You can ask to be reconsidered for something like Bio Behavioral Health (or something in the college of HHD).
But it means you can’t get into Nursing at UP or Altoona.
Typically after a BS (+ volunteering/internships) she’d do an accelerated BSN program (Penn State offers that at Altoona, I think some Passhe schools like West Chester offer it…) so she’d have 16 months after the BS to a degree. That being said after the 5 years she’s got a very employable degree.
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Curious if anyone had any idea or speculation of why the PSU applicant numbers shot up last year? According to the 2 previous Common Data Sets for UP there were ~85K applications and just over a 50% acceptance rate. The PSU rep that came to our HS on Tuesday said there were well over 100K applications and only a 29% acceptance rate to UP. They have accepted the CA for a few years and have also been TO so none of that has changed. Any thoughts?
Hello, DD applied mid-August for PSU early action UP. Stats: 3.5 UW, 4.0 W from in-state blue ribbon HS; 27 ACT (33 reading), NHS, competitive cheerleader, cheer captain, dual citizen, jobs, 150+ volunteer hours. She did submit her test scores, strong personal statement, DUS, Fall with Summer option selected. What are her chances of UP? I would add her dual citizenship would be a very rare country for most colleges; not sure if that matters. Thank you! Also, if she doesn’t get in to UP, should she reapply with another major or straight Summer?
She should be OK since she already checked the box for summer 
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I would think about having her switch her application to test optional though. 50th percentile for Penn State for 2022-2023 was a 29, and probably higher for 2023-2024.
I think it may be too late since she already submitted it…
Thanks!
Have they been featured on TikTok or some other trendy social media apps lately? Unfortunately it seems that the more “viral” schools are having a surge in applications.
It’s going to be even higher number apply this year, PSU football ranked #3 and if they beat OH State this coming Saturday…well! It’s become a very popular school.
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she can change it in her portal. Penn State makes it very easy!
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I find the 29% stat hard to believe for UP overall. They’d need over 160,000 apps to get to that level…almost double the previous year.
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I believe Penn State did receive more than 150k applications this past cycle. This is what we were told at NSO (new student orientation) this past summer. They don’t differentiate which ones are requesting UP vs other campuses. But, I would imagine the vast majority are requesting UP.
D25 applied EA for UP in mid October. 3.6UW, 27 ACT, at a rigorous private school, OOS, for Journalism at Bellisario. She spent a week at their Broadcast Journalism camp and loved both it and PSU. It’s 100% her top choice, I came home the other day and she was watching PSU vs OSU volleyball on the Big10 channel (I didn’t know we had it), wearing PSU t-shirt and sweats.
She also really likes the idea of the summer start, and considered applying specifically for it but decided to leave it optional.
Sports Journalism is her thing, and her ECs all revolve around that. Editor of school newspaper, co-head of the Broadcast Club (the produce social media content, interviews and stuff, for the sports teams), and she’s interviewed HS, college, and professional athletes for newspaper and fan website podcasts. Were hoping she gets a bonus point for being consistent. She plays sports and is a good athlete, but not good enough for sports recruitment to be realistic.
We’ll find out in a couple months!
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Looks good 
Btw, although journalism has few jobs for graduates, Telecommunications does have excellent outcomes and that sports journalism certificate can be added->
https://bulletins.psu.edu/undergraduate/colleges/bellisario-communications/sports-journalism-certificate/
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S25 applied on Oct 18th and just received his acceptance into the College of Education (Education and Public Policy major). 3.5uw, 29 ACT, 4 AP’s through grade 11 with 4s/5s on tests, OOS (US citizen applying from international school in Europe).
He wasn’t expecting such a quick turnaround on his application, so he was pleasantly surprised.
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Congratulations! Was he admitted to University Park?
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Yes, UP for Fall 2025.
Awesome!
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Congratulations!
Does he want to become a school teacher or administrator in the US or would he prefer teaching in the country he currently lives in?, Or join Teach for America before going to Law School/Public Policy/work at a Think Tank?
Congratulations! And wow - thats early! I wonder if Int’l students find out earlier.