Has anyone gotten DUS emails?
I saw someone posted they were accepted today on Facebook 2026 parents group. Also HHD.
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Yes, my son got his DUS acceptance this morning. In state, main campus.
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Anyone out of state?
Congratulations! Would you mind sharing stats?
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How did you evaluate your chances?
(Scoir, admissions data, cds�)
What makes PSU your dream school?
To calculate your unweighted GPA take every A and give it 4, B give it 3, C give it 2. Add it all up and divide by the number of classes. What do you find?
Typically, admission to IST at Behrend or Altoona would be for students in the 3.0-3.4 unweighted group. Other branch campuses if the unweighted is below 3.
Whatâs your senior schedule?
Is your HS an urban or rural HS, or is it a competitive suburban/college HS?
You have to look at it this way: attending at Altoona will give you a more positive, nurturing environment that will help you capitalize upon your excellent senior year. You wonât be surrounded by kids whoâve taken calculus but with kids who took precalculus in HS and are discovering calc for the first time too. You wonât have to fight in weed out classes. On weekends youâll be going to UP. And in 2 years youâll be living at University Park with your friends from the IST cohort, graduating from PSU UP.
We can also suggest other universities similar to PSU if you tell us what you like about PSU.
LACs and smaller colleges would likely weigh your ECs and great essays more (look into West Chester, Drexel, Susquehanna, Ithaca, MaristâŠOr, if you want bigger athletics, Cortland, UMaine, Plymouth, Rowan, NJIT, Wagner, Duquesne, UCincinnati..?)
My daughter is similar. Rough sophomore year messed up her GPA, submitted TO, and will most likely be a 2+2 admit. She was upset when we decided 2+2 was most likely, but sheâs decided to look at the positives. Penn State is a great education, regardless of the campus that you start at. Transfer to UP is guaranteed after getting 59.1 credits (2 years) at a branch. If you want to end up at University Park, YOU WILL! AOâs told us Penn State wants to admit you in the way that you will be most successful.
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Does PSU look at all classes or just core academic classes?
Sure, I did earlier as well, so sorry for the duplicate for those that saw the earlier post. 3.9ish UW, 1550 SAT, in state DUS.
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Son received his acceptance today to the College of Minerals and Earth Science for meteorology. University Park, Fall Semester, In State. He applied in mid August.
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My daughter will be applying August 2026 for Fall 2027 admission. Her older sister was admitted to UP Fall 2025 with similar GPA/rigor (APs, Honors/DE) but trying to anticipate and plan for all scenarios. She will have her AS degree earned through DE and direct college online coursework concurrent with her HS diploma. If sheâs offered a branch campus for 2+2, any idea how the credits would factor if sheâs starting with 60ish credits and the typical threshold for transfer to UP is 60? College has articulation agreement with Penn State and I expect all or nearly all credits to transfer, but not necessarily all will be applied to her degree depending on her chosen major.
My daughter was accepted to Smeal UP this morning. Stats: OOS, 1510 (790M, 720E), 4.0 UW, 12 AP/DE classes, including Calc 3 and AP German this year.
Portal astrology: exactly the same as last year for my D25. Some time after 7pm, they both lost their âTest Scoresâ button on the portal. Around midnight, they received an email that an update was made to their application and when they checked, their acceptances were there.
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Congrats @fallwasbrutal Winter/spring will be awesome!
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Congratulations 
And thanks 
for providing the stats directly in the post 
2 branch campus case scenarios (-ii?)
- her major can be started and finished at the branch campus: she stays there and completes her degree in 3 years. Far from ideal since students really need time to stack up volunteering&leadership experiences+the all-important junior summer internship.
- her major is UP-only: she starts at the branch and transitions to UP without her cohort, which is also less than ideal.
- Last possibility is #3 aka no branch offer: they simply either admit her to UP or not, without 2+2.
That being said, my understanding is that students in that situation are doing the Early College program because theyâve been identified by their HS as very strong students who are thus likely to be admitted to UP directly, without reconsideration. You can then decide which courses to ask credit for.
Btw, pursuing an AA isnât necessarily the best strategy depending on what youâre aiming for.
Using the credits to reinforce rigor (taking more advanced math and foreign language* than is typically offered at the HS level plus major-adjacent choices, taking philosophy, classical literature..) as well as showing intellectual curiosity (âbig questionâ science such as âClimate change in moviesâ or âOneHealthâ, interdisciplinary seminars on a topic of the professorâs expertise, classes not found in HS such as Anthropology, or general education classes such as Art/media/music history&appreciationâŠ) is way more useful for highly selective university admission purpose.
(*College level 1= HS1+2, College 2= HS3, College 3= HS4)
My kid was admitted to Smeal (Finance) UP for fall 2026 this morning. In-state, 1550 SAT, very high GPA, 11 APâs. Applied mid-October.
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Thanks for posting and congratulations to your child!
And thanks 
for providing the stats directly in the post
Congrats! Question about the test optional button. I have heard it looks different int he portal this year - did the submit button disappear?
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I donât remember what it looked like last year. But this year, it was under âApplication Toolsâ. When you press it, then it takes you to a screen where you can choose to go TO or not and a place to submit scores. However the day before my daughterâs decision, the first button was completely goneâŠI think it was called âTest Scoresâ and not âTest Optionsâ, but I canât remember. So at 7pm last night, there was no way for my daughter to change her test option, submit a new score, or check what scores she submitted whereas she could do all that before 7pm yesterday. I hope that answers your question. This is what it looked like after 7pm. Before it had the âTest Scoresâ button.
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Thank you! I appreciate the analysis and advice. At her competitive public HS (in state) the dual enrollment program offered through a local college does require a threshold index (accuplacer test or they look at PSAT score or 9th grade math/bio levels to determine college readiness) but I donât know that they are only recruiting the very strongest students from our HS. The pitch has been more of a way for students to chip away at some of the generally required gen eds that seem to be easily transferrable (intro to psych, soc, philosophy) as both a $$$ and time saving option once transferred into a 4 year college. We have seen value in having our HS student exposed to the level of a college level course; particularly in those taken directly through the college).
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