Hello, hoping to get some advice and insight on my chances of getting into Smeal at University Park for a finance or accounting major. My stats are 4.0 GPA UW/5.25 Weighted GPA, a 1280 SAT (most likely going test optional) and decent extracurriculars. I have 8 AP classes, 3 my junior year and 5 this current year, which is the maximum amount one can take in a year at my school. The scores were a 5 on AP Language & Comp, 4 on APUSH and 4 on Pre-Calc. First thing I was hoping to find out is if I should even submit my SAT, and then also my likelihood of getting in. Thanks!
GPAĆrigor definitely plays in your favor!
I wouldnāt submit that SAT score but you could include your AP scores. Iām also assuming youāre taking Calc AB this year and hopefully you have through level 3 or 4 in a foreign language.
Note that you will need a score of at least 4 on the AP test if you want to avoid the weed out calc1 class and go straight into Math 111 (just 2 credits and a good way to show some math on your college transcript - itās the second level of the business application calc series and not weed out because itās not required, just a nice to have.)
Anyway, yes Iād say itās a match (50-50 odds or better) with the caveat Smeal has changed its admission process and thus its criteria and we have no data yet. Itās likely to remain the most competitive college to get into after nursing.
Also, be aware PSU doesnāt really offer merit unless you get into Schreyer (and even then, only 5k!) so definitely run the NPC&check whether itās within budget for your parents.
Hi, checking in again for my Smeal hopeful child. They retook the SAT in the hopes of improving their math score but scored the same - 650. They have a 4.0 unweighted GPA, took AP Calc AB last year and is taking Stat as a Dual Enrollment this year. They only got a 3 on the Calc AP. They took/are taking a total of 5 APs at our school (out of 7 offered) and are otherwise in honors classes. They plan to check summer session as an option. Should they submit their SAT score? It falls very much in the middle. Concerned that by not submitting, Penn State will assume the score is even worse and definitely wonāt admit. Thank you!
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Because the 650 is in line with the rest of the record, it wouldnāt enhance the application but wouldnāt diminish it either - whereas as you say, not submitting would let Admissions assume the score is below what the rest of the transcript would infer, perhaps in the 500s.. There are more downsides to not submitting than there are to sending the score so Iād submit that score.
I wouldnāt submit the 3 on the Calc AB test, since it wonāt enhance the application and wonāt result in credit (a 4 is the minimum needed to skip Math 140 or 110).
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According to the common data set, Penn State considers ātalent/ability,ā but does not consider the essay or extra-curriculars. How would they know someone has talent without looking at their ECs? Just wondering.
I think the CDS is misleading.
Roughly 2/3 decision = (GPAĆrigor) and most of the last third is test scores if provided, with everything else the cherry on top.
As a result, if youāre admitted thanks to GPAĆrigor and perhaps test scores, you wouldnāt be un-admitted due to an uninteresting essay.
And if you were clearly not qualified for the major chosen at a University Park college, say you have a 2.8 or 3.0 GPA with mostly regular classes, this would indicate you really need the 2 years at a branch campus because you wouldnāt survive academically at University Park. No essay would change that.
So essays, reasons for applying, ECs.. would only matter for students who are borderline - say, 3.5-6 GPA students, etc.
Iām guessing ātalentā could also be a euphemism for ārecruited athleteā 
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I find that the CDS in general are a bit misleading. For instance, Iām not entirely sure the GPAs listed for the different schools are all consistently reported. Penn Stateās CDS shows that 50% of students had a GPA of 4.0, which doesnāt make a whole lot of sense given that:
A. Only 37% were in the top 10th of their HS class.
B. I know thereās rampant grade inflation, but even so, Iām hard pressed to believe that half the students had a perfect 4.0 GPA. Statistically, thatās not really possible.
This leads me to believe that they are reporting on whatever their weighted GPA calculation is.
Iāve seen this kind of anomaly in the CDS of other schools as well. Lots of schools, even those with very high acceptance rates and very low average SAT and ACT scores, are reporting large #s of students with perfect 4.0 GPAs or GPAs over 3.75. This is, as I said, statistically hardly possible.
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Absolutely 
Has anyone heard of more people will be pushed 2+2 this year now that they require you to pick a satellite campus? Our kid is super borderline with UW gpa for summer so nervous this new requirement will push to 2+2
3.72 W, 3.6 UW 5 honors, 2 AP by graduation, no SAT applying education/special ed
Yes, for sure. Some collegesā CDS show an average GPA of over 4, making it obvious they are using weighted. But when itās less than 4, there isnāt really a way to know. But what you are saying makes sense and you are likely correct that they are using weighted.
