My son applied to Smeal last year, slightly lower GPA and slightly higher SAT. He was accepted to Smeal 2+2. He asked for reconsideration to Economics (Liberal Arts) and was accepted at UP. He enrolled and had the opportunity to switch to DUS at new student orientation but he’s decided to stick with Econ.
1 Like
Erie/Behrend (very strong for STEM), Harrisburg (not in Harrisburg but nearby, interesting for anyone who wants to try and get a state senate related internahip after freshman or sophomore year or wants experience w/hospitals or community advocacy), and Altoona.
Others are mostly like CCs with dorms meant to prepare people for the 3 above or UP.
See post pinned at of this forum (PSU page) for details.
2 Likes
My son definitely did not do his homework. He selected Scranton as his backup campus. We haven’t received a decision yet but I’m guessing it might not be favorable as he has no interest in doing a 2+2.
More choices for students denied UP for a specific major or DUS.
The trick is to comb through what’s less obvious - interested in a business job, so you apply to Smeal… but there’s half a dozen majors that lead to business positions without going through Smeal. 
Econ is an obvious one but you really need 4 years of solid English and social science courses+ math through precalculus (preferably honors, definitely withan A); foreign language through level 3 or 4 doesn’t hurt.
However if that’s not you/your child… as mentioned upthread Labor&Human resources (ex ILR in CLA), Enterprise Tech integration (IST), Health Policy& Management (HHB) or Ag Management (in Ag) **+**Summer depending on stats and academic profile/most advanced courses taken are all GREAT options. They’re selective but less competitive bc fewer ppl bother learning about them.
To see if you have a great profile for such majors, here are examples: LHR or Health Policy would require a 600+verbal SAT and lots of social science classes. Tech Integration would require some HS business intro classes+math through precalculus+ lots of tech-related classes or an essay highlighting CS experience…
Those would all be less competitive than Smeal and still have a solid Business component.
Earth&Mineral Science and Ag BOTH have ABET accreddited Engineering majors… without going through COE.
For a student who really wants UP, a major like Sociology, combined with a Statistics minor, can be a great major that does lead to jobs. Or African American Studies with Smeal minor. Or Human-Centered Design with Gender Studies or Human Development. Or Communication Arts with a Child Maltreatment&Advocacy minor.
(Education is also listed as easier to get into… but if you have zero experience volunteering or working with kids, don’t bother.)
Another possibility is to indicate you want to major in a foreign language only offered at UP but 1°you need to have straight As in whatever language in HS 2° be ready to explain how you’ll add a minor (a Smeal minor in particular) or be ready to incorporate it with another major (Chinese+Global security, Swahili&African Studies) so your reconsideration sounds thoughtful AND 3° you must have some interest in that language. 4 semesters of Russian is a very, very long time if you’re not interested in spending 3 hours each day learning incredibly difficult structures. Another thing I’ve seen is French/Spanish + a major only offered at UP but that usually works best in the “1st round” of admissions.
SODA is also great - it mixes political science and data science. Students need to have a solid background in English, political science, and math, and few students have that profile and bother looking into the description.
8 Likes
can I just point out what an amazing resource @MYOS1634 is. this is terrific advice based on Penn State and their offerings. And she takes the time to explain - in detail - what the options are.
7 Likes
Yes, agreed + you and jlhpsu. Thank you all for sharing your knowledge. Much appreciated.
8 Likes
He can always ask for reconsideration.
You can already prepare him for that and look at his options: what matches his academic profile? What would he prefer among ALL these amazing possibilities at UP?
(Based on what you shared and assuming it was factual, he’s got a realistic shot at UP.)
For STEM students who aren’t getting solid B+ to A in AP Calc and AP Physics, Behrend or Altoona can be a better choice, lowering the odds of weedout (something like half students have to switch from a STEM major).
For OOS students, they probably have a better, cheaper instate option than 2+2 so reconsideration should be given some thoughtful weight in addition to the 2+2 v. “Insanely competitive instate choice”/“instate choice I really don’t want to attend”.
2 Likes
Thank you. I spoke with him this morning. He’s definitely interested in UP and will ask for reconsideration for Econ or DUS when we get our decision for Smeal and it’s unfavorable.
1 Like
You are amazing by the way!
Hey, was the #PSUBound message deleted for anyone else, or was it just me.
2 Likes
it’s gone for everyone
2 Likes
Now you see it now you don’t. What in the world is happening. Does this mean we have no psu bound to celebrate. Lol never a boring moment. Making another batch of brownies today. Hubby and I ate the whole tray last night. Son was too busy studying for a AP stats and calculus bc tests. His exact words were “ I need to keep my grades up in case I need to apply to other schools at the end of the month.”
5 Likes
Agreed on Behrend. Before I went to college 30 years ago most of the people I knew who went there were doing 2-2. They had to. But right around that time they started building it up, and more and more kids are staying there all 4 years. I know lots of kids who actually don’t want to go to UP for whatever reason and designate Erie as their first choice, and plan to stay there the whole time. It’s not really downtown, so be prepared for that. But it’s a legit college in its own right, and they are very strong on engineering.
2 Likes
Thanks so much!! How should I go about asking for reconsideration assuming I also get a 2+2? I would ask for reconsideration and apply to the DUS program.
marketing is in the Smeal College of Business - which is one of the hardest colleges to get into at Penn State. Depending on your stats, it might change your outcome if you call and ask for reconsideration for DUS (Undecided). You can work towards Marketing from there.
But also - the Erie campus is great
1 Like
Call and provide the information (reconsideration for new major and summer, for instance) + were in EA batch.
2 Likes
YES! Exactly this. The 2+2 sometimes works out much better for high stem majors as there is a lot more face to face with the professor at the smaller campuses. Students fare better, even though the rigor is the same
2 Likes
Good morning, everyone. Is there any news of acceptance this morning???
any idea of how competitive the comms school is? like on a scale of 1-10? i’ve seen very few acceptances so far
You can try - but I’d ask before you change if it would keep you in the EA pool. If not, I’d wait for your decisions and then ask for reconsideration to DUS if denied. Penn State gives very few outright denials. They usually defer to a commonwealth campus.