Accepted To Honors College!

<p>I just recieved my notification today. I'm elated! What about everybody else?</p>

<p>Are you willing to share your stats?</p>

<p>ACCEPTED! yay! :-)</p>

<p>Rejected.</p>

<p>3.94 UW GPA/ 4.81 W
2250 SATS (790 M, 720 CR, 740 WR)
Lots and lots of leadership acitivities and over 500 hours community service
great essays and recs</p>

<p>I really don't mean to sound cocky, but I was half-expecting to get into Schreyers from what all the people around me were saying. This has been my dream school for years, and for the past week I just dreamt of going to the mailbox and seeing my decision letter. But when I went to open it up it was blank. What makes this rejection sting so much is that I seek to become a medical doctor. However, now that I've been rejected, my dad has decided to put me into the University of Sciences in Philadelphia pharmacy school because of our financial situation. I will never be able to pursue my passion, and I will be stuck at a cillege that I hate learning a subject that I find extremely boring. The fact that I have to face my friends and teachers, who expected so much of me, and tell them that I'm going to a sub-par pharmacy school is downright devastating. All my daydreams of attending PSU football games and becoming a doctor, all my visions of howd I'd open up a medical practice, all of it is gone. I'm sorry if this sounds overly dramatic but I just had to get it out of me. All I wanted to do was to go to schreyers.</p>

<p>Does anyone know if there is anything I can do for them to reconsider me/give me another shot. It would mean the world to me.</p>

<p>You can pursue medicine at PSU without being in Schreyers.</p>

<p>I was just going to say this^^^. Why can't you get your undergraduate degree from PSU and then apply to med school? And there is a process to reapply to Schreyer's during your undergrad years, so you can still pursue both of your dreams!</p>

<p>sandyrun - please talk to your Dad about going to PSU. Schreyer is a good program but it's really NOT a separate school. Even if you got in, most of your classes would not be honors classes. And you can take honors classes w/o being in the program. Sure, it's prestigious and offers perks, including some scholarship money and access to services and networking. But I wouldn't say it makes a HUGE difference.
I have always thought that kids who are interested in Schreyer should also be OK with going to PSU without Schreyer. Because it's not like you're on an island separated from everyone else. You have to be OK with a big bustling school, and even though you may get some more personal attention, you still need to be a self starter. Kids who think it will be like a small liberal arts college are bound to be dissapointed.
That said, it is an excellent program, and you will have opportunities to enter the program after a year or two. Keep going for your dream...don't give up. Talk to your Dad. PSU is still very affordable compared to an Ivy and offers great opportunities for a smart motivated student like you.</p>

<p>My S. attends a well-regarded PA suburban HS, and also expected to be accepted, based upon his leadership, course selection, etc. Dean Brady even confirmed that test results weren't considered, which made Schreyer very appealing for in-state, bright, high-acheivers who didn't rely on standardized tests to get it.
Here is the irony, and I suspect that there is nothing an admissions committee can do about this: the three kids accepted from our HS DON'T EVEN WANT TO GO TO SCHREYER, and never did. They are going to wait for their ivy league letters to come, and applied to Schreyer because we live in PA and that's what everyone does who is in the AP track.
As a parent, I wish there were some way that the Schreyer staff could discern the difference.
Also, as a response to toneranger: for kids who have only been in honors classes and AP classes for 4 years, to be in the general population of Penn State with all the kids from their HS that took one or two or NO honors classes, had no leadership positions, and really didn't have to work nearly as hard to get there, is a step down, lets at least be honest about it. These kids that are really involved, work really hard, and do really well see Schreyer as the prize, not Penn State.</p>

<p>Sandyrun of Post #4 above: With your stats, financial concerns should be a moot point as many colleges and universities will offer full tuition scholarships. You just need to look beyond Penn State which offers very little in merit scholarship money. To what other colleges & universities did you apply? Also, if finances are a major concern, the best colleges & universities offer the most generous financial aid typically (e.g., Stanford is tuition free for families earning less than $100,000 per year & offers free tuition, room & board to accepted students from families earning less than $60,000 per year). In reviewing earlier posts regarding your chances thread, it appears that you are weak in the areas of leadership & ECs. Although you look a bit like a serial joiner, you have no accomplishments that show true leadership or passion, and this is probably why you were not offered a spot in the honors college. P.S. Many students do not understand fully what "leadership" means in the context of admission to the most competitive universities. Leadership is evidence of effecting significant change or accomplishment with a passion, project or organization; leadership is not simply joining a school group and getting elected as an officer--that is "popularity".</p>

<p>i got in too!!!!!</p>

<p>740 (m) 740 (cr) 800 (w) (although apparently SAT scores werent considered..)
not that many extracurriculars, but the few I have are directly related to my passion (foreign language/human rights).<br>
gpa: at the time of submission it was a 3.993 (weighted)</p>

<p>Good luck to everyone still awaiting their letters!</p>

<p>Accepted!!!!</p>

<p>Stats: 2290 SAT (770CR 800M 720W)
GPA - 4.0 UW 4.27 W
Good/Well-Rounded ECs
Okay Essays
Great Recs</p>

<p>I also got an engineering scholarship along with the honors college scholarship. Does anyone know, is the engineering scholarship harder to get than getting into the honors college, or is it pretty much standard that honors college kids in the College of Engineering get the engineering scholarship?</p>

<p>S was NOT accepted (I will not call it rejected because I know he worked hard enough to get accepted).
His stats, as best I recall are:
Competative Catholic HS in DC area
SAT – 1310 out of 1600
GPA – 3.987 W, 3.85 UW
Commended Scholar
Baseball in HS all 4 years
Service work and tutoring
Worked, including this past summer in an agricultural research job.</p>

