@citymama9 I’m not sure why exactly an admissions rep would say something like that. Very uncharacteristic and probably not true. A 1300 SAT puts the candidate near the top 75% for applicants. And 60%+ of all enrolled students have a GPA lower than 3.75. I think it is highly unlikely that ALL 1300/3.7 EA applicants are put into RD. Highly unlikely. Especially when ‘major’ comes in to play.
Edited to fix GPA data.
@STEM2017 I’m just reporting back what my daughter told me yesterday. I guess time will tell if what she heard was correct. She said that when he said those stats he was just giving an example. According to the website their 50 perc range is 1240 to 1430.
Interesting. Their CDS says the range is 1160 to 1340.
https://budget.psu.edu/CDSRedesign/cds.aspx?reportindicator=FreshAdmn&Location=UP&AY=20172018
I’m not questioning your D. I’m sure she is correct. I just think it’s really strange that an AO would say it.
@STEM2017 I agree that it’s strange. The SAT scores I gave were from their website. I think the one’s you have are from branch campuses. The UP scores are higher
The CDS link/site I gave says University Park at the top. Maybe they also include other campuses, but I don’t think so.
Anyway, it doesn’t really matter. We’re all in this together.
Best of luck!
The common data set is separated out by campus. So the link @STEM2017 gave above is for University Park only. There are other common data sets for the other commonwealth campuses. The CDS is the very best in determining the stats of those who were admitted.
@jlhpsu and others… I have found your information invaluable when I went through this process with my daughter two years ago. She is a very happy Sophomore. Now, I feel the same going through it with my son. Your information has been very spot on and beyond helpful. I have learned so much the second time around. Thank you.
PSU has always been extremely clear, apply by X date you will here by X date - the key word being BY - some will hear earlier than others and the factors are numerous. My daughter was probably one of the last to hear but it was before the published date in January.
This is the first year for EA at PSU. I feel that advisor was pointing out that applicants may be deferred into the next wave (what I believe is called Priority although I can not find a decision date for this round with the deadline being 11/30)… I would hesitate to get too focused on numbers for this - maybe that is a reasonable example for Smeal or Engineering and probably just an example. I think the take away is that you may be deferred to the next round. It will be interesting to see how EA is handled .
I would encourage anyone, especially first year applicants, to look at @jlhpsu @MYOS1634 and @STEM2017 threads and replies for a ton of great information. Although the process is always fluid year to year, they have great experience and advice.
Personally, I think people should look at their Naviances. From ours it looks like they have accepted kids with SAT’s in the 1200s. Don’t get discouraged by what this admissions rep said. I just thought it would be interesting to post here since people were wondering why the 1500 kids were getting acceptances so early. Again, Naviance is probably the best indicator for your child.
Ok, I just looked at our Naviance. Last year 49 applied and 31 were accepted. Since they started using the new SAT I see a wider range than I thought. Many students even got in with less than 1200 and less than a 90 average. This is a public school in NY. Things are not as gloomy as people may think. Good luck everyone.
@citymama9 thank you. Our naviance doesn’t have sat! Next year it will.
Good to know though about sat scores from you and the post about the common data set info
I feel confident my daughter will be accepted, im just frustrated that applying right away in August had no advantage
But worth the wait to get into psu main 
Our Naviance doesn’t specify 2/2 or summer starts. Acceptance to PSU on Naviance doesn’t clarify which campus. Does yours?
@citymama9 : kids with 87/1180 could get into College of agriculture. Kids with 90/1200 and excellent rigor in their chosen field can get into liberal arts, eberly, earth&mineral science.
Curriculum rigor, grades in the five core subjects, choice of major/college matter a lot.
@amomoffour Separate from the Naviance graph is a list of acceptance history and it specifies UP. Since we are out of state almost all apply to UP. I just checked Naviance and they do have a few other Penn State campuses besides UP on the Acceptance History list. There is no indication anywhere for the 2/2 program or summer.
Yes, there are many online sources that quote the combined stats for UP and the commonwealth campuses. It’s sad because it’s easy to see how applicants can get their hopes set on UP when in reality they are below the 25th percentile, making UP a reach for them.
Our stats have changed a LOT since my second son was accepted, 2016 42 applied/11 accepted, 2017 38 applied 27 accepted, 2018 33 applied/25 accepted! PA rural school
Not all schools have naviance (I wish they did!) For those people who don’t have access to that source, checking the common data set is likely the most up to date and accurate admissions information, including what they consider and what they do not consider when making a decision. Last year’s common data set can be found here: https://budget.psu.edu/CDS/Campus.aspx?AY=20172018&Location=UP&displayNewTuition=y From this you can see that the average GPA for all degree seeking freshman admitted last year was a 3.58. Not some of the super high stats we see posted here. But remember, this is across ALL majors. That’s why when someone makes a chance thread, the first question is always going to be “what major?”. A 3.58 will not get you into Smeal - but it very well could get you into a LA major or some of the Ag majors.
You can also go back to compare previous years and other campuses as well. Sometimes things do change. Penn State used not consider geographic region and now they do.
I never knew about the common data set until I started researching college admissions several years ago. Every school has one which is great for comparing and contrasting admissions.
Good luck everyone! This is the hard part. Next thing you know it will be August and you will be sending them off…to Penn State or to whatever school is their best fit! It all works out somehow.
@jlhpsu is there any data for specific colleges like the college of engineering or smeal?
For a bit more detail on Penn State engineering admission (or any engineering admission), you can look at this site. Not very detailed but a better peak inside…
http://profiles.asee.org/profiles/7639/screen/19?school_name=The+Pennsylvania+State+University