Anyone think any decisions come through today?
S got in today… College of Engineering intended major Mech Engg… @ Univ Park
@crazycat oh, I know, it’s all good 
But if you think hearing your decision is frustrating, just wait until your student is trying to get some “advising” or schedule a class, or get into a special opportunity…etc. It is quite a shock to some people who are not prepared for the amount of DIY involved at a big school. I know it was to me (DH and I went to small LACs)
What were stats? If you don’t mind me asking.
Well if you look at the posts from 2 weeks ago I made this point in detail. My criticism got me banned for 2 weeks. They simply DO NOT DO ROLLING ADMISSIONS. It’s a joke. We were told it’s a A “modified” rolling admission. Modified to their whims and subjective fancies, but not rolling! So why lie to the parents and applicants?
@chocohol my application was submitted, I believe, November 28, but the materials weren’t verified until December 2
So, my dilemma is I really love Penn State and their meteorology program, but is the 2+2 program worth it?
@snarkeyboy; as my wife often reminds me, it’s not always what you say, but how you say it. I would imagine that if you are bank with the same attitude, you have not experienced your last banning. I am not multi-generational PSU and do not drink the koolaid and point out what I see as faults in my opinion…but don’t think I try to annoy everyone with my arrogance in the process.
Thanks for everyone’s feedback and input! Someone msg’d me for my D’s stats…SAT 1960; ACT 29; 3.89GPA, NHS, AP’s, rest Honors, 2yr quarterfinalist for PA tennis title. Thought she was in good shape stats wise so with a Sept application would hopefully hear by TGiving. To greenbutton’s point of expecting personalized service for my D, we don’t. Both parents attended a Big 10 school so rather familiar with the challenges. Funny how my D’s being a better sport about waiting than I am!
@dtheman17: Penn State’s meteorology program is one of the best in the country.
You’ll spend your first 2 years at Altoona, taking all the “entrance to major” classes. Your campus and classes will be smaller but some classmates may not be as driven as their UP counterparts. DO NOT follow the lead of freshmen who think using their newfound freedom means partying every night. Save the partying for the weekend, even if you are temptedon Monday, or Thursday. After the first set of exams come down, those who went out too much will either give up the partying (with a hard-to-salvage first semester GPA about to be due to their bad grades*) or continue and drop out of the major.
http://www.altoona.psu.edu/ems/
http://www.ems.psu.edu/sites/default/files/u5/students/meteo091113.pdf
http://www.met.psu.edu/browse-by-audience/future-students/future-undergraduate-students-bs/future-undergraduate-students-bs
- even if you study hard, seriously, do everything... be ready for seriously depressing grades in your first round of exams. If you manage to get a decent grade, rejoice! But don't expect it, even if you got A's in high school.
Your classes at Altoona need to follow this model in order to make for a smooth transition to Up and no loss of credit:
- you’ll take English 015 or 030, depending on your English placement.
- EMS 1st year seminar (methods class - do it seriously and it’s an easy A. You’ll have few easy A’s so don’t mess that up)
- You need to be ready to take calculus - preferably a 140 Math class with the “earth/mineral sciences” option. having taken Calculus AB helps, as will having taken Precalculus Honors for strong foundations. DO NOT blow off your ALEKS test since you may get behind if you’re not judged able to place into Math 140. You can take it three times I believe, so review all your classes through precalc and try your best. If your score’s insufficient for 140, review and take it again a week later.
- Chem 110 is a bear. Hopefully you’ve taken Chemistry in high school, preferably honors. AP Chem is NOT necessary however. But this class will be tough.
- Health and Physical Activity
- A Gen ed of your choice. Could be Psychology, Foreign Language level 3, an InArts class…
Second semester, you’ll take:
- Calculus 2 (Math 141), preferably with the EMS option
- Physics (calculus-based) ← deal breaker, if you can’t pass this, forget Meteorology. I advise you plan to use the nearly 4 weeks of break to review physics. If you’ve not taken physics in HS, I’d advise you take a physics course first as an introduction. Experience shows that kids who’ve never taken a physics class in HS do miserably in this class. (note: middle school “physical science” doesn’t count).