Sorry if I missed it above somewhere - have you shared how Penn State calculates the weighted GPA? Do they use unweighted, weighted, or both in their review?
Theyāve been requiring students to choose a branch campus for at least 3 years so that wouldnāt change a thing - if anything, theyāre growing the freshman class admitted to University Park (from 7,000 to 10,000 over 10 years, weāre at 8,000-9,000 at the moment).
I think some use weighted and some use unweighted. Regardless, we canāt know what weāre really looking at because we donāt know how most of them even weight things (some are transparent about that, but the vast majority are not). My child goes to a competitive public HS, and while they offer a decent raw # of APs, they have it structured so that you canāt take any before Junior year, and then could only take 2 in Junior year. Max you could take in senior year is 5. So if APs are weighed more highly than honors classes, my kidās GPA is going to be lower than that of a lot of others where they can take like 14+ APs. The honors classes at her school are just as hard as the AP classes though and allow more flexibility in the curriculum, often lending themselves to deeper discussions. Anyway, my point is, who knows the weighting systems and how they draw conclusions about ācollege readinessā. I think thatās where the school profile, SAT/ACT scores and the AO knowledge of the schools in their territories come in, though the school profiles can vary greatly in their level of detail as well.
This is whatās so stressful about the process. Thereās no transparency. Your kid just has to do the best they can and then everyone has to keep their zen and remember that in most cases, everything turns out how it should (though this is 1000x easier said than done).
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This is good to know, thank you for clarifying:-)
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unweighted, but they will look at the rigor of course schedule
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@cv08 i know you are anxious, but as @MYOS1634 said, the requirement to list a secondary campus has been there quite a while. My oldest applied 8 years ago and she was required.
As for weightings, admissions understand HS profiles. They have LOTS of experience with each different HS and knows the competitiveness. I will never forget 20 years ago when we were debating a new house. I asked a friend (college admissions counselor) if top 20% at {uber-competitive public HS} or top 10% at {middle-competitive public HS} and was told āevery college admissions counselor knows {uber-competitive public HS}ā. So this can work in your favor if you are from one of those schools.
@anxiousmom711 pointed out, every school has a different profile and admissions understands that.
Good luck all. We are still a little way away from admissions decisions rolling out, but in this case, later might be better. Kids who have been sent to alternative campuses (or directly applied to alternative campuses), will hear first. They actually may start in October. So when a kid announces to friends that he got into UP in October, donāt necessarily believe it. In the past, the earliest Iāve seen decisions roll out is usually early November. Obviously, the process can change from year to year, but that has been the historical trend.
Good luck all!
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I donāt know everything about weighting, not for sure.
I do know that they add up Honors, AP, IB, DE to estimate rigor (including senior schedule). AFAIK 12+ total is good, 16+ is excellent.
I donāt know how they factor schools with restrictions or schools that donāt offer many APs; regional reps know their schools, especially within PA - they know Bald Eagle canāt offer the same number of Advanced/Honors/AP classes as State College Area HS. They know very competitive high schools and schools that arenāt.
As for OOS HS, they visit some, often schools located in upper middle class areas (since those are students whose families could afford OOS tuition) and those reps are supposed to have a good grasp of their schoolsā academic profile.
The recommendation for rigor is 4 units each of English, History/Social Science, and Science (including Biology and Chemistry, Physics important for Engineering or any major where Physics is a required course), plus Math through Algebra2+precalculus, calculus, statistics; + foreign language through level 3 or 4 and an Art or music class to round things off 
That adds up to about 5 academic classes every year plus electives that students choose because they like the subject (doubling up in science or social science, adding DECA or Orchestra or graphic designā¦)
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Thank you for the reply and this very good reminder!!
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Youāre welcome. FWIW, Iām a nervous wreck about this - I just keep repeating that to myself a thousand times a day in the hopes I can eventually internalize it. 
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I am very torn whether to submit SAT scores to Smeal. I have a weighted 4.25 w/ a 6 APs including Calc and Chem, and a few honors classes. Extracurriculars, including volunteer work, varsity captain, clubs, etc, however it seems this may not matter much at Penn State. My total combined SAT is 1320.