That’s just not right. I’d call back and ask to speak to an actual admissions counselor. Not whoever answers the phones. For a Spring admission you should hear by mid december. You shouldn’t even be in the same pile of applications as those applying for next fall. “Priority” applications are for fall/summer admits for NEXT school year. Someone is not understanding or, they sent you a stock answer. Call and talk to someone directly.
What is the chance of getting accepted by PSU at University Park campus if I submit application today as first year freshman (term: Fall 2020) with Biology major since I already missed the priority filing deadline (11/30)? Or should I apply for DUS with better chance to get into main campus? By the way, I am OOS (Virginia) with GPA 3.8 (weighted), SAT 1360, 6 Honor, 8 AP and 2 dual enrollment classes.
Unfortunately since you missed the deadline, there is no way to tell how much space is left in either of those departments. DUS usually fills up, but it’s still likely to be less competitive than Eberly. I’d apply DUS at this point with the option to start in the summer and hope for the best. If you had applied early action or even priority I think you’d have no problem. But at this date, it’s all a gamble
It’s not letting me view the link in the original post? It says it can only be viewed by administrators.
It’s saying the same for me now as well. The link must not be active any longer.
My GPA is 4.125 UW but my SAT score is 1130 and my ACT score is 22. I took a few honors classes over the years and did a few clubs. I also work( don’t know if that matters). What are my chances?
Because Penn State decision is 2/3 GPA, you will probably be ok. But it also depends on what major and when you apply.
Sorry if this has been posted elsewhere, but has there been any talk about total applications to UP in this round?
This time last year they were throwing around the number 100,000 very liberally (although the most recent CDS has not been released to confirm).
Letter received yesterday from PSU stated 95K applications, so 100K is not too far off.
We haven’t received the letter referenced by @Yocco2 , but perhaps the 95K number is for all campuses?
The 2018-2019 Common Data set for University Park has ~52,000 applications last year:
https://budget.psu.edu/CDSRedesign/cds.aspx?reportindicator=FreshAdmn&Location=UP&AY=20182019
Letter addressed to parents from Eric Barron, PSU president, dated 1/7/20, states “At Penn State, we have the good fortune to admit students like (D) from over 95,000 applicants each year.” Probably safe to assume that number is for all campuses combined, although D was accepted DUS at UP.
The 2018-2019 year was prior to the common app being accepted. The general thought is that apps went way up during that time. The admissions department was regularly telling applicants that the University Park campus received 100,000 apps alone.
Not sure if this is the right thread for it…but if you got an admission letter for main campus with no merit - does that mean that you likely won’t get any? Thanks!!
Penn State doesn’t really give merit. There are a couple Provost scholarships and Schreyer Scholars get 5k, that’s it.
If you’re instate make sure to apply for PHEAA grants and root through your college’s website to see if there are scholarships for admitted students.
But overall, Pennsylvania is the worst state for college costs as pen State one of the most expensive public universities instate (and on par with other OOS universities cost-wise but without the scholarships others might award. They have a high volume of OOS students attending without scholarships so don’t have any incentive to offer some).
We are from Texas. We have never been to the east coast. We put Abington as our 2nd selection. Of course he was offered the 2+2 program at Abington. We are now leaning toward Altoona. How do we get admitted into Altoona?
What is the biggest difference between Abington vs. Altoona?
- distance to UP
- Campus life?
- Abington commuter college ?
@"C.M. have him call admissions and ask about switching to Altoona. I agree that it’s probably a better choice for OOS, based on size, # of students residing on campus, and proximity to University Park for events/football etc. I live near Abington, which is a very nice area, but mostly commuters. They only have one residence hall /apt building, and it’s not really “on” campus, and I think it’s only for freshmen. It’s 3 hours from University Park.
Altoona is the closest to UP campus…about 45 minutes. So lots of kids go back and forth for events.
Harrisburg and Behrend are the other two campuses that are colleges in their own right (4 year degree options, dorms, clubs, etc…) but Harrisburg is about 1.5 hours from campus and Behrend (the largest campus after UP) is over 3 hours away. I would not go to Abington from OOS.
2019-2020 CDS has been posted.
Not quite 100,000, but a big number (71,912) nevertheless.
Acceptance rate around 49%
And as expected, the acceptance rate dropped 1.3%. That is a pretty big increase in applications.
Hello,
I have a D22 who has some time to prepare, and we are exploring different college types and possibilities. I have enjoyed reading through this informative thread.
I was wondering if @jlhpsu and any others CCers could give an opinion or knowledge of the difficulty and competitiveness of freshman acceptance for these majors: German, BA; Psychology BA; Global and International Studies, BA; and Global Studies. I am asking because I’ve read quite a bit that some majors are more difficult to be accepted into.
I do believe my D will be able to get in when the time comes. Right now her weighted gpa is a 4.3 (would’ve been a 4.4 by the end of the semester, but grades are now P/F and will not impact the gpa). I believe her SAT score will be in the area of 1260-1300 by the time she is done testing (based on her initial PSAT score).
Thank you for any input.