So happy to have stumbled upon this thread. Daughter is very interested in Penn State from virtual tours taken.
Stats:
GPA: 3.67 UW/ 4.17 W
Took 1 AP (out of two possible this year, none offered prior to junior year), planning on taking 3 APs next year. All other classes but two were honors.
SAT: 1470 (720 RW, 750 M)
ECs: 4 year varsity athlete, also competes year round in her sport. League all star awards, over 150 hours community service, part-time job school year (after school program) and summer (camp counselor), peer mentor.
OOS (MA)
Would apply for DUS as she is totally undecided between Education, Health Policy and Admin, or Liberal Arts (pyschology, criminology).
Planning to attend Spend a Summer Day next month. Any advice to help us get the most out of that visit? The description of it isnāt all that elucidatingā¦
My recommendation would be to check Fall AND Summer, explain in her statement how sheās undecided between Education, HPA, and Liberal Arts (do not mention which majors) and why - courses, ECs, personal experiences, that make her interested in these professional fields. Definitely submit the test scores.
General advice: be careful in the way you input the SRAR. HS classes taken in MS ācountā. Any non regular class needs to be indicated. Itās worth it for parents to review because itās tedious and non-detzil oriented kids could skip something that would penalize them.
What academic areas of interest did she check?
Did she check interest in Schreyer?
Iām not 100% sure what areas of interest she checked.. She did check interest in Schreyers, and wanted to attend the information session in April, but we couldnāt make it work schedule wise. Right now, Iām not really sure I want her to apply for Schreyers because she intends to continue her sport in college (cheerleading, which, while she is high level is not an NCAA sport and therefore is not recruitable in the normal sense - ie, sheāll need to get into any school without that as anything other than a regular EC ) and I think it might be too big a time commitment starting out. Iād rather she get her legs under her first and then decide later.
Is it problematic to be so undecided? Would it make more sense to narrow it down a little more first?
No, itās perfectly fine to be undecided - college is to explore, think, grow and as a result most students actually change their minds between senior year in HS and Sophomore year. DUS students are just more clear-eyed about it - know that you know nothing type of philosophy that allows people to learn more
DUS is āpivot to anythingā: she can take intro classes for everything sheās interested in - and these classes would be gen eds for the other majors so no time is lost.
Schreyer isnāt a time commitment - it offers more support for each studentās project through a personal adviser, smaller/more interactive classes, but students can really ādoseā how many Honors classes they take. The minimum is 2 each semester freshman year (137-138, which knocks out 2 gen eds and typically includes a field trip +2 others), though some students take more. Sure, you canāt hide in the back of the lecture hall in a discussion class but itās also more stimulating and in the end itās not harder. In fact, Honors students tend to have higher grades in their honors courses because they suit their learning style best.
She would have a general tour (you can choose guided or self guided : try guided then add whatever you wish youād seen - I doubt youāll visit the Arboretum for instanceā¦ though this might appeal to adults more than to students!) and you will meet with Department representatives. There may be student representatives. Hopefully you will eat at a dining hall or in the HUB and they should include some dorms so that students have a better idea of what lifeās like on a huge campus like Penn Stateās.
Are you sure the cheerleading coach canāt do anything for her application? Even club sport leaders sometimes give Admissions an indication for the handful of students they āsupportā (Iām not sure so best to check). That being said, sheās unlikely to need that.
I guess our strategy should be apply direct to Smeal with summer start and if not admitted, change to DUS for reconsideration. Does that decision come immediate, or it goes back to the queue? I am hoping she gets admitted to Smeal so that she can apply to sapphire program or Schreyer program. I heard there is a Nittany lions fund program [PSIA - Nittany Lion Fund] where u can apply to get in for future in finance. Is it open to only Smeal or also open to DUS kids?
OHHHHH, ok. Thatās incredibly helpful, thank you. I do think she would be better off in smaller discussion classes rather than huge lectures - in fact, I have been saying that she would be more suited to a SLAC than a large university, but she wants a bigger school and SLACs tend to not have cheerleading teams, which is non-negotiable for her.
Iāll encourage her in her desire to apply at Schreyers then (which, letās be real, Iām pretty sure she would have done what she wanted regardless of what I tell her because while she may be undecided on her major, once she decides she wants to do something sheās all in and nothing will stop her). Will there be information on that at Spend a Summer Day, or should we look for specific information or visit opportunities for Schreyers?
All students can participate in PSIA. They have to attend all meetings, and during the first meeting choose their sector carefully (itās best to think about it before the first meeting and know a bit about 2-3 already; being thoughtful means not rushing to the one everyone seems attracted to!)
Visiting HS students can contact them and if someoneās available theyāll talk with the student (who should come prepared, with a couple questions).
Students working on the Nittany Lion Fund come from the PSIA - itās selective.
As far as the cheer coach goes, sheās planning to fill out the form they have for ārecruitingā now that she has all her stats available (just got the SAT score this morning), and then contact them directly to see if there is any way to meet with someone while we are there this summer. Sheās also planning to attend any clinics that they offer in the summer or early fall, schedule permitting.
This is all really helpful information and I appreciate your responses.
Sounds like a good quality to have - to consider carefully then go all-in!
If she checked Schreyer her schedule will have a session about it, if not she could contact Admissions and see if they can add it (itās early enough that should be feasible).
Btw, parents whose child will āspend a summer dayā, Iām sure other families would love reading your reports - the good the bad the funny the surprising& unexpected..
Sometimes things go badly: itās hot, it rains, the tour guide is clearly dead on their feet, etc. Sometimes things are serendipitous. Sometimes all goes well and the student realizes itās not the school for them - and thatās hugely important too since it helps them figure out what they want, donāt want, donāt mindā¦
- know that you know nothing type of philosophy that allows people to learn more 
