My D is a OOS student who got accepted with 2+2 program for Penn State business school starting at Harrisburg. We have put in a request for reconsideration for UP which is her first and only choice if got to Penn State. Not sure if anyone has been accepted on reconsideration… We have changed our major to DUS if that would play into this request.
We are taking our chances either way if not UP then we will deny the 2+2.
D19 spoke to admissions last Friday and is being reconsidered with a different major. She was told it will be 4-6 weeks until she gets an answer
Same boat…2+2 at Harrisburg for business. Will not accept this offer. Spoke to Admissions last Friday and they required a written email from the student to make the “reconsideration” request to DUS. That was done and a few hours later an email came back saying based on your “record” it would seem a reconsideration would result in the same decision and that you should still consider 2+2 as half the student begin outside of UP. We sent an email back suggesting that others from our high school got into UP with significantly less stats (true…although DUS or other major selected). Asked for them to review it again for DUS. Love to see the stat of how many OOS students actually do the 2+2. Must be relatively low. No reason to do 2+2 as OOS especially if you have other offers unless it’s all about the $. Accepted at IU and UMD and can start on their main campuses day 1
You can request DUS and Summer session if you can afford it.
For some students, starting at a smaller campus where weedout classes are less drastic can really help but from OOS the cost is just prohibitive. If branch campuses were MUCH cheaper (ie.,if OOS=IS tuition at branch campuses, for instance…), they’d have more takers.
@sonnydnj would u mind sharing your student stats?
Sounds frustrating because choice of major does seem to make a difference. Unless admissions is saying spots are full for students with a certain stat
But the email said it seems it would be same, rather than issuing a decision if I understood
Seems reasonable for you to press for a review, because maybe it was just a stock reply
@hope2019 My son recently had a final decision made on reconsideration of his applicant file. He is OOS and was accepted into the College of Engineering with 4.0/1290 stats but only offered 2+2 to a Commonwealth Campus. We decided PSU can keep there offer as he has better options than spending two years as an OOS at a unknown school. That said, we asked to be reconsidered for Summer start back in December and last week received the decision that nothing changed. Honestly, we felt the Admissions Office never gave it a second look as folks with lower stats have been getting into both Fall and Summer starts. Afterwards, I spoke to an Engineering academic advisor and she cautioned us against switching to DUS if his real intent was ultimately Engineering. She advised they know it’s going on and that it doesn’t guarantee admission into the department.
@sonnydnj. Same here. Maybe PSU filled their quota on NJ applicants. LOL
Thank you all for your response @spqr70nj I think I am seeing more on this board the 2+2 options being offered for OOO. This is a long shot for us with no confidence that anything will change for us. How long did it take for them to respond after you put in the request ? Was your son offered the same 2+2 earlier ?
@spqr70nj Just for clarity so you know, NO ONE is guaranteed admission into engineering, even if they are accepted as a freshman. At Penn State, you have to fulfill entry to major requirements that include completing certain classes with a certain GPA. Whether you are DUS intending to go into engineering, or you get accepted pre-major freshman year, you take the exact same entry to major requirements. Then you have to apply to the major. This happens across all majors across the university, usually second semester sophomore year. ONLY then, are in you in the major. If you have the classes and stats then you are let in. If you don’t, you aren’t. But it has zero effect whether you start DUS or “in” engineering.
TONS of students enter engineering through DUS and graduate in 4 years. That’s how Penn State’s undecided major works. It’s a easy move to most majors as long as you have been completing the entry to major requirements for that major.
Just to chime in about DUS. Every year, there are kids that discover Engineering is not the field for them and switch to business (Smeal). There are only two paths into Smeal:
If you are in Engineering and want to go to business, you have to move into DUS to get there.
There are ETM classes (entrance to major) that are restricted - to PMAJ (pre major of the college they are in) and DUS. So if you are in Engineering (pre major), you cannot take the business ETM classes without going through DUS.
