Let me clarify. Just because someone has high stats doesn’t equal that they MUST hear early. But if you go back and review the kids that heard when the first batches were released, they were all UP admits and high stats. You have a better opportunity to hear early if you have higher stats.
Every college has their own process and their own “line”. The closer the application is to that line, the longer it will be held. That is why very few branch and summer admits have been announced. I think we will start to hear more of those as each college determines their own criteria.
That was my personal anecdote based upon kids last year.
I know - for a fact - that Admissions did a deep dive about 18 months ago where they reviewed first year actual GPAs vs predicted GPAs (they have a prediction model). They found that TO actual GPA was significantly lower than predicted GPA. (note that the test-submitters actual GPA was also slightly lower than predicted GPA, but it was not statistically significant). I have not seen any updates since then, but it was an interesting study. I know that admissions is evaluating whether or not they will continue TO and will be looking at actual performance as they have more cohorts of students.
Penn State admissions has an Evaluation Index Calculation:
regression model formulas including math SAT/ACT (when provided), verbal SAT (when provided), and weighted HS gpa that predicts Penn State first year GPA
separate models for “science” and “non-science” colleges
high school GPA is calculated using courses and grades from SRAR
grades are normalized to same scale
Honors, AP and IB courses are weight consistently across all high schools.
They developed new EI models with and without test scores.
Four EI models:
Science with test scores
Science without test scores
Non-science with test scores
Non-science without test scores
=> use EI model based on student’s test-optional choice.
If I get rejected for communications what majors are similar that may be easier to get into? I also wouldn’t mind media comms, journalism, broadcasting or any majors along those lines! Thank you!
I appreciate all the insight you veterans are providing, however from our own personal experience I find it very hard to believe that they are going through and vetting out the high stat, high test students first. My child applied for engineering(undecided), had all of her information in before November 1 which was confirmed by the school. 4.0 unweighted GPA, 4.25 weighted GPA. She has taken Ap comp sci, Apush, AP Calc BC which she received a four on all the exams, and is currently in AP physics C and in multivariable calculus. The rest of her classes were all honors or regular because of schedule constraints( smaller school) She received a 33 on her ACT and a 1390 on her SAT and we have not heard back. So in theory my straight A student who has the rigor and the test scores above the median should’ve heard first. We are truly at a loss here why other kids have heard first and are trying to be patient but PSU is her first choice and it’s unbelievable to think a student with stats like hers will likely be farmed off to a satellite campus because she had the bad luck to not have her application picked for review earlier.
This sounds pretty thorough - one thing I never fully understand though, how do admissions compare GPAs from two different HS, i.e. how to quantitatively evaluate ’rigor’? School rigors can vary widely, some schools even have their own courses harder than APs.
Some applications are so strong right off the bat that they never go through the “conveyor belt”. That’s why the “4.0, 10APs, Olympian” applicants hear immediately.
They’re really test optional:
Students without test scores (SAT or AP) need to demonstrate their academic preparation differently. It may mean higher grades or more rigor.
Test scores offer one more data point.
As @lucy_van_pelt mentioned, they have data showing how test optional v. Non test optional affects academic success so they adjust - say (not the real numbers!) in order to succeed you need +.25 as a TO student. But if you have that, you can be admitted for Fall.
They also have data on yield: they know x% admitted students with a and b characteristics usually attend for Z major. So they know how many to admit. They don’t run out of space for the Priority students.
I am sure she will get in - just wait a little longer, at most 12/23. So far there haven’t been many engineering admissions reported yet, so it’s highly unlikely it’s near full. Also my friend’s kid has top stats, will have 99% chances getting in, however still hasn’t heard anything.
This^ (branched) would only be a possibility if she applied well after the Dec1 deadline and, more likely, if she applied in February.
But yes, those who hear first are the top students but top students don’t all hear first. I know it’s frustrating. We can’t tell you why and it’s always been like that. @jlhpsu used to have a post at the top of the thread to remind everyone of this - the fact you didn’t hear early doesn’t mean anything.
To be honest, I think PSU has been trying hard to help as many applicants as possible. Otherwise they could simply just announce all results on a set day, like most schools do. Even 12/23 is much earlier than other schools that size.
Students aren’t penalized for where they live. So if they attend a rural HS with just a few APs, they’re not penalized. But they MUST have taken the most rigorous courses in line with their expected major as available at their HS.
For instance, there was an applicant who applied to COE with a 3.9 GPA and was all upset he didn’t get in - turns out he had not taken Precalculus (had stopped at Algebra2), nor had he taken Physics, when both classes were offered at his HS.
Many HS are “known quantities” - their rigor is already well-known. It’s an advantage in a way.
Test scores can help when coming from an unknown or less rigorous HS - where in the past you couldn’t hide that your B in precalculus was associated with a 480 Math SAT, now you can, so if you have a 600 it can offer a way to balance it.
Some students have taken the most rigorous curriculum imaginable (like, 8-10 APs Calc BC, MVC, AP World Language, AP Lang, APUSH AND AP Euro/World/AA, AP Chem AND AP Physics C …) so they don’t have to worry but realistically many are aiming for other universities and are mostly considering PSU for Schreyer
Yes, if they announced their decision all at once on 12/23 for the tens of thousands applicants, they couldn’t offer reconsideration because they couldn’t manage the volume.
Many universities announce once and for all - between January and March.
(On the other hand, some open in July and announce first-come first served starting in September. But PSU doesn’t promise that.)
It’s frustrating, especially for parents. Hang in there. Two more weeks max, probably less.
Colleges really need to go back to either test required or go completely test blind. Unfortunately, due to high variability in school profile, academic course options, grading variability between schools, they are not making it easy for themselves as well as the students. Overall academic performance including EC’s and standardized test performance (SAT/ACT/AP tests) will give a more thorough understanding of each applicant’s strengths and weaknesses. There is a lot of subjectivity/ teacher bias built in school grading within and between schools that can be somewhat neutralized with standardized tests. AP test performance is more reflective of a student’s ability to succeed in college course than their school grade in AP class. School curriculum is split into small modules and most tests/quizzes are done on small portions but in college, exams cover a lot of material and many kids might struggle to adapt to it. My kid’s standardized test scores (SAT/APs) were better than GPA and actual class grade in the AP subjects for some reason and so standardized tests helped a lot. Quite a few kids in their school close to 4.0 did not perform as well in SAT’s or had sub-par performance in AP tests. Some of them went test optional. If a high performing student on the basis of GPA goes test optional, it casts some doubts. Colleges know that kids take SAT’s multiple times and so even though they are test optional, I think it is best to do well in standardized tests and submit scores for additional advantage especially for competitive schools.
I agree with your post and would go even further to say that colleges should require standardized tests and give significant weight to AP scores. Standardized tests provide a consistent metric across schools, and AP exams are a strong indicator of a student’s ability to handle college level coursework, exam styles and pressures.
Unlike classroom grades, which can vary widely between schools and teachers, AP scores are based on a national standard. They show not just what students have learned, but how well they can apply that knowledge under pressure in a cumulative, college style exam format.
In today’s atmosphere of massive grade inflation, these standardized exams are more important than ever.
We can’t tell you why and it’s always been like that. 
…) so they don’t have to worry 
but realistically many are aiming for other universities and are mostly considering PSU for Schreyer 
