Thank you so much for your reply and information! We’re excited to go!
There’s a process for students in the College of Liberal Arts (Paterno Fellows Aspirants) that gives them an opportunity to take the same freshman classes as Schreyer scholars. If they get the necessary grades they’re automatically in.
There’s also a process for current students who can apply as freshmen, roughly in April.
The biggest benefits are for freshmen and sophomores (smaller, more interactive classes, + personal advising + ability to register early with the Honors classes obviously set aside for Schreyer students). Students can stop being in Schreyer at any point but the research project can be a plus (if judiciously chosen) for lots of post-college situations, including work. Finally, the opportunities for those who are willing to take advantage of what’s on offer are useful regardless of year.
If you’ve never been to State College I think a visit for admitted students is important. It’s a quintessential college town and extremely safe, but also very isolated. That can be a big turnoff for some and a plus for others. Our oldest attends another Big Ten where off campus safety is a serious problem, that won’t be a problem for our youngest who will be a freshman at Penn State this fall. It also means getting to UPark isn’t as easy as schools in more metro areas.
After you are done with the on campus stuff, I’d take some time to stroll all the way down College Avenue and maybe some of the side streets up to Beaver Avenue. It’s all walkable and safe. There’s a ton of places to eat (and I mean, a LOT) and hole in the wall type shops.
The campus itself has gotten a tad overbuilt since I attended in the 90s and can be a bit overwhelming if you’re trying to find your way around for the first time.
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Thank you for the tips! Is there anywhere we want to avoid?
Places to avoid in State College? Maybe the frats on St Paddy’s Day?
Uh, no. The whole area is completely safe, walkable, etc. There are no seedy or unsafe areas. Crime is mostly limited to opportunistic theft. You do get drunks around town on Friday and Saturday night which can be its own thing but, by and large, the entire community is driven by the University. Not the same as my daughter’s University which has off campus areas quickly devolving into serious crime and thugs.
That’s the benefit of being mostly isolated. But it also means you’re, well, isolated and it’s farm and hunting / fishing country in all directions outside State College.
Pros and cons.
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Agree with all of this-walking around downtown will definitely give you a vibe of the school. As an FYI the school has their Spring Break scheduled the week of March 10th, so if you’re visiting that week, there will be fewer students around as most dorms need to be vacated during that week.
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I can’t think of a place you’d want to avoid - the entire town is safe and downtown State College is designed to be walkable. Lots of shops and places to eat.
You can get ice cream at the Creamery then go up to the Arboretum, a very pretty park on the East side of campus.
A local staple is The Waffle Shop for Breakfast/brunch (before 2pm, waffles, omelets…) then you can find “pig alley” and ask Admissions why pigs have statues downtown 
There used to be a “college diner” that served stickies, like rectangular cinnamon buns off the grill, to be served with Creamery ice cream, I think the “Corner” has taken that over when the diner closed but that’s another fun question for the tour.
For what it’s worth, although it is (&certainly not urban), it doesn’t feel isolated to me. College towns always have something going on. But if you crave the big city, you have Pittsburgh or Philly or Baltimore about 4 hours away, NYC a bit further.
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If my child is in the communication school and after a semester decides she wants to switch either to political science or smeal - is it possible to switch into DUS at that point and then (assuming she gets the grades in the entrance to major classes) make the switch? Or at what point is it not possible or “too late”?
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Fabulous! Thank you!!
Your child would need to take English 15/30H, an intro political science class, Stats 200, Comm 160, and Foreign Language 1 or 2 or 3 (or 111). If she has A-B grades, she can switch to DUS and take Math 110 (Calc for business), Microeconomics (Econ 102), Foreign Language 2 or 3, and one gen ed (either Humanities or science for non science majors). If she has a 3.2 at that point she can consider she’s on track for Smeal, otherwise she’s on track for Communication or Poli sci.
Thank you! Do all math classes (stats and business calc) have to be done at PSU or could they be done over the summer and transferred over?
You can check here
https://public.lionpath.psu.edu/psc/CSPRD/EMPLOYEE/SA/c/PE_AD077.PE_AD077_TRN_CRD_T.GBL?Page=PE_AD077_MAIN_SRCH&Action=U
https://public.lionpath.psu.edu/psp/CSPRD/EMPLOYEE/HRMS/h/?tab=PE_PT_NVT_TRN
You’d have to email them to ask whether a class could be taken over the summer at a local college and transferred.
Hi! I live right outside of State College and am happy to answer any questions that pop up for you.
This might not be the best forum for this question, but I couldn’t find another that suited it - My child was accepted to the BArch program at PSU and no longer wants to pursue architecture as a career. Unlike most degree programs, BArch starts with 3 degree courses the first semester. Is there a way for an admitted student to change majors prior to the start of their first semester?
During NSO she needs to indicate she wants to move to DUS.
The classes that keep most non STEM majors “open” include English 15/30H, Foreign Language, STATS 200, then 2 intro classes related to her interests (COM160, SOC3, IST 110, HIST 3 or 6N, Econ104, AA100 or 122 or any ARTH…) She would thus take 4 or 5 classes (14-16 credits) and knowing which she’d be interested in with possible substitutions would make registration easy.
I was on the LEAP webinar tonight and they said you can bring a car to campus over the summer. I wanted to mention here because I had been told no during our tour and told that to people on here. The webinar was recorded and they will put it up on the website if anyone who missed it is interested.
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Just checked my LionPATH, and my 2025-2026 Financial AID Offer was uploaded.
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I hope it’s affordable. 
Well everyone that said Penn State was awful for merit OOS ( and in state ) was correct! Wow.
Yes. 
Are you instate or OOS?