Congrats! Same for my son. Accepted to Pitt Swanson on 10/24.
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does Penn State release decisions on a specific day each week, or is it totally random?
Last year, only high stats came out about this time. Most in our district (NJ) came out 12/5 or later. First hand and real life experience with multiple students currently at UPā¦.there are no real benefits to applying to Smeal (or any other non-specialized majors ( nursing and a few others), EXCEPT you get a smeal advisor for the first 2 years. Other than that, apply to DUS. You can take a risk and not opt into the summer, if rejected, it will give you an opportunity to ask for reconsideration, the reconsideration would be to then apply to summer option Reconsideration requires a āchangeā to your application. I have dealt with Penn State for many many years. There are a few tips and tricks, but keep in mind, direct Smeal is about 6-7%ā¦while it has a bit of prestige to get a direct accept, there is no real benefit. EVERYBODY at Penn State is a āpre majorā until their ācredit windowā opens towards end of sophomore yearā¦Iām happy to discuss with you directly, but this board can get testy and hostileā¦.I do not work for Penn State, but I know the admissions process better than most.
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Totally random.
But theyve made a huge improvement that is making your life so much better than it was for kids and parents until this year: the email. Until then kids had to refresh their portal every morning (or twice a day) to see if there were news - perfect recipe for heightening anxiety.
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Random. Check for the ātest optionalā button to disappear. You can then log into lionpath to see your decision letter.
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No wonder my son asked me what the major of Engineering (Pre-Major) entailsāthanks for the insights
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Congrats but now Iām anxious! lol Seriously though, happy for you. My D25 applied to communications late September, TO, 4.07W, 3.9UW, 2 varsity sports, national honor society, girl scout silver award, 6 honors, 2 dual enrollment, 1 AP, 2 different club sports, outside employment. She checked that sheād do the summer option if needed. Itās her #1 school choice by far, send positive vibes please!! 
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Scanning posts here and FB, seems like the decisions came from Sep and Oct apps and those who submitted tests. Havenāt see any August and /or TO acceptsā¦not sure if others have similar observations.
Acceptance order is random in terms of when you apply so I donāt think when you apply has any bearing on when you are accepted. However I absolutely think they accept high stats kids with test scores first because they donāt have to look any further into the application. I am sure they get filtered out and get accepted right away.
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Youngest accepted 11/7 to UP, applied 10/15. Engineering. 4.0/4.0 UW (school does not do weighted), 1560 SAT, OOS. Very excited - older sib is there & loves it. Already have the Penn State Dad shirt so wouldnāt need another! Looks like a lot of engineering acceptances today. GL to all, lots more acceptances coming.
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Penn State has its share of admin issues, but itās the best place on earth to go to schoolā¦when it comes to a large university. Safety is keyā¦I feel safe when my kids walk alone at nightā¦not at school such as Maryland (sorry terps)ā¦ā¦
Is there a specific time that the email comes or portal is updated so not refreshing the portal all day long? 
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Iām not the only one that keeps checking?!! 
I believe someone said the email was at midnight - however, I still need to know if the TO button disappears earlier that evening just so I know when to stay up until midnight 
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I saw someone make a comment on a feed somewhere saying, āplease tell me Iām not the only one refreshing my kids portal like Iām buying Taylor swift tickets on Ticketmaster.ā
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So funny! Thatās exactly how this feels.
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DD accepted communications Univ park
Applied mid October
OOS
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I have been stressing about this as Penn State is probably my top choice for going into broadcast journalism, as I know it is one of the best programs for that in the country. I figured asking here instead of the random acceptance calculators online is probably better. I have a 3.8 weighted and 3.4 unweighted (I didnāt have an amazing first two years but I had a 4.2W junior and a 4.5W so far senior year) at one of the best college prep schools in Va, 34 ACT, I have a paid writing position lined up for when I turn 18 later this year with one of Fansidedās sub-branches, I have three years of experience broadcasting sports with my schoolās sports information department (around 90 games so far and probably around 130ish by graduation) and two years as one of the captains of the program, I am a Life scout, and I have been a cellist since second grade. I am also applying to SHC. I donāt expect to get in, but I was hoping maybe my recent grades could carry the load there and maybe get me on at least a waitlist.
Daughter received her acceptance to University Park for fall today! In state, test submitted, wildlife biology major.
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Daughter applied in Oct. Received email last night and checked portal this morning. She received acceptance to UP for fall 2025. Major- Bio Behavioral Health. SAT scores submitted.
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Did she submit scores?
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