Has anyone who applied to education get in yet?
1 Like
Solid SAT and rigor, thatās a plus, and DECA also.
Did he take precalculus, precalculus honors, or calculus? With As? Foreign language through level 3 or 4, or AP?
Whatās his Unweighted GPA (because some HS add +1 for honors and +2 for AP, whereas some just add +0.1, a weighted GPA doesnāt give the full picture).
That being said, the fact you havenāt heard doesnāt mean anything beside the fact they havenāt got to his application yet.
Smeal has changed its admission process so that adds a difficulty since we canāt compare apples to apples to previous years. Based on we know, it should remain one of the most selective colleges but probably not as selective as it used to be right out of HS, with the downside itās become much more selective for DUS students.
If you or your son are really worried, you can use the time productively by looking at several business majors outside of Smeal: Agribusiness (in Ag, but includes professional outcomes in businesses such as Coca-cola, Nestle, etc., far from just John Deere and Succup, 
), ETI (in IST), Hospitality Mangement (in HHD), Labor Relations& Human Resources (in CLA), Energy Finance (in EMS). This way, if the decision is 2+2, you can pivot immediately and ask for reconsideration for the new major (or DUS).
NOT to say he needs to, far from it (answers to questions above will help estimate his chances).
Whatās his Unweighted? What international curriculum did he follow before this year (iGCSEs, IB, OLevels, WAECā¦?)
anyone know if we should expect decisions this week or is it a dead week due to the holiday?
Does anyone with experience from a previous cycle have any gut feeling as to what percentage of admitted students have already heard? I totally understand that a dozen anecdotal acceptances can feel like tens of thousands to those not already notified. That said, Iām trying to sense if itās like 10-15% that have heard, closer to half or most. Thanks.
1 Like
I would say your son has a good chance of getting in. Is he currently taking any AP courses?
Thoughts on UP DUS? 90 gpa, 31 act (32 super) 6 AP by end of senior year, some honors and college classes. Lots of ECās, great essay.
Says their open until 4:30, though I have no clue
Closer to 10-15%, perhaps a bit more.
Decisions in November, especially the first few weeks before Thanksgiving, tend to focus on students who asked for a branch campus directly or very high stats applicants (I joke when I say ā4.0/1500/12 APsā kids but you get the idea).
If you look at the past couple weeks youāll see most admitted students who post here are in that second category.
Students who applied directly for Summer and match what they want typically also hear more quickly.
However if your kid is high stats and hasnāt heard, it just means..they havenāt got to his/her file yet! Once they do, high stats kids hear quickly.
The closer to December we get the more āregularā applicants start to hear back: all the solid/very good students, students who had a wobble sophomore year but did great junior year and maxed out on rigor senior year, etc.
It really does go all the way to ~December 22.
4 Likes
Thanks so much for a clear-headed anxiety-reducing answer.
1 Like
ICSE -Indian School Certificate Examination
Unweighted GPA - same 3.95
1 Like
The SAT score is good. Depending on his Board results and stream (assuming STEM stream but can you verify?) Iād say his chances are good since theyāll mostly use his Indian curriculum to determine rigor. His senior year here in PA will also be used to a certain extent.
How did he do on his boards (especially Class XI: 75-80? )
Okay, it seems his unweighted and weighted are the same because heās not taking any honors or weighted classes.
What classes is he taking?
You said Calculus, Physics- are these regular level (Calculus should count as honors, does it?)
What about English? Social Science? Other classes? These would not be the primary drivers for COE but theyāre supposed to be solid in general - all ABET accredited Engineering programs require basic written/oral communication skills as well as general knowledge. At PSU heād have Freshman composition (various types of English 15, English 30H for students with strong skills or AP English), Communication (100A if he likes to study and make various types of speeches, 100C if he likes group communication better), social science, history.. so basic preparation in English and social science is going to be checked as well as ability to handle Math and Physics (which should appear through his Indian Boards, current schedule, and SAT score.)
Looks good. Sit tight. 
1 Like
Thank you so much for the detailed insights shared here.
Yes - Class XI is in the range you mentioned .All his ICSE schooling has been in English, primarily STEM and also covered Social Sciences,History,English Literature. All the ones you mentioned in your feedback.
1 Like
Seems like there have been very few College of Liberal Arts acceptances up to this point. Unlike the parent, my kid is patiently waiting (>3.8UW, 4.1W, in-state, legacy, all honors courses, multiple APs with 4s, and college dual enrollment As ) applying Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies for UP Fall.
1 Like
Theyād look more in-depth into his background in English, history and foreign language (Latin, French and/or Spanish hopefully) but Iād say it looks good so just sit tight and keep your fingers crossed and tour mind busy with something you enjoy
Has he applied to Schreyer? They like kids who show intellectual curiosity, like to read/discuss books&ideas, etc. If not, he can decide to be a Paterno Fellow Aspirant* 
(he takes up the challenge and just needs to.. do what it takes not to be kicked out).
*I believe this was named by or for Sue Paterno who donated the money for the program, as broadly educated, liberal arts students mattered to her.
She is currently in her 5th year of Latin (and actually loves it) and has spent several weeks of the last 2 summers exploring ancient Italy and Greece. Regarding her history and literature background- she has completed AP History and AP Lit with 4ās, and has completed multiple college history courses through dual enrollment with Aās. She is planning on applying to Scheyer. If that doesnāt work out, she will likely become a Paterno Fellow aspirant. Goal is double major in CAMS and Archaeological Science- IUG MA Anthropology and grad school.
1 Like
My daughterās friend heard last week
Okay, with this extra data I can say with as much assurance as possible that you shouldnāt worry.
Thank you! I am not sure what his UW GPA is as his school does not report it but he has 8 APSs and 1 dual enrollment class. He took honors pre calc and is now in AP Calc. He took 3 years of honors Spanish. We will definitely research those other business related majors. He does not want to do a 2 plus 2 program. He really wants UP/Summer.
1 Like