I think what the admissions counselor is referring to is that kids who aren’t offered their choice of college first (Engineering, Smeal, Science) come back and ask for DUS. Admissions is hesitant to offer them all spots because their intentions are “known” (so to speak). Unfortunately, you probably would have been better off applying DUS from the beginning. Having said that, the path through DUS has been getting tougher the last few years as kids have discovered it is an ‘easier’ path in to UP.
Honestly, ETM classes are HARD. My D has friends who have already switched colleges because they are not successful. They are designed to weed out the classes. I may not agree with making them so difficult, but it is the reality. Branches offer an easier path - through smaller class sizes and individual attention - with those ETM classes.
@jlhpsu Thank you for the additional context. As always, I appreciate and value your insight. I totally get that everyone is not into their ‘major’ when accepted to the University. In the case of my son who applied for aerospace engineering, we are fully aware that he will need to take the required pre-requisite courses and have obtained a certain GPA to formally apply and be accepted to that specific major. We were advised of these requirements when we met the undergraduate director for Aerospace Engineering over the Summer. Recently I questioned a PSU Engineering Academic Counselor on being accepted directly into the School of Engineering vs another school such as DUS undeclared. Her advice to us was to stay in SOE and not switch. She indicated that when the pre-requisite courses/GPA are met, the DUS student will formally apply to the school and then the specific major - sounding like a two step process. Rutgers and Maryland conveyed similar processes. Frankly, all the schools do it. That said, why then bother applying directly to an engineering school and not a general undergraduate studies program whether at PSU or another university? Instead of being offered 2+2, my son would have already had his deposit paid for UP back in December when the initial decision was made. Just makes you scratch your head and wonder why.
@hope2019 It took a little over a month to get the second decision from Admissions (initially made prior to Christmas) to receive the same 2+2 offer. We only asked for reconsideration for Summer start - nothing else.
@Hope2019 I originally applied to the Smeal college of business back in November, got rejected in December. After that I contacted admissions the day I was rejected to get re-evaluated for DUS. I didn’t hear back until the last week of January, and I ended up getting accepted. My SAT was 1220 and my GPA was 3.5. I’m also happy to announce I have committed to PSU! I wish your daughter the best of luck! 
@seahawks3 I have the same story as you! We have been waiting to hear my D’s DUS decision since January. Originally she applied EA to Smeal on 10/1. AC said a DUS decision would be made in 4 weeks. Here we are 4 weeks later and still no decision. D called them today and they told her they are backed up with people who switched to DUS, and the decision PROBABLY won’t come until “sometime in March” 
Shes freaking out because PSU UP is her absolute top choice and she’d enroll immediately if admitted. She worked so hard on her PSU and Schreyers applications and essays, and sent everything by 10/1, only to see people with lower stats than her being admitted and her application perpetually under review/deferred. She was finally offered Smeal 2+2 on January 29, but her friend who had 100 points less on her sat score and similar gpa and was admitted to Smeal UP . There’s no rhyme or reason to it, Schreyers says they have made their decisions, but cannot share theirs with my D until she gets an offer of admission. Grrr. D’s SATs: 1370, gpa: 3.96, tons of extracurricular activities, leadership positions, and two jobs where she has worked for 2+ years. She has taken almost all AP/Honors classes throughout high school. She has visited UP 3 times and has all of the PSU swag - she HAS to get in! I wish they knew how passionate she is about that school. This waiting is excruciating, to say the least.
D originally applied ED to Smeal 10/1 and was offered 2+2 at Brandywine on 1/31. She asked to be reconsidered for DUS at UP and was just informed today that her reconsideration was complete and she was Accepted to UP for Fall! It has been a long, emotional process, but D is thrilled!!!
I got 2+2 for Criminology at Altoona on 1/31, asked for reconsideration for DUS and was accepted on Friday! Super Happy!!!
@cheerlover14 I am shocked that criminology was 2+2, I was under the impression that that was not a hard major to get into! I was going to apply Criminal Justice when I an admissions officer for PSU told me to just apply DUS as it would give me a better chance of getting accepted, and that I could switch at orientation. I’m so glad I took his advice because it seems like DUS was the way to go.