could just be theyāre not done with that application yet. Thereās no rime or reason and logically it drives parents absolutely nuts especially when their child has heard back from another university and PSU is their first choice. We all try to keep the forum friendly and supportive, especially between November 1st and December 22, when stress is very high.
Schreyer is always end of February to March 1-2.
For any branch campus, estimate about six weeks after the application is complete (including SRAR/STARS processed and test scores received)
We attended one of the SASD sessions in August. Several admissions officers told us that they really donāt take into consideration the essay or ECs. We were unaware of the new Smeal Direct admission process before we went, so I am glad we attended. We tried to get more information about what they are looking for regarding GPAs, test scores, etc, but they were very vague (ājust make sure he is challenging himselfā, etc.). They also said they will be increasing the number of accepted students from 800 to about 1500. So now, like many others, we are trying to decide if DS should apply directly to Smeal for 2026. Fall start is preferred, but willing to start in summer. Assume test optional (will decide after September SAT).
GPA: 3.79 UW/4.04 W Rigor: 4 APs junior and senior year, 10 Honors courses ECs (for what itās worth): Include varsity athlete (competes year round), various mentoring activities, student section leader, part-time job In state
- make sure to request the SAT scores be sent automatically to PSU and around October 15 check if they did receive them since that gives you time to course correct before Nov1.
ā) and focus on the āuniversities that love you backā - just make sure you have a list built from the foundations up, with 2 decent choices that are affordable and sure things for admissions. Could be UMaine, West Chester, Miami Ohio, SUNY Oswego, Susquehanna, Allegheny, LaSalle, St Joeāsā¦ 
then all is cherry on top 
also is there still a place to list family that has gone to PSU, or is that not even a thing anymore? I really appreciate any guidance!!!
