Penn State Early Action for Fall 2025 Admissions

Did he include summer start as an option?

No, he is using the GI bill so it’s not an option. Plus with this course rigor, he should have the stats to get accepted in the Fall.

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I don’t know what to say. A- with high rigor and 30 ACT should be well within range for Psychology.
Is the school public of private? What percentage attend a 4year college? Did the GC include a school profile (if he didn’t apply through CommonApp)?
Do you mind indicating his highest math and what science/social science classes he’s taken? (I doubt that’s the problem but I’m trying to think of a reason, so am checking possibilities).
Where else has he been admitted?

He has taken AP Environment Science, AP Bio, AP Psych, Honors Chemistry, AP Comp Sci, Honors Calculus and AP Stat. He applied through the Common App so it should be uploaded. He attends a large public school in TN with a classmate with lower scores already admitted to UP for engineering. He has been admitted to University of Tennessee, Auburn, Indiana University- Bloomington and then some true safeties of Nebraska and Michigan State. Waiting on University of Miami, UVA, and BC.
I attended PSU at UP all four years. I’m truly at a loss. I know he would be a successful student.

All I can think of at this point is that something wasnt properly ā€œinputā€ or ā€œencodedā€ because indeed it makes no sense.
I’ll try to send you a DM.

Thank you!

So sorry. What major did he apply for the first time?

Biology

I agree that it seems strange that your son wasn’t admitted to UP. I do know that both biology and psychology are extremely popular and, I assume, competitive majors. If your son is willing to take a gap semester or take a few community college courses (less than 18 credits) in the fall, he could apply for spring semester for a less common and less competitive major, perhaps a biology or psychology-related major in another college (Agriculture or Health and Human Development). However, he may prefer to go to another school where he has already been admitted.

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Original acceptance was Nursing at Behrend switched to Fall acceptance with Biobehavioral Health at UP!

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Middle level education covers grades four through eight in case she wants to stay in the COE and has to pick a different major. Right now, it is a relatively small major so there is room for additional students.

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Hi - Does anyone know the timing that admitted students will hear if they are invited to interview for the Millenium Scholars Program?

I appreciate the suggestion but he is not interested in CC to start in the spring. And honestly, he shouldn’t be given his academic record seeing other kids stats that were given a fall UP start. It’s so frustrating that even with reconsideration he wasn’t accepted. He should have checked every box.

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I’m sorry this happened to you. I agree that it seems like something was entered incorrectly and that that error cascaded through the second review.

If he is still interested in pursuing Penn State, I think the best thing would be contacting the admissions officer for psychology and raising the issue directly. You need someone to take a more carful look at his entire file. You might also try an appeal.

@MYOS1634 very similar situation here - stats not quite as high as @Keb250 but kids same school, less ECs, lower GPAs with little to no rigor got in to UP on reconsideration while we did not. We have several APs and hons classes, great ECS and essay, 150+ volunteer hours, captain varsity sport; also wondering if something was coded incorrectly?

Adding: also accepted to many other schools, several supposedly harder to get into than PSU. We are in state too. PSU is the top dream school :cry:

I’m really sorry your child is disappointed. What were his stats? What major did he apply for at first and what did he ask for reconsideration?

Admission is highly major-dependent though - and whether test scores were included, etc.
In general, ECs don’t matter much (for strong ECs to be taken into consideration, smaller/private colleges are better: their size allows them to be student-centered and thus take into account what each student personally brings. For instance, Susquehanna has a very good business school where more criteria are looked at than for Smeal, including ECs and community involvement. CS can be studied at many colleges, from Dickinson to Lafayette to Lehigh, that would be more competitive than PSU but where more holistic criteria are taken into account. Etc.)
So, it’s impossible to say ā€œwhy did student X with a lower GPA got in whereas my kid didn’tā€ due to the many many moving parts. The answer could be ā€œstudent X applied to a less competitive majorā€. Some HS students have also been known to say they ā€œgot into PSUā€ leaving out the part where they got into PSU Abington or Dubois.
If he requested reconsideration for a less competitive major and checked Summer, it’s usually a sign they have data showing the student wouldn’t succeed in their chosen major.
There are odd decisions though. With 100,000+ apps being processed there’s bound to be errors.

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Large public top ranked HS, first applied DUS, then labor and human relations BA, summer selected, submitted ACT 27 which I am thinking may have been a mistake. 3.59 uw, 4.0 w…

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Are there people still waiting to hear back about reconsideration? We are.

Also they did get into PSU main on reconsideration I.e. kids with lower stats TO.