Did anyone receive a reconsideration decision last night?
Reconsideration dƩcisions are typically sent in January or February, unless you were admitted to a branch campus and just asked for a different branch (ie., got Abington, asked for Altoona).
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We had this mishap with my S23 and only realized in last week of Jan when we got really worried (he had other EA admits but not Eberly BioChem). Updated SRAR on Feb 1 and got admit by Feb 15 with some merit aid (PennState was his safety school).
It might all still work out for you even in Rolling.
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Itās also possible that the figure they provided included grad schools. Thereās so many nuances as to how you can represent the data, that you really donāt know for sure what the facts are until they release the CDS for that year.
Iāve been thinking about this and wonder why the discrepancy. CDS says 88k but there are other campuses. Can people apply to the other campuses directly with no intention of going to UP? Their individual CDSs appear to say yes. The average number of applicants among the 19 is 3k with Altoona having the most applicants.
it could explain the total number but not why they are saying 120k applied to UP but the CDS says 88K.
I remember taking a tour last spring and they had a slide show with one saying 100k applicants when I knew it was 88k. Itās not unheard of schools pumping their numbers during tours to get kids to apply and I think I know.
There are 19 campuses an average of 3k applied overall is 57k. Add that to the 88k and itās 145k. So when someone says 150k applied to Penn State they are not lying and knowing that people are thinking UP. A little sales trick. However, you stated they said 120k wanted UP. Now we know only 88k applied so I donāt know how they derive 120k. There has to be some question in the application of the other campuses about UP that they can use to state 120k.
I think itās disingenuous but I noticed all schools do this in their marketing materials and tours. Penn State is in a different position with so many campuses.
I think there can be lots of different numbers depending on how you slice and dice themā¦. But does it really matter if itās 88k or 100k or 120k? Are all the sources talking the same year? (Common app dramatically increased numbers about 8 or so years ago). Does it include all freshman or also transfer students? Does it include international or only domestic? Does it include only full-time or full-time and part-time? Just a few examples of how numbers could be differentā¦
At the end of the day, I try to provide information for students applying - whether fall or summer or Smeal or Engineering or TO or not. I canāt speak for others, but @MYOS1634 is an invaluable resource with regard to finding appropriate majors. While the CDS is an important resource, many times it is historical data and while that tells you what has happened, it may not always be accurate what is happening now or what has changed (ie DUS pathway vs Smeal).
Soā¦ have a lovely holiday! ā”Ģ
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CDS is just the data from last year. They are produced about May of each year after admissions are completed.
I guess the numbers donāt matter as much as the % accepted for prospective students. Itās just interesting that the PSU admissions feels the need to pump the numbers. With 7 campuses closing, citing declining admissions, Iām guessing they are worried about the long term future.
Glad you are able to find the CDS - they can be valuable. As far as the difference in data, have you added all the commonwealth campus numbers to UP numbers for a total picture? Just a guessā¦ I am not planning on doing a deep dive since historical data is only marginally helpful.
Since it concerns you, I encourage you to call admissions and ask those questions. Let us know when you get an answer.
As far as admissions propping up campuses - nope, they are being closed since they were under-utilized. Administration has discussed closing some for about 20 years, but it is a difficult decision and other administrations have had other priorities.
Good luck with your decisions and let us know what you find out from admissions!
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I looked at a few campuses and did an average. It was pretty close to their slide show of 150k applied. I posted it above. I still canāt figure out the 120k wanted UP. Maybe if the kid goes there Iāll ask.
I just find it interesting not concerning. I havenāt thought about college/university in a long time and once thought it just a higher education cause to enlighten kids post high school. The realization has hit me that itās morphed into really big business.
I have read about the many campuses they are closing. Itās sad but difficult to make money with a declining population around the area that would draw in students. Affordable education for PA residents was the initial impetus for having so many campuses and was a noble effort but looking at the bottom lines of the ones they are closing its no wonder. I hope the kids who are at those campuses have choices.
Did anyone who met the EA deadline but didnāt hear by the 24th get notification today?
Oh goodness, I didnāt realize this has happened to some students? PSU doesnāt formally defer?
Does anyone have any tips for the āKIRAā interview for Smealās Sapphire program? Thanks!
They defer. EA applicants should have received a decision (one option is defer) by 12/24.
in the past, weāve found that students who did not hear by the 12/24 date actually didnāt have their application fully completed by the EA deadline. This is why I encouraged anyone without a decision by 12/20 to call and confirm that they were EA.
Curious - why would you expect a weekend decision?
Did you or your student not receive an EA decision? Was application complete by EA deadline?
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We did EA by end of October and have not heard
Had you called on Dec19 or 22 to check they HAD indeed received all documents by Nov 1? (There seems to have been a grace period till Nov 5, new this year - uncertain as to whether it meant āprocessed byā, or āreceived byā since in the past nov1 meant āreceived and processed byā.)
Have you received any news since?
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Did Smeal admits get invitation email to apply to Sapphire today? Does everyone get that email?
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My son got it. Can someone explain Sapphire and how it relates or doesnāt relate to Schreyer Honors? Thanks
Sapphire is a leadership program run through, for, and by Smeal College of Business. It is a parallel program to Schreyer.
Schreyer Honors College (SHC) is an academically based honors college than cuts across all colleges and majors.
Both require an additional application. There are students in both, or either independently. Their admissions process is also parallel and there is no overlap between the admissions process (totally different staff and requirements).
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I think everyone got it. Anyone know what the interview process is like? Types of questions they ask?