Anyone else still waiting and do you think any decisions will be sent tonight?
If your son wants Sports Management why would he select another major. Really curious. Several other schools with good sports management programs - U of Delaware, U of South Carolina, U Mass, etc. My son graduated from U of Delaware with that major and very similar stats to your son and it was a great experience.
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Did s/he take precalculus or calculus (honors? AP?) How many years of foreign language?
If she chooses to enroll, during New Student Orientation, make sure she changes her major to something else (preferably Biochemistry, Immonology&Infectious Diseases, or Bio Behavioral Health if she wants something directly related to pre Health). With such a choice, her goal must be med school, and med schools want to see a major AND pre-med pre-reqs - they see the premed major as trying for a shortcut, which is a big no-no. Iâm not sure why PSU has kept this major.
(You can look at AMCAS stats to see the success various major categories have.)
In addition, she should take Spanish through Spanish for Health professions unless she knows another language well (post-AP).
https://agsci.psu.edu/academics/undergraduate/majors/immunology-and-infectious-disease
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Itâs not indeed, but these universities expect 8-10 APs (or post AP classes), including Calculus/MVC and foreign language, 3.8+, (if submitted 1500 SAT), and national or international -level ECs. And these kids mostly get denied despite all this.
PA kids applying for these tend to also apply to Schreyer.
In comparison, an applicant would have a good shot at UP with an Uw 3.65, a total of 15 honors/AP/IB/DE with mostly honors classes and APs mostly in their relevant areas of strength, foreign language 3, no expectation of APUSH/AP LANG, expectation of Precalculus, bio/chem+ one more science not necessarily AP, with physics only for COE/Eberly/EMS, calculus only if applying to Smeal/Engineering⊠thereâs a huge difference.
Thereâs also a big difference depending on major indeed. Thatâs why students try to apply for a âsimilar but less competitiveâ major.
To be fair, LHR+Sport Studies is very similar to Management with Sports Management concentration or the newer Sports Management major at other colleges.
Not sure why PSU doesnât have a full fledged Sports Management major in HHD yet since they have all the courses.
Hopefully OP applied to UDel and a few other programs. 
Is this a super competitive major? Looking for some good options for reconsideration
Right but I still contend that a kid with mostly college pre level classes and a decent enough gpa would probably do just fine at PSU, depending on the major of course. A 3.4 gpa with few honors/AP classes isnât destined for community college - I donât think PSUâs standards are appreciably that much different from other large state schools. I get what youâre saying but I think itâs easy to over generalize.
my humble and personal opinion is that itâs less to do with the success potential in college, and more with the selectivity of the school/major. Most kids whoâre willing to put in the work regardless of their HS GPA and rigor have the potential to succeed in college, but what do you do when there are many times more applicants than available spots?
Yes, PSU isnât an MIT, but itâs still a reach for some fantastic students who couldnât maintain a certain GPA for whatever reason.
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@MYOS1634 - 2 years foreign language. Precalculus currently (sr yr); Stats last year
@MYOS1634 My son received a 2+2 acceptance to Altoona for Smeal pre-business but has his heart set on starting at UP. He is OOS (my daughter is currently a Junior biochem and poly sci double major in Shreyerâs). He submitted with test scores (31 ACT), has 5 AP (AP Lang, Lit, Gov, Calc AB, Physics), 9 honors, and 1 dual enrollment. His unweighted GPA is 3.69 and weighted is 4.44. He said yes to the summer start option. Is his best option now to ask for reconsideration at UP as DUS? He also has an interest in Econ but it would be to complement a business major. He was applying for Real Estate in the Risk Management major.
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No, itâs not very competitive 
.
Ok, then are any majors in College of Agriculture that look appealing? Look at each and click on degree options when itâs a possibility.
Most majors in Ag really would be fine with stats, precalculus, and 2 years of a foreign language if s/heâs taken bio&chem (and done well).
Biological Engineering, Immunology, Pharmacology, are probably harder to get into.
Otherwise, perhaps, Media Studies??? (S/he would need to take 2 intense semesters of foreign language covering HS years 3&4).
Good to know. I will discuss with her. Iâm not sure I understand why premedicine would be seen as a âshortcutâ but I believe you. Is it easy to change majors like this? We live in CA and honestly I donât know much about Penn State.
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Yes, students with 2.9-3.4 with mostly college prep classes arenât going to community college unless they choose or have to - but thatâs why there are many different colleges for various levels of preparedness, academic skills, etc, and in the Mid Atlantic region especially there are many state directionals and private colleges, some of which are very good for B/B+ students (and offer a lot of merit for B+/A- students).