<p>Zoeinnj and toneranger - this was an interesting discussion and I agree, they should make you apply ED to Schreyer. I have read this board a lot over the past year and a half or so, and I have seen a number of kids post on here that they have applied to Schreyer as their 'safety' after applying to the Ivys. My S loves Penn State. We were just up there this past week to the Eberly accepted students program and his interview for another program. There are so many opportunities at Penn State for all students. The kids just need to take advantage of them. I too think it would have been easier to take advantage of those opportunities if your 'peers' are doing it. </p>

<p>If he got accepted to Schreyer, he was 100% certain he was going. If he gets accepted to this other program at Penn State, he is 99% certain he is going. But, if the other program doesn't come through, he told us that we will need to evaluate all his options, because then money becomes the issue. We will support him no matter what he decides.</p>

<p>Congrats to all those accepted and all that applied! It is a great opportunity - take advantage of it!</p>

<p>GDAD - sorry to hear that your son didn't get in. I think admission to SHC is a lot tougher these days with the rise in apps..I'm not sure my son would have made it if he applied this year. In any case, good luck to you. He sounds like a great kid who could thrive in many places. Best of luck getting into the other program at PSU.
This is a hard time for kids who don't get the news they want to hear. My son was rejected at his two top choices...but always thought of both schools as big "reaches" and wasn't particularly surprised or upset when the thin envelopes arrived. Still, it hurts.
All the best to you and your son.</p>

<p>Just a small note here to say that some students who are fortunate to be accepted to Schreyer but do not ultimately attend, don't make this decision in order to attend an ivy. I'm sure that some have other reasons. Such was the case with my son. He was accepted to Schreyer as an engineering major, but as an accomplished musician wanted to continue his study of music also. He was accepted into the music studios of professors at the conservatory level, yet the music prof at PSU apparently didn't want any students who were not music majors. So sad...I personally really encouraged him to go to Schreyer anyway because it would have been such a great experience! But happily, S has been able to continue his study of both engineering and music in another city. </p>

<p>I know it seems inconceivable that anybody would not matriculate at Schreyer, but there are other reasons besides ivy offers. I'm guessing that some other student was ecstatic to take his spot.</p>

<p>S was not accepted. He had pretty solid stats: over 4.0; SAT 1420/2180; SAT 2 eng 760, bio 720, ushist 740; 13 honors and aps; Commended national merit; AP Scholar with honor; 2 sport 4yr varsity athlete; lots of leadership and over 200 hrs community service working with mentally challenged kids. If he decides to go the big state school route he probably will now probably attend either South Carolina or Florida where he was admitted to their honors programs.</p>

<p>I want to respond to this thread as a parent of a student who was not accepted to Schreyer two years ago. </p>

<p>My S was a recruited athlete (who had made a ten year, year round committment to his sport) at many schools, including the Ivies. He had good SATs (in the 1400s (CR and Math), taken only once) and a high, unweighted GPA (his school did not weight honors or AP courses) with 24 honors/AP courses on his transcript. He, in fact, had ‘likelies’ from more than one Ivy (including one of the HYPs). However, Schreyer was his first choice and we visited more than once. He was told that he was a strong candidate. His NLI (National Letter of Intent) had to be signed prior to Schreyer acceptances and he made the commitment to attend PSU. When February rolled around, he was rejected from Schreyers. (Another student from his school with similar test scores and GPA was accepted to Schreyer. That student had only used PSU and Schreyer as a safety and did not choose to attend.)</p>

<p>Well, you can imagine the initial disappointment. </p>

<p>FLASH FORWARD TWO YEARS</p>

<p>S is currently a sophomore at PSU and loves it. In fact, he has said that he is no longer disappointed that he did not get accepted to Schreyer. He has stated that he is not sure he would want to commit to the Senior Thesis, since he is more interested in pursuing a corporate career rather than research. (He is an engineering major.) He has pursued and obtained other opportunities to develop and excel in the areas that are important to him. He also has the option of enrolling in the honors classes he wants, with no pressure to have to take the minimum required by Schreyer. He has taken classes and participated in activities that have a large number of Schreyer scholars. Most of his classes have some Schreyer students in them and there seems to be no lack of academic rigor. He has also met many very highly academic students who did not even apply to Schreyer. </p>

<p>From our experience, for the very motivated student, there is a multitude of opportunities available at PSU beyond the Schreyer Honors College. Also, as previously mentioned, there is the junior gate for those who still desire the Schreyer experience.</p>

<p>S was accepted to SHC. We are thrilled! However I had a quick question for the members. He has also been accepted to Johns Hopkins and since we live within a half hour from JHU we are somewhat confused. Any advice as to which is the better program will be appreciated. He is considering engineering but not really sure yet.</p>

<p>Don't know the answer to your question, elliottvic, but was wondering when S got his Hopkins acceptance?? we are waiting to hear from Hopkins and am wondering if the time lag could mean a negative answer??</p>

<p>elliottvic, I think your son should base his decision on what he is looking for in a school. Penn State is a big school, with hardcore sports fans and over 600 clubs. With the SHC experience, your son gets the pluses of a big university, with the smaller class sizes associated with SHC. Johns Hopkins will be a completely different experience. It is a smaller school.</p>

<p>smr_424
I am so sorry for the long delay. I am not a frequent user. My son got in ED but did not get his desired major. Therefore he was allowed to move his decision to May 1st with other regular admits to JHU.
I hope your S got his Hopkins decison and it is a positive one.</p>