Have a question hoping someone can help with! Got an email inviting to apply for honors college. It says “based on strong academic record…we think honors college may be a good fit for you” Do they send this out to all applicants? Don’t want to read too much into it. Any insights would be helpful!
Look at the essay topics. They’re quite involved and require thinking - they’ll be read by professors who wonder “do I want this young man/woman in my seminar?” Then they even out among colleges because seminars are more interesting if they mix Engineers, Architects, Future Teachers, Finance guys, People passionate about History, French, Chemistry, Psychology, Nursing…
Anyway, since you finished your app and you still have a bit of time, look at the essay questions. Do they pleasantly tickle your brain or are you all “nah, I don’t want to think about it”? And then you’ll have our answer whether you should apply.
Out of 8,000 freshmen, only 300 are in Schreyer, and the Honors goes all out for them. So if you choose to apply and you DO get in, you’re part of a Top 5 Honors Colleges in the country, with unmatched opportunities, support, and community.
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Should I send an email to admissions detailing that Penn State is my first choice and I will 100% commit if they admit me, or will this just annoy them?
What you describe is called “interest” and it matters a lot at small or private universities. For a university as large as PSU it doesn’t matter. You could have said this in your personal statement but it doesn’t really matter, the decision is mostly (GPA×Rigor) 2/3 + (everything else: scores, statement, ECs…) 1/3.
What you’ve done throughout HS has already decided it.
Just wait till you hear back.
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Thoughts on chances for D25 - test optional; 4.2Wgpa; 3.9UWgpa (as of last year, will likely be higher this year); 6Honors classes; 2AP classes; 2Dual Enrollment classes; National Honor Society; 2 varsity sports; 2 club teams; Girl Scout Silver Award, lots of volunteering, clubs and outside paid employment - applied as Communications major at UP
A good match, probably better odds than not. I wouldn’t worry. 2 months to go, perhaps less, before you know for sure 
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Will my DD get in? It is her 1st choice:
W GPA 3.83
U-Park Summer Session
3 AP’s 5 HN’s all other courses were Advanced
Test Optional
National Honor Society
Peer to Peer Club (VP 12th grade)
Key Club
Competitive Cheerleader (10 years)
High School Cheer (Captain 12th)
Notes for Nana
Job - Server
Mother and Brother are alumni
Probably has a good shot especially if summer option was selected. What major is she looking for? Some majors require more than others -
Is there a marked advantage to selecting Summer Session as 1st choice for start, over selecting Fall (with being open to Summer Session placement)? I.e., is Admissions more apt to admit a candidate seeking to start in Summer, versus one desiring Fall start, but willing to start in Summer?
Additionally, I am hearing that some students attempt to apply under a less competitive major and then switch into a different major once admitted at PSU UP. An upperclassman in my daughter’s hs school was admitted at PSU UP Elem Education a few years ago but intended to switch to Speech Language Pathology. Does major factor in greatly in the admit decision and does PSU allow such a switch/transfer once enrolled?
My daughter applied as a Nutritional Science major as she has a general interest in Pre-Allied Health type courses and wants to be a bit exploratory in that major and has an interest in becoming a Dietician but potentially also continuing on to PT/PA school. How competitive is Nutritional Science as a major at PSU UP? Perhaps strategically she may have been in a better position for admission if she choose DUS undeclared to start.
Straight up Summer Start means you hear faster since the application doesn’t go through Evaluation for Fall first, plus the pool at this point is less competitive so easier for them to decide.
DUS is more competitive than Nutritional Sciences so she’s good.
Yes major factors in heavily, in correlation to HS course choices and rigor (a science major will be expected to have lots of science classes, etc.)
Switching at the end of 1st semester is relatively easy: in the case you present, the Elementary Ed premajor would need to have taken Engl 15/30 or CAS 100, Edpsy101, a Human Bio Gen Ed, plus 2 others and they’d be on track.
https://bulletins.psu.edu/undergraduate/colleges/health-human-development/communication-sciences-disorders-bs/#suggestedacademicplantext
@collegeboundin25 major choice makes a huge impact on the admit status.
