<p>Regarding admissions, if you look back several pages on this thread, you will find a poster whose relative was accepted to PSU this fall and was not even a B student. No one expected it, including family and GC. GC attributed acceptance to the scandal. Several posters inquired on this forum early on (Nov - Dec) whether people thought their chances of admission would be increased because of the scandal. I think many students with less than stellar academic records took a chance and the odds were with them.</p>
<p>My B student son was admitted to a branch campus of Penn State.</p>
<p>^^^
My son is a high B student, his sister is a PSU junior, I am an alum. He was not accepted to University Park.</p>
<p>One anecdote doesn’t make it true.</p>
<p>^^^
Cross-posted with MD Mom. My son also accepted to a branch.</p>
<p>The student I referred to was accepted to main campus. It’s posted several pages back. It’s just one student, but I read the posts last fall from students hoping their chances would increase and I think they did.</p>
<p>Here it is (Post #4240):</p>
<p>“It is impossible to tell if this impacted admissions. My SIL’s nephew was accepted there with stats hardly what I would have thought main campus worthy. He is elated and going there. Had he not gotten in there, the app would have covered ancillary campuses. I don’t know how that state system counts apps. THat he got into his first choice, may have stopped the process right there. But he is not even a B student, and his family freely admits that it was a reach school. Pitt turned him down as did a number of schools in that selectivity range and lower. They thank the scandal for his acceptance and the high school has said as much. A bunch of them were unexpectedly expected from that high school. So those with more choice may have chosen to apply or go elsewhere. I’m sure it affected some football prospects.”</p>
<p>He wasn’t even a B student and he was accepted? Too bad for my son and MD Mom’s son then.</p>
<p>Apparently there were several unexpected admissions from that particular high school.</p>
<p>I also think that a 1% increase in applications is not that huge of an increase this year. It seems that an increase in applications are being seen across the board. </p>
<p>And of course they will have a record large class…how else will they pay for all of this? A record size class is not necessarily a good thing, it causes lots of problems with both housing and class availability/size. Any college would spin the need to admit a large class into something positive. I am not calling out PSU for doing that, only pointing out that there is/may be other rationale for WHY that is happening. </p>
<p>I will be interested to see the stats for the incoming classes over the next year or two to see if the rumors are true about admitting more students with lower stats. Until we have that data, I don’t think we can draw any conclusions.</p>
<p>My son is happily headed off to Ohio University, which is more suitable for him.</p>
<p>Well said, coureur.</p>
<p>I saw several posts from students that said they were accepted to the main branch if they went to the summer session and chose undecided instead of a specific major. I’m guessing that PSU is willing to give lower stat students a chance and if they do well fine, if not I’m not sure what they would do. Maybe advise them to rethink attending main campus.</p>
<p>I also saw a post from a sophomore who said they were told on campus housing for upperclassmen would be limited due to a greater number of acceptances from freshman than they expected. I have no idea if that is true, maybe slipjig’s junior has heard that also?</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>How do you weigh Paterno’s positive influence against the harm that was done to Sandusky’s victims? He knew about Jerry’s little problem probably in 1994, almost certainly in 1998, and beyond all question in 2001. For years, good ol’ JoePa kept his focus on the football program while he knowingly harbored a monster. We will never know how many boys were victimized during those years, but there were probably scores, if not hundreds. </p>
<p>So what would you say to those victims about Paterno’s “positive influence”? When do you think that brutalized children become more important than star football players?</p>
<p>Most of you seem more knowledgable about this than I am, so maybe one of you can explain something for me.</p>
<p>If PSU had fired Sandusky in 1998, or whenever the first reports came out that he may have molested a young boy, what could have possibly been the downside? Surely there was another qualified coach they could have hired. It would have put the university in a positive light to have rooted out a child molester. The same goes for Second Mile. Were their hands tied because of the DA’s investigation and decision not to prosecute? What I mean is, could Sandusky have sued them for firing him when the DA apparently thought that there wasn’t enough evidence of wrongdoing and he wasn’t found guilty of anything. </p>
<p>I’m not trying to find excuses for Penn State, I just can’t understand why they didn’t fire him then.</p>
<p>I think they would have had to be careful in how they were to have gone about firing him. If they fired him for the sexual abuse that had been alleged they likely would have faced a lawsuit. If they fired him for football reasons, they would have had to pay out his contract (or whatever the contract stipulated in that regard). But they probably could have let his contract expire and not renew it. </p>
<p>It’s hard to say and play the “what if” game…</p>
<p>Housing is always very limited for upperclassmen. I haven’t heard any specific numbers. And housing decisions for the following year are made early in the current year, so the upperclassman housing would have already been decided before all the acceptances were known for the incoming freshmen. </p>
