đŸŸ Penn State đŸŸ Early Action Class of 2030 Official Thread

Colleges & Universities Penn State
301

I wouldn’t submit a 1320 for Smeal

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4.014 Weighted GPA.

1310 SAT.

Extracurriculars + Athletics

Strong Letters of Rec from 2 teachers and Counselor

Deeply Personal Essay.

In-State

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303

What’s your unweighted GPA?

I wouldn’t submit your test scores for Smeal - it’s the most competitive college to get into and the change in admission process is likely to make it even more so.

Check out Agribusiness, ETI, Energy Finance, or Health Administration - all possible majors.

304

What major are you applying for?
What’s your unweighted GPA?

305

Application is in, portal setup (9/25) and the wait begins. Applied to UP Fall ‘26 with Summer option selected.

Major: Communication Sciences and Disorders

GPA: 3.82UW/4.09W

Test Optional

Coursework: 3 AP’s, 9 Honors, 2 DE, Education Training (includes in school placement with District SLP Senior year). Math completed through Calculus. Intro to Psych at CC over the Summer.

EC’s: Competitive Dance 12+ years, Dance Teacher/Choreographer Senior year, Teaching Assistant (Soph, Junior), Summer Dance Camp Counselor 3 Summers, part-time Host at restaurant since 15, Wink 4 Pink officer, NHS, Summer internship at private Speech Therapy clinic

Compelling essay about the situation that inspired her search for a career helping others “find their voice” ie, speech therapy. But, unlikely this has much weight.

In-state at a large Bucks County school. PSU moved up her list very quickly after visiting in the Spring and having the opportunity to meet with current CSD students. Daughter has made 3 return trips since then and we seem to be collecting PSU shirts at an alarming rate. Really hoping things work out for her! (we have a solid list of backups in place, but that is not her focus right now)

Good Luck to everyone!

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306

Good luck! The song lyrics “the waiting is the hardest part” just keep playing over and over in my head. Thanks Tom Petty (showing my age here, lol).

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307

Thanks as always for this information. He’s raised his ACT to a 33 with this most recent Sept score. So now his updated profile looks like:

OOS (Utah)
GPA: 3.94 UW / 4.4 W
ACT: 33
ECs: Multi-year baseball captain (All-American honorable mention but not playing in college); National Honor Society; Humane Society volunteer; and others
On-track for IB diploma and bi-literacy seal (French)
Through Junior Year: 3 APs / 6 IBs / tons of Honors classes
Intended Major: Political Science

Hoping for UP and open to summer if needed.

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The full IB + seal of biliteracy + 3.94 GPA with a highly rigorous curriculum+ 33 ACT would make PSU UP a safety for him imho (he may even be among those who “hear fast” though do not worry if he doesn’t, they may not have gotten to his application yet).
Definitely apply to Schreyer. :grinning_face:

Within Political Science there’s an International Relations concentration and French is very useful to anything political/IR. If that’s something of interest he may want to email the French department to ask whether they have a partnership with Sciences Po or an IEP - a highly selective Political science, IR, Economics college, with Sciences Po Paris/Reims campus among the highest ranked in Europe (to give you an idea of their world standing, their dual degrees are with Columbia and UCB - but they have semester exchanges with hundreds of colleges). Also email the Political Science Dept (and Schreyer?) to ask whether they’ve placed French/English speaking IR students at the UN or Villa Albertine for summer internships before.

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309

:crossed_fingers::flexed_biceps::folded_hands::hugs: to all who sent their application :maple_leaf:

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310

The unweighted GAP is a 4.0.

I am applying for the MIS major. Does the chosen major impact competitiveness, or are all Smeal majors equally competitive? Thank you.

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311

Is MIS currently offered at UP (main campus)? In the current Undergraduate Bulletin, I see it listed only for the Behrend (Erie) campus. UP does have a Smeal major named Business Analytics and Information Systems.

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The major is referred to as MIS on the Smeal website. I have also seen it referred to as ‘Business Analytics and Information Systems’ in several places, including in the undergraduate bulletin.

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313

The 4.0 UW will be in your favor.
Did you take any AP exams for your 6 AP courses? Did you score 4s or 5s? If so, make those scores apparent somewhere.
Did you take 3-4 years of a foreign language? Smeal is big on students being globally aware and 30% study abroad (there are dedicated programs).
We don’t know the process exactly since it’s brand-new, but we know all Smeal applicants will have to take the same general business/major pre-reqs: Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, Applied or Regular Calculus, Statistics, Freshman English, Foreign Language, Communication, Accounting, Principles of Management, Intro to Marketing, etc. They’ll need to pass them all. They’ll get to pick their major based on their GPA so not only should they pass but they should get top grades in some of these courses. So the major you put on your application is unlikely to matter in admissions since you guys will be sorted out later on.
We don’t know what it’ll be in 2-3 years but right now MIS is not among the most competitive majors so if that continues you’d stand a good chance of qualifying for it. All students admitted to Smeal as premajors will be guaranteed a Smeal major as long as they pass their pre-req courses.
You may want to compare MIS in Smeal to ETI in IST.

314

Thoughts on Schreyer and Engineering? 1550 SAT, 14 APs, 3.97 UW.

315

Out of 8,500 freshmen at University Park, only 300 will be in Schreyer.
Good grades in a rigorous curriculum is the first step. “Necessary but insufficient” on its own.
They don’t consider test scores at all.
The essays are paramount. Spend time on them.

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Schreyer is all about the essays. With those stats, he/she will get a fair look. Spend time on the essays to reflect the individual and the individual personality.

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317

I was mistaken. Including three AP classes this year, I will have a total of 8 AP classes. I submitted my AP Chemistry and AP U.S. History scores (4).
I took two years of a foreign language to make room for technical classes, such as AP Computer Science classes, and other coding/technical classes. I reviewed the ETI major and agree that it could be an interesting option, especially when paired with a Smeal certificate. Since ETI is relatively new, I was concerned about how employers would value ETI versus MIS.

Thank you for your feedback.

318

Hi - We’re working on the Common App now and have a few questions:

  1. The only options for “preferred start term” in the Common App are Fall 2026 or Summer 2026. Does the section to identify that we’re open to summer session come in the Penn State portal?

  2. Is “Summer 2026” entrance the same thing as “Summer Session?” Or does Summer 2026 start ealier than summer session?

  3. Considering Kinesiology, Advertising or Human Development & Family Studies. GPA is borderline, not submitting test scores. Is one major more competitive than another? Or would it be better to go in DUS?

Thank you in advance!

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Summer 2026 is the same as Summer session - it refers to LEAP, the special program for freshmen :smiling_face:

I don’t know the answer for question 1, don’t students who want to be considered for both Fall and Summer check both?
If you check both, you’ll be considered for Fall first then for Summer.

Human Development & Family Studies is likely the easiest of the 3.

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I can’t see the full details anymore as our daughter already submitted, but I think in the Penn State specific application setup you select your “Preferred start term” as Fall 2026 then on the next section (Academics and Interests?) you can then also select “Optional Summer Start” as Yes.

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