Penn State Early Action for Fall 2025 Admissions

I haven’t seen any and we are waiting on that, as well.

My daughter got into Kinesiology with a letter dated 11/13. I don’t think I saw anyone else so far with that major. And HHD seems to have been quiet since. Good luck to your students!!!

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PSU “remixes” the GPA - I don’t know how exactly (and they may change their criteria from year to year!) but it definitely weighs for rigor (back when the matrix was public you could see they went up to 4.3 I think) which is why a student with a 4.0 in mostly CP may not get in where a 3.72 with 15 AP/DE/Honors does.

Math through precalculus or calculus if the major require math or through (AP) stats if it doesn’t, 4 years of a FL (definitely level 3), classes that show interest and preparation for the college or major chosen… all factor in.
(Physics isn’t that important if you want to major in Russian but if your school offers it, you better take it if you want to major in Engineering!)

They don’t count PE, Health, Shop, TA…

Major also matters in the decision, some are more competitive than others and the later round the more competitive it is since you complete for fewer spots (ie., Nov1: all spots are still open - Dec1 some spots have already been taken so with similar stats s.o may not get in compared to previous round - after January: apply for branch, summer, less well-known or less competitive majors.)

GPA×Rigor = 2/3 decision, the remaining 1/3= test scores, activities, anything else. In other words, without the grades and rigor, it’s an uphill climb even with solid test scores or athletics.

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Is there anywhere that you can see what PSU considers your child’s GPA? On the U of Tennessee portal, you can see their SRAR and what they consider the GPA to be…

Oh wow, that would be extremely helpful. I know UGA actually publishes how they recalculate the GPAs but you have to calculate it yourself.

Alas, no, not AFAIK :frowning:

I agree having the 80% range for GPA and rigor per college or some sort of guidelines would be very useful. :crossed_fingers:

The above is just from deductions, based on observing admissions, results, etc, over the years. I have no special Intel from the Dean of Admissions so it shouldn’t be taken as official.

Accepted yesterday to UP for BS Bio Behavioral Health, 4.38 GPA, no tests scores submitted, 8 APs, many honors classes, strong ECs including Leadership, volunteering, etc. Applied Oct. 20th.

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Not that I’ve seen. I don’t think they do. I’ve seen it in Tennessee’s portal as well.

When the To tab disappears, is there any indicator of acceptance or do you have to go to Lion Path to know if accepted?

My son is a sophomore on Main Campus now, HS class of 23, he applied directly to Finance in Smeal and was not accepted, we were surprised. He reached out, had his application re-evaluated as an Econ major and was accepted 2 weeks later. When he went up for NSO he switched again to DUS and now has the GPA to be direct admit to Smeal after this year. If there is a stumble you’ll have options.

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You can wait until midnight when the portal switches over, and you receive the email. Or you can try LionPath and not wait until midnight. At least that was our experience.

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Could someone screenshot what they mean by TO tab disappears? Does the whole section go away, or the option to change your answer goes away? Thank you!

I can’t get into my daughter’s portal at the moment, but on our phones, there used to be a tab on the left hand side that referenced test scores (it was one of a few tabs shown). The night her portal changed, that tab was no longer there, but the others still were. It didn’t leave a blank space or anything, the ones below it just moved up the list. Hopefully that makes sense.

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My son’s portal is a little different now because he was admitted, but I think the “Change Test Optional Answer” used to be around here somewhere.

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Thanks! Not the requester, but I too was looking the other day what that meant. This is clear, as we still have the test item on the application status portal and still waiting.

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Did anyone apply via the Penn State app and get accepted yet (rather than the Common App)? Wondering if they’re processing both sets of applications or just the applications submitted through the Common App at this point…

It usually disappears right after 7pm EST; if it does, you will a decision. Google PSU Lion Path and you’ll find the link. Then you click the link and click on the yellow button that says, Students, Faculty, etc. Use your PSU portal username and password. If you are able to get in, look at far right where it says Communucations, click details. There should be a link that says Undergraduate Admit I think. Click that and the decision letter should be there. You have to do it on a laptop. iphone and macbooks don’t work. We tried that and couldn’t open the link but went in on a laptop and it worked. This was yesterday. Then right at midnight, the regular PSU portal should have the decision on the home page. Good luck!

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Has anyone heard of students who lost the test optional link and then were denied? My daughters disappeared but she doesn’t have an acceptance on lionpath. She wasn’t able to get in at all yesterday but today gets in and can see everything but all she has in communications is an application acknowledgement. :crossed_fingers:

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3.85 UW, 4.3W, test optional, applied architecture

Nevermind, just popped up! Admitted to Liberal Arts Global Studies UP

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