Daughter was accepted to Bellisario on 11/15. 3.9uw 5.4w, 6 APs, 29 act, common app essay, lots of academic and service oriented ecs, oos
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What happens if your on the verge
My daughter was accepted last night, with the acceptance letter dated 11/18.
She has a 3.99uw, 4.16w GPA, applied TO. She had 6 honors/adv classes, 2 DE, 1 AP. In-state. Legacy, not that it probably mattered (sibling, both parents, 2 grandparents). She applied via the PSU application (not common app) on 10/30 and submitted an essay. She had a long list of performing arts ECs, community service, but no strong ECs related to her intended area of study since she just shifted gears to healthcare-related interests in the past year.
She applied to the undecided major in the college of Health and Human Development for fall 2026, indicating summer start if needed. Admitted to HHD at UP for fall 2026.
Just a note for those of you who are anxious to see what the decision is after the āTest Optionalā button disappears and donāt want to stay up past midnightā¦ I remembered seeing mention on this discussion board of being able to log in to LionPath once the TO button disappears (probably sometime around 7:00 pm for my daughter, although I donāt know for sure because she didnāt check it until later in the evening). For those new to PSU, LionPath is the portal that enrolled students use to manage scheduling and other administrative tasks.
After the TO button is no longer there in the portal, you can have your student check to see if their MyPennState login credentials allow them to log in to lionpath.psu.edu. If they can log in, have them click on the menu icon in the upper right, then click on Communications in the menu. Click on Communications again in the Communications menu, then check to see if thereās an āUndergraduate Admitā letter waiting in the Communications window. My daughter found her letter there a little before 9pm.
Good luck to everyone who is still waiting! 
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DD also from VA in Engineering. Is Penn State a top choice? I am excited for my kiddo, but a bit worried, as she would not know anyone if she attended. In state schools seem a bit āsaferā from a social standpoint, but so competitive for admissions.
Congrats! My daughter was accepted to Bellisario this week as well with the same stats! She is still waiting on some southern schools but so far, this is her top choice close to home (we are in south central PA).
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Thing #2 was accepted to Penn Stateās College of Earth and Mineral Sciences. So far he is batting 1000.
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Do we think they are going to release daily now? Waiting eagerly on DUS.
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Does PSU email both the parents and the student when there is a decision in the portal or just the student?
Initially just the student. About a week after the acceptance, I received an email stating a decision was made and my child should check her portal.
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This is correct. Itās how my son found out early last year
In our case, just our student was notified.
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Hello all! Thank you for your contributions. There is a lot of great information on this thread. That being stated, my apologies if this is a repeat. Are ALL Honors College Applicants asked to interview?
My understanding is that it was optional and only if the Schreyer application was in by Nov 1.
Thank you for your response. I was unclear, so Iāll try to clarify. Do all honors college applicants get an email asking them to sign up for an optional interview?
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I believe every student applying to SHC (Schreyer Honors College) who has completed their application by Nov. 1st is invited to interview. That is how it was done in the past. I know they had a large amount of applications this year, so it may be a āfirst come, first servedā situation this year. In the past, there has been no determination that an interview means they are looking more seriously at you or that you have cleared a hurdle. While it would be nice to take it as good news, it is an equal opportunity offered to all students who have applied by Nov. 1st.
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Congratulations to your daughter. Which major within the Earth and Mineral Sciences Department? My son applied to the Energy Business and Finance major with similar stats and he has not heard anything yet.
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Thanks for the heads up! Test Score button disappeared before 7, and letter was in Lion Path a little after 7.
In State
Smeal
UP Fall 2026
4.0 UW
4.4 W
1410 SAT
9 APs
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Should my kid report a 1410 for smeal? App otherwise very strong.
IMO, yes.
My test score button just disappeared
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