The PSU CDS states demonstrated interest is not considered.
The CDs states GPA and rigor as very important. Then test scores, talent, and geo location as considered. Has to be the most stripped down CDS of any school I have researched so far.
Yes, 2/3 decision = GPAĆRigor. Then for the last 1/3, anything else, with test scores most important from that āanythingā, if submitted. Geo mostly means taking into account where youāre from, especially rural - they donāt expect the same range of courses from Bald Eagle HS and from State College for instance. They also have lots of data about admitted students for the instate schools: yield, academic progress, etc.
Theyāve always offered 2+2 Smeal but in the past students asked for DUS UP in reconsideration. Some got it and others didnāt. That path is almost closed so that DUS is truly students who hesitated between different majors or colleges, not would be Smeal premajors.
All students who completed their pre-reqs at a branch campus (which is more supportive without weedout courses) move to UP for junior year. Students at UP whose background was shaky or who didnāt have enough autonomy can and will fail out, or miss benchmarks. For some students, the academic expectations, absence of handholding, and pace at UP, combined with the number of distractions, can be impossible to manage. (Parents have to be ready and offer support, recommend they go see tutors, treat weekly office hours as mandatory sessions, etc.) I recommend kids read The Naked Roommate by Harlan Cohen before they go, frank answers to real freshman questions.
Branch campuses where they commute can be a good solution for local students but 24 branch campuses across the state, in addition to PASSHE colleges (Pennsylvaniaās directionals and true public universities) and a couple Pitt branches was just unsustainable, even keeping in mind the necessity of territorial development.
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Still nothing. I hope they do not reject a bunch of applicants on christmas eve. Sigh.
Thee are a few things to correct.
You could always be offered Smeal 2+2 prior to this year. It has nothing to do with keeping campuses viable. It has to do with your EI - evaluative (or evaluationā¦. I canāt remember) Index. This is a predictor based on gpa and test scores. If you fell below a certain mark, you were offered 2+2.
The push to direct admits for Smeal (and remember, you still have pre-reqs and a grade hurdle) vs allowing the pathway from DUS is that it became difficult to predict class sizes for juniors and seniors not knowing how many were coming from DUS. DUS was intended as an exploratory pathway, not an easier admit for Smeal and it had gotten away from that.
Colleges are about money. No doubt. But this change is not about money ā¦ it is about managing class size for Smeal upperclassmen.
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Thankyou for the book recommendation. I just purchased it. This is my second child going off to college, but my first went to a smaller, more manageable schoolā¦.College of Charleston (which we LOVED by the wayā¦she was a Marine Bio major so made sense). PSU seems/is sooooo massive and I do have some concerns about my studentās ability to make connections with professors and access resources/support.
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My oldest is a sophomore right now. He went in DUS and will pick his Smeal major next semester.I will say he has connected with professors and I feel like he has gotten the support. I will also say, the student needs to be proactive and seek out the resources and make those connections. He frequently meets with his professors and his advisor. He also meets with the career counseling office periodically. The resources and abundant but the student definitely needs to be proactive.
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My daughter was accepted on December 1 to Eberly Collage Of Science - Forensic Science / UP. We are out of state in Bay Area - Nor California. Can someone recommend the best airport, transportation etc for flying and getting to UP? Thanks so much
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@MYOS1634 For Smeal finance major do the kids have to take a foreign language credits to graduate or it is optional. My son has taken French in High school all 4 years, and he is not interested to learn French.so wanted to make sure it is not a requirement. He has been accepted to Smeal finance major this week.
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I believe that you need to achieve what they refer to as 12th credit level proficiency in a foreign language. I think that translates to course Level 3, since language courses are usually 4 credits. You satisfy the requirement by completing a Level 3 (or higher) language course at PSU, or by passing a language proficiency test.
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Study abroad is recommended (though not in a non English speaking country, see below) and foreign language is required.
If he took through French 4, heād have one semester left as a requirement for Smeal.
Finance majors can study in Paris and London, but also Maastricht, Dublin, Singapore.. most places where that major can be enhanced by a semester there. The content is typically 80% business/finance related.
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The easiest might be: Bay Area-Chicago then Chicago-State College.
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Hi and thank you ā¦ I just did a dive into it and youāre absolutely right. Chicago to State College best way on United.
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For anyone still waitingā¦ so you arenāt disappointed in a few days - please confirm that all documents (STARs, test scores, etc) were received by Nov. 1. I donāt remember if it says in your portal?
Just trying to set expectations - every year, there will be a few steaming mad students who donāt get a decision by Dec. 24th. Upon further review, their materials were not submitted in time. The mea culpa is never as loud or vigorous as the complaint.
If it were me, I would call admissions and double check - and confirm that I would be receiving a decision as part of EA.
Good luck to all waiting-
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For me it says that my application is currently under review and all of the application checklist says ācompletedā so I think Iām all good? Let me know.
Thank uou
so as i understand he will have to take one French course in fresh man year. Is it hard? is it same as IB French SL .He always struggled in French IB SL as he felt listening was hard. so worried that French course will bring his gpa down in freshman year. or i am guessing college level French may not be as hard as IB French SL. when do u take the proficiency test.?
Another question on Proficiency test. if you have taken IB SL Analysis and Approaches in High school. will you get places at Math 140. Does he have to give Alex proficiency test to start at Math 140. Do Smeal finance major freshman start at Math 140.
Is there a possibility of getting AP credit for the language if a student scores 4 or 5 on the AP test? I know Purdue does this for Calculus.
I would expect languages to be somewhat different compared to calculus.
However, one daughter self studied for the AP Spanish test. We then had a very difficult time finding anywhere that would let her take the AP Spanish test. Eventually we did find somewhere and she got a 5. Her university did give her credit for first year Spanish (two semester-long classes ā they show up on her transcript with a grade of āpassā) and started her in sophomore year Spanish. This however was not at Penn State.
I would expect getting credit for AP Spanish after getting a 5 on the exam would be normal at quite a few and possibly most universities.
This is compatible with my experience. Using a language outside of class is quite important. In the specific case of French I used to watch hockey games in French, but this was helped by living in a location where hockey games were televised in French. Similarly watching movies or TV shows in French might help. I am pretty sure for example that Netflix has some French language content. Of course the same thing could apply to other languages.
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Do you guys think Iām going to get rejected, I havenāt gotten my device yet?
Hi! This process is so stressful. Did you apply for UP as your first choice campus? I donāt know anything about the competitiveness of your major but I think you need around a 3.6/3.7 unweighted GPA to get accepted to UP. Do you know what your UW GPA is? I think people on here have talked about Criminology.