- Meteorology 101
- CAS 100A
- a Gen Ed of your choice, in a different category from 1st semester
Fall 2017
- A Natural Science class. I’d suggest Oceanography or Astronomy.
- Calculus and Vector Analysis. Yikes, you better review your notes from Calc 2 before the semester starts.
- Physics with Calculus, Level 2 (Or Physics with Calculus, Level 1, if you hadn’t taken a physics class in HS and needed to take the intro class last semester)
- Humanities/social science/art, depending on what you’ve already taken
- Physical Education
Spring 2018
- Comp Sci 101 (or Physics with calculus, level 2, if you didn’t take it last semester)
- Differential Equations
- Meteo 273
- English for Science Majors
- Humanities/social science/art, depending on what you’ve already taken
==> with this schedule, you start as a Junior majoring in meteorology at UP as if you’d started there. 
@MYOS1634 Ahhh, okay, thank you so much!! A lot of work, but what isn’t? Penn State is a good school, so looking forward. Still applying to Florida State and University of Oklahoma.
^I saw that you’d had 5 posts asking questions and no one’d answered a single one, and your being persistent and polite made me want to help you out.
In your case, I think the 2+2 is the best thing that could happen to you. It gives you 2 years to transition from HS to the major, in a less competitive environment, but still close enough to main campus you get to enjoy it; and if you prove yourself at Altoona you’ll be at a top meteorology program, something your 3.2 GPA wouldn’t have let you imagine right out of HS.
The 2+2 doesn’t make sense in many cases, but you’re exactly who it’s for.
It’s not arrogance it’s truth-look at other posts on “rolling” and the specialized PSU definition. The majority of people will agree it’s not rolling as per the commonly expected definition. Not the super secret double meaning definition PSU has.
Does anything get updated on the weekend?
@Snarkyboy I also wouldn’t call what PSU does “rolling” in the traditional sense (you can look at a thread I made about this last year where we all talked about it in depth), but they DO tell you exactly what to expect as far as decision dates. They tell you when you will hear by, and they stick to that. I will say that if you are already this upset with Penn State, then perhaps it is not the school for you. It is a huge school and no one will hold your hand and tell you it will all be ok…They receive a ridiculous amount of applications. I think that they should call it something other than rolling - but it’s not a traditional drop dead date school either where they notify everyone who applied on a specific date. So I’m not sure what we’d call it…but they do tell you specifically when you will hear by.
@jlhpsu Not sure if you saw my previous post where PSU can really do something different. I understand they do not do traditional rolling admissions. I am also ok with them accepting high stat applicants first. But, what I and others do find frustrating is say someone has all there info in by Oct.1st. Then a similar applicant applies Nov.30th. They could hear (by luck of the draw from the applicant pile) weeks before the earlier submitting applicant. That is why I think that they should make quick decisions on the higher stat applicants like they are doing now. But, all of the rest should be put in a pile with those who applied earliest at the top. This way those who didn’t wait until the last day to submit get their decisions first. It would help PSU admissions who by their own words said they got 11k apps on the last day. If people knew it would increase their chance to hear sooner. They might not wait until the last day. Thus giving the admissions office more time.
Accepted DUS University Park!
SAT: didn’t send
ACT: 31E, 30M, 30R, 34S, 36W (31C)
GPA: 98 W
Rank: top 10%
Essays: Not the best I’ve written, but solid
State or Country: NY
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Female
General Comments: surprised to have heard back so early. I sent in my test scores long past the November 30 deadline, and my stats aren’t exactly extraordinary. Either way, super greatful! Penn state was one of my first choices. Good luck to everyone else who hasn’t heard back yet!
@amm105 Congrats. If I read your post correct. Did you apply before the Nov.30th deadline or was it just your test scores that came in after the deadline?
If you applied after the Nov.30th deadline then I can see where people who applied before the deadline and haven’t heard would be upset…Not at you…just the process
^If the transcript was sent prior to Nov. 30 and included ACT scores, the application may have been considered priority.
@zipbags I sent in and paid for my application around the 20th, and I believe my transcript arrived a few days after. So yes, I did apply before the deadline, it’s just my test scores that were not in by the date.
I would like to think that the admissions process is completely random. I have quite a few friends from my school who applied around the same time I did and have not heard back yet, and many of them have higher stats than me. But who really knows?