<p>Kids have been applying for summer, DUS, for years as a way to get a foot in the door if their stats are a little low. It’s presented as a strategy. My son tried that to no avail. He was accepted to one of the PA state system schools and is happy as a clam. </p>
<p>The kids in our high school who were accepted to UP are the usual high-achievers. I have no explanation why the C students mentioned in the posts above were accepted. Good for them, they will love it.</p>
<p>I live in PA and have several co-workers with high school children. Many PA students apply to Penn State. Generally the students with high GPAs and good SATs are accepted at University Park and those without the credentials either don’t get accepted or get accepted to a branch campus. I didn’t see a shift this year. It’s an enormous research university with highly regarded engineering, science and business colleges…along with a medical school and a law school.</p>
<p>For the most part everyone I knew was sad and disgusted about the whole situation. I know lots of family and friends that are alum. I made donations to RAINN and Thon and mourned for the victims.I truly understand the disdain and disgust for the administration and even Paterno. I may not agree with everything but I understand.</p>
<p>What I don’t understand is the vile hatred and detailed plans to bring the university down as if it were a reasonable solution to end pedophiles and wipe out the problem. If only it were that easy…then I’m on board and agree that would be the way to go. </p>
<p>These monsters are everywhere today and yesterday — most aren’t caught, most victims don’t report. We need to work together to build strong children and adults that know they don’t deserve to be abused and that pedophiles have no safe place to hide…anywhere because they are everywhere. They thrive on their power and ability to silence their victims with perverted threats and head games. </p>
<p>I have no more energy tonight in reading about the hate towards the Penn State community. In my opinion the anger is misdirected to the Penn State community at large…we are not to be compared to SS soldiers and we’re not just drinking Kool-Aid drinkers. We’re just people. </p>
<p>It’s everywhere…I wish I could say that I’ve never known anyone in my life that has not been impacted by a sexual predator. Sadly I can’t. I wish I could say that I think that it is a problem that is limited to large sports universities and the Catholic church. Can’t agree with that either. I wish I could offer a detailed a plan to stop these monsters…again I can’t. </p>
<p>Hopefully we’re all headed in the right direction with the right motivations to report these monsters and get them locked up so that we’ll have less victims of sexual abuse tomorrow. No more protection for these monstrous, evil bullies. Hope springs eternal. </p>
<p>Good night.</p>
<p>Penn state, sadly, is football. What was done was to protect football. Penn state benefits from footbal… I think it should also pay the consequences of that adoration.</p>
<p>Why was paterno so powerful? Why where statues erected in his honor? What, Penn state is only supposed to reap the benefits but not any consequences?</p>
<p>But why the epidemic of sexual abuse and terrible cover up in the Catholic church? I don’t know the answer, but it is troubling. I’m sure every church and every school program has had problems, but surely some more than others.</p>
<p>Seahorse rock, that statement shows you have no knowledge of penn state university.PSU is a community of people gathered together in the pursuit of knowledge and excellence.</p>
<p>Football is a small part of what they do. </p>
<p>Students spend much more time and energy involved in THON which is THE worlds biggest philanthropic organization in the world. Last year they raised9 million dollars for children’s cancer research. They have been doing this for years.</p>
<p>It’s obvious you know nothing about penn state university.</p>
<p><<i also="" think="" that="" a="" 1%="" increase="" in="" applications="" is="" not="" huge="" of="" an="" this="" year.="">></i></p><i also="" think="" that="" a="" 1%="" increase="" in="" applications="" is="" not="" huge="" of="" an="" this="" year.="">
<p>It may not be a huge increase, but it definitely shows that there is not a decline in applications, as predicted by some.</p>
<h2>As for the caliper of students - I think there will always be students who are “surprise” acceptances. While Penn State has a rather “numbers” based acceptance policy, most schools allow for variations. And I have a friend whose son is visiting the campus now. He is in the top 10% of his class in an IB program at a private school. They are not from PA (actually from the west coast), but because of this visit, Penn State is now at the top of his list. So - obviously the school is still attractive to top students.</h2>
<p><<penn state,="" sadly,="" is="" football.="">></penn></p>
<p>As is Michigan, Ohio, Alabama, LSU, Oklahoma, Florida, Nebraska, USC, Notre Dame, UT-Austin, etc. Who knows what secrets lurk behind those programs and what the schools have done to protect their sacred cows and the money associated with them. Just because it hasn’t it the press, doesn’t mean something isn’t there. Maybe we should just shut them all down…just in case.</p>
<hr>
<p>AdvicePlease - I understand your frustration. I don’t know where the hatred comes from either, but it’s there. Maybe it’s like the intense rivalry between UT and Texas A&M that I see in Texas. People say incredibly horrid things about the “other” school and it just baffles me. I am a Penn State fan/supporter now, but certainly wasn’t before my son decided to attend. (I grew up an SEC fan).</p>
<p>Edit: Agreeing totally with sax. Football IS important at Penn State (as it is at so many schools), but it is only ONE aspect of the school. All of these schools have so much to offer students - not just what they experience in a stadium.</p>
</i>