I would add that many of the students I teach in the Smeal business capstone course are/were not direct admits. In fact, one student I asked last semester acknowledged that, with the exception of a Smeal specific advisor, everyone was pretty much on the same level playing field with the ETM requirements.
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This post is offensive - I am personally offended that you have stated state PA schools are less than. Sir - I think you need to take a step back and perhaps consider your audience. There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with the state schools and they offer excellent educations. Some kids simply donāt want the Big 10 atmosphere.
If you donāt support Penn State and you think itās a scam and PA state schools are not worthy, please leave.
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Son got into UP DUS. He is going to study political science. Will he be able to declare poly sci as his major after completing requirements sophomore year?
He will be able to declare his major after he has met etm (entrance to major) requirements. Might be sophomore year, might be earlier.
https://bulletins.psu.edu/undergraduate/colleges/liberal-arts/political-science-bs/#howtogetintext
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Also depends whether your son wants a B.S. or B.A. degree in Political Science. The link above is for the B.S. with more math-based requirements.
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The main difference is Quantitative v. Electives& Foreign Language courses - and if the student wants something quantitative with practical experience Iād switch to SODA rather than the BS in Poli sci. Penn state also offers interesting concentrations that will be easy to ask professors about during Office Hours.
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We are in California and DS was accepted to UP and we have yet to visit. Iām trying to figure out how to do a trip back there and the only time period we can do it the school has ZERO tours available. Iām so bummed and not sure what to do. Has anyone done a self guided tour and was it worth it? Their regular tours are all booked and their āadmitted studentā days are very limited and not at a time when we can come 
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Call admissions and try to set a private tour.
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See on social media if there are current students from your area in CA who would be on campus then and willing to give you a 2 hour guided tour in exchange for a restaurant lunch. 
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Did you see if the school your child will enroll in has any type of info session? This happened to us last year during my kids spring break. I was able to schedule an info session directly with Smeal and then a one on one session with the IST school, but we couldnāt get a general tour.
very similar situationā¦ SoCal, DS to UPā¦have a spot in April, but once admitted from deferral list weāre going to visit PRES Day weekendā¦ plan on calling admissions to see if they can squeeze us in ā¦and if notā¦ just quietly tag along on the walking tourā¦or/ just walk around on SUN and MONā¦great idea about trying to contact an ambassadorā¦ sonās classmate from the year prior is a UP studentā¦Iāll ask him to see if heās free for a few hours.
Is there anyone else who applied by the priority date, which was supposed to hear back by Jan 31, still waiting?
You should have heard by now. Are you sure you applied by the priority date? All materials have to be in by the date to be considered priority. I would call admissions and check the status of your application, because if you were truly priority, you should have heard by now.
Does anyone know where to check AP credits that Penn State will accept for psychology majors specifically? Trying to decide whether or not it is worth it to take the AP exams in May, and whether theyāll apply to my major or not.
Earning Penn State Credit from Advanced Placement (AP) Tests - Undergraduate Admissions (psu.edu)
Looks like you have to score a 5 to earn a credit for Psych 100ā¦
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Thanks for the info! 
What about for AP Statistics and Biology? Does Penn State accept credits for those classes and will they be applicable to psychology majors?
(I know for some majors there are credits that they donāt need/doesnāt apply to their major, like earning credit for AP psych probably wonāt be applicable to a computer science major, if that makes sense!)
If you click on the link, it lists all the AP tests. You then click on those tests, and it gives you more details on what classes you may potentially get credits for, depending on your scoreā¦
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Turns out they received her SAT scores past the deadline. So she was in the December pool of rolling admissions. Just received her acceptance to Smeal.
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Anyone still waiting to hear back, or know anyone waiting to hear, from Graphic Design Major? Applied back in October and confirmed with counselor that all materials and portfolio requirements were submitted. Thx