It also varies depending on the State - high schools would know a B+ student with mostly regular classes doesnât stand a chance at UVA/W&M/VTech/UMD/UNC/Bing/SB, but would at UIowa, UIndiana, UKansas, WVU, UMaine⊠Sometimes itâs linked to the number of public universities in the State, the history of its admission policies, the existence of strong private universities that predate the publics, Land Grant vs. Public vs. ContractâŠ
In the end, their data must indicate whether students can do well or not based on their HS preparation and once this bar has been passed they compare with other applicants and admit a percentage of them - representing all counties in the State, all majors, a certain number of OOS applicantsâŠ
With so many applications, there has to be a few mistakes for kids on the bubble (3.5-3.65 with the expected course rigor).
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Same. 3.3 unweighted 4.03 weighted 1310 SAT. Went in undecided with summer option. Our son got 2+2 Harrisburg and is pretty bummed.
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Thatâs because the pre-reqs are the major when Med Schools want to see a studentâs ability to handle both a major AND the pre-reqs (because if college is intense compared to HS itâs nothing compared to med school. Students need to be able to process/memorize/digest enormous quantities of information, this would somewhat replicate the intensity). It also makes for an easy comparison between candidates: everyone has to have an A in their major and a pre-req gpa& science gpa from these courses.
Premed pre-reqs are basic science courses+ basic general courses - they vary depending on Med School but with these youâre covered everywhere: +General Chem1&2 with lab, +General Biology 1&2+lab, Organic Chemistry 1&2, Biochemistry, Neuroscience/cognitive science, Physics 1&2, +Psychology, +Sociology, +a diversity focused course, +Bioethics, +Biostats, +Calculus1 (at PSU, 140B: calc applied to biology), +Spanish for Health professions (or other language), +English (2semesters)/+Communication. (+=Overlap with a Gen Ed requirement). You would then take 300-400 level courses in one subject as part of your major.
The Premed major is very similar during its first year to the other Biology-related majors in Eberly so she can stick with it for a year and pivot - though the sap (see below) is only doable if the student has some AP credit that lets him/her out of some of these courses. Getting into med school is a marathon not a sprint so spreading the pre-reqs and balancing oneâs schedule is a very important skill.
(Another issue is that most freshmen would be premed never make it to med school so itâs better for employment to have a clear major).
Compared to UCs or CSUs, itâd be very easy to switch from that major to the ones I listed (especially Biochem). At Orientation you just register for the relevant classes and can switch during NSO or at the end of 1st semester by telling your adviser. Being premed is an intention and the premed pre-reqs can be added to any major.
You can click on menu then on Suggested Academic Plan to compare the different majors :
https://bulletins.psu.edu/undergraduate/colleges/health-human-development/biobehavioral-health-bs/#suggestedacademicplantext
https://bulletins.psu.edu/undergraduate/colleges/eberly-science/biochemistry-molecular-biology-bs/
All will need some additional/
carefully selected courses but out of the 120 credits, roughly 45 will be gen eds (including pre-reqs), the major about 60-90 with gen ed overlap.
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The only students who are allowed to double major in Econ and Business are Paterno Fellows (based in the college of liberal arts, they got As in their Entrance to major courses including weedout courses but can take them as honors/non weedout with Schreyer students). âAllâ (
) your child would have to do would be to declare himself up for the challenge and take the required courses with an average of A- over 4 courses (2 of which can be waived if he took the AP courses but he should probably take at least one on campus before taking the next levelâŠ) and a 3.4 overall GPA.
I think he has a shot at UP with DUS/Summer.
@MYOS1634 please advice 
DS got in 2+2 Eberly. Biology major. Gpa-3.93 SAT-1550, decent EC, AP scholar with distinction, NMSF commended student. Preferring University Campus. What is the best approach ? Greatly appreciate your advice.
If youâre OOS, looks like yield management (=they think youâre not really serious) - show your interest by asking for reconsideration.
Considering her profile, did she apply to Schreyer (Honors College, top5 nationally)?
Now, next, reconsideration for what?
What does she want to do with Biology - Premed? Other health profession? Research? Lab work? Genetics work? Forensics? Pharma research? (Biology, in itself, is a low-ROI major, so, no regrets ) There are lots of Bio-related majors at PSU.
ETA (just in case): she got Fall, Eberly Premajor/Altoona (or /another branch campus such as Abington, Behrend, BerksâŠ), right?
Because Eberly premajor can also be UP (Eberly is the name of the College of Science, like Bellisario is the name for the College of Communication.) Just checking! 