No, I guess other schools will release their decision in Jan. time frame.
seems like we gonna be waiting for a while more
Yep
Congratulations on the acceptances to Pitt and Delaware, and good luck on the Penn State acceptance!
Can you explain why your son favors Penn State over Pitt? I am from California and I would like to learn more about both colleges and their pros and cons as my son applied to both for Fall 2026.
I apply undecided, took AP Gov, AP Psych, 2 dual enrollment courses,4 honors courses (honors earth science, honors global, honors english 9, and honors college English) And I did submit my SAT score, total 1190 math score 550 but English score 640.
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Yes, indeed, applications finalized in Saturday would have been processed and posted by Tuesday and Wednesday evening. So no need to check till Monday imho.
Happy Thanksgiving break. 
I think youāll likely get in but for 2+2. Which alternate campus did you choose?
Students who want to attend football games often choose Altoona, which is one of the full fledged 4year/more residential branch campuses. Behrend is good for STEM. Abington has new housing and lots of students who live on campus during the week and go home on weekends (mostly Eastern PA and NJ).
If you tell me more about what you like I can even suggest other universities (from West Chester to Susquehanna to UMass Lowell to Alleghenyā¦)
I chose Altoona as alternate campus. If I get in for 2+2, can I appeal it? Itās my top school Iāll be heartbroken.
Also, what are my odds that they just give me summer start?
Yes, itās called reconsideration. You would ask for āreconsideration for Summer session, xx major.ā
The new major would have to be easier to get than DUS. A sticky point here is that DUS is being affected by the new Smeal process. So itās hard to estimate how competitive DUS is going to be.
Nevertheless PSU is a reach for you so your odds are low though not impossible ā I hope you knew that before coming to this forum - they want students with 3.7+ GPA, 1300-1400 SAT, 12-16+ Honors/DE/AP courses (and right now theyāre admitting the ā4.0/1500/12APsā kids - not literally but you get the idea.) Last year, they had 128,000 applications. 9,000 students enrolled at University Park and 7,000 on branch campuses.
Are you from rural PA? Or an urban district? Because that would help you, especially if youāre from a small school or rank in the top 10% at your school. Theyāll definitely look at your ECs. Did you complete the PSU statement?
What are you interested in? Communication and media? History? Teaching a world language? Becoming a counselor or psychologist? Working with people, animals, or books, things, or computers? Be outside, be active?
What are your great ECs about, could they connect to a major?
I understand what youāre saying about the stats Penn State looks for, but thatās why Iām confused. I know so many people getting into University Park for four years with lower GPAs, fewer APs and honors, and way less extracurriculars than me. So the numbers online donāt really match what Iām seeing in real life which is why Iām so confused.
I originally applied for DUS, but Iām actually really interested in Criminal Justice. I just didnāt know what majors were harder or easier to get into, and I had no idea that DUS was now more competitive. I donāt know if switching into Criminal Justice would help me or hurt me, or if I should switch into an even easier major. I honestly donāt know what the smartest move is, so Iām trying to figure out what you think would give me the best chance.
For context, I didnāt go test optional. I submitted my 1190 SAT. Iām from New York, my dad is a Penn State alum, and my extracurriculars are really strong. I volunteer for fire departments and animal shelters, plus Iām involved in a bunch of clubs and leadership stuff. My school has about 260 kids in my class and a lot of students here usually get accepted to Penn State.
Based on all that, what can I do right now to boost my odds? And what major do you think is actually easier to get into than DUS or Criminal Justice?
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I assume you mean criminology - itās a competitive major at UP and nationally ranked.
(Criminal Justice is usually chosen as a major in preparation for Law enforcement, Dept of Corrections, etc. Criminology is often chosen as a major for law school and other roles in the justice system, in cities, or in community organizing.)
At PSU, if you wanted an easier major than DUS, I think you would ask for reconsideration for Summer/Sociology. I think youād have a shot. In addition, the first semester in Sociology and Criminology is basically the same then you can pivot to Criminology.
Since youāve already taken College English youād be placed in English 30H in the Fall and would thus choose either a LEAP PRIDE with CAS 100 or other subjects of interest - each summer, some even include Criminology 12! (Leap prides can include CAS100+1 gen ed, English 15+1 gen ed, or two first year/gen ed classes.)
Perhaps your classmates with lower stats donāt specify theyāve been admitted to a PSU branch and just say PSU?
They were actually admitted at UP for all four years, but summer session. Also, is there a way to change my major now? I did early action but it hasnāt been seen yet. I had no clue DUS was competitive this year! If I can switch it, should it be to sociology or another major?
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Iām confused. Why is DUS more competitive this year? Shouldnāt it be less competitive if DUS to Smeal is more difficult
Do a lot of people check summer start box but decline it? Ie, kids donāt want to give up 6 weeks of senior year summer. So wouldnāt they need to generously offer summer start?
Donāt change your major now as itād push you to the back of the pile. Just wait and if need be, ask for reconsideration/Summer/Sociology.
If lots of students at your school apply and get into PSU then attend, itād help you since your school would be a āknown quantityā, admissions would have a track record to evaluate rigor, yield, and academic success/persistence upon enrollment.
Yes, absolutely correct. Itād make sense if DUS were (much) less competitive than in the past couple years due to the change in the Smeal process.
As a result, itās harder to estimate what a āless competitive than 2025DUSā would be for reconsideration whereas we had some data for āless competitive than 2022-2023-2024 DUSā.
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Thx! What were the patterns in years past with DUS UP vs DUS summer vs 2+2?
Thank you so much for helping me. You have helped me more than the college advisors people spend thousands on!
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Hi! I confirmed my major just days before getting my decision! I changed from DUS to Early Childhood Education four days before I got my actual decision of Fall 2026 at UP. I have no clue if or how the change in major affected my decision but I did it by simply emailing and theyāll update your application directly!
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