Nutritional Science is in the college of HHD. That will be less competitive than DUS, so she should stay there. If she is considering PT, then pay attention to pre-reqs. The Kinesiology program is well-respected at Penn State and prepares graduates for success in DPT school. (DM me if you have questions about that, I know from personal experience).
Yes, people can apply to Education as an easier pathway, but a word of caution. A year or two ago, there were a bunch of boys who were admitted to UP pre-major Education (with below average stats for other majors). Before starting classes (i.e. at NSO or over the summer), they all switched out of Education. Had they been in another major, they would not have received a Fall UP admittance. The College of Education is paying more attention to students with below-average stats - do you have any experience working with kids? (babysitting, coaching, summer camp counselor?) If not, they will question your intent and pass you to summer or commonwealth campus. So be careful.
The other thing I will caution you about is that if you child isn’t prepared for UP, fall semester freshman year is tough. Don’t overbite with classes - be strategic in what is scheduled. Balance it out. Fall is hard with football weekends sucking up an entire weekend (friends/family come in Friday night, game all day Saturday, brunch and nap Sunday… all of a sudden it is Sunday at 5pm and you’ve lost the entire weekend). They are fun weekends!, but kids need to plan to be ahead heading into the weekend.
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Indicating that your student is willing to do summer start doesn’t mean that they will necessarily mandate that they do. If she gets accepted on the merits of her application for her major, they may not require summer start. My daughter had several friends indicate they’d do summer start and only 1 had to in her acceptance. If PSU UP is a first choice school, it’s best to indicate they’d be willing to start in summer because ever bit helps.
That’s a very good and important point. Thank you.
Also, academics are tough and many popular courses are weedout. It’s doable but it’s not HS. 1st semester is like taking 4 AP classes at once, that go twice as fast as a typical AP course.
Students have to attend office hours&ask questions, book a tutor and bring papers, attend review sessions - because that’s what the kids with a B+ do to get an A.
And, unlike HS, there’s no pleading mercy at the end of the semester, no extra credit, no retake. Average GPA upon entrance at UP is about 3.65-3.7 (higher in some majors) and it’s 3.1-3.2 in college - so -.5 in GPA is a best case scenario (with half students losing even more and getting a lower GPA than that).
So, switching at NSO without the stats and study skills to succeed may be a bad plan 
Even if a student genuinely changed their mind and want a harder major, I would recommend spending at least the 1st semester in the easier major in order to rack up a few A/B’s (it’s ok to switch to an equally hard major or a similar major.
For instance, a student who’d go from pre Elementary Ed to pre business would be taking Econ 102 and Calc 140 or 110, and unless they had above average preparation in these 2 subjects, they’d be out before they could even start toward the new major.
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DUS - she truly doesn’t know what she wants to do.
Wondering if we should switch the DUS to a major?
Starting to get nervous we made a mistake and applied direct to Smeal. Should we have applied DUS? Should we just wait out the decision?
Son’s stats:
In state
3.89 UW GPA
Class rank 18/109
Moved into Honors classes in 10th grade
Senior year 2 AP classes currently taking
EC- a few clubs and sports. 1st place award at state championship in FFA
Submitted test optional - SAT was 1230
Opted for summer start
@sweetpea1 that is a tough call. I certainly would encourage him to be ready to attend summer if that is what is offered.
It certainly is. We did opt for summer start and if that is what we get he is going to take it. Fingers crossed!
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If she truly doesn’t know, she can list 3-4 majors of interest in her personal statement to show she is truly undecided.
Very few students get Smeal right from HS. If he’s offered Summer Start, he should register as soon as it opens so he can take whatever “pride” (LEAP cluster) offers Econ102 or Math 110. These 2 are weedout, meaning calibrated to fail a certain number and to filter with C’s and B’s those who will access Smeal (depending on major, a GPA higher, sometimes significantly higher, than B is required).
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