Has anyone been to one? I am thinking of going to one of the UP DUS admitted student days and I just want to know what to expect.
Is it worthwhile doing, or would a normal tour be better?
The admitted students day is specifically for admitted students who are making up their mind on attendance. There is a tour and more info than a regular tour. If you haven’t been to the campus or taken a tour I would do it. They will also talk about the major (DUS).
@LM3232 We went to Accepted Students Day today. It was a bit different than their regular tour (which we did last spring). They do a quick intro, then send you on a tour with other people in your academic college. Then lunch, a panel discussion with current students, and then a breakout session with advisors etc from your academic college. It was a long day, but found it to be informative and well done. Plus, they give out some nice swag ? Hope this helps!
My DD and I were at Accepted Students Day today (2/1). I highly recommend it! Unfortunately it was 4° and snowing today so the campus tour was definitely cut short but the information we received about the summer session, leap program, housing, and the specifics about the college she was accepted to, including meeting her academic advisor, was extremely informative. We accepted the offer at the end of the day.
We were there on 2/1 too! It was a long day, but very informative. Everyone is very welcoming and helpful. If you get a chance go on the dorm tours. PSU has nice housing. The food was good too.
Would someone please explaining to me what the difference is from Accepted Students Day and New Student Orientation? Should we attend both, even if we have done a campus tour before? Also, does anyone have an idea of when the NSO will be for Summer 19 students? Thanks!
NSO is a must attend event as it is when the student meets with their advisor and enrolls in classes. Admitted student day is optional and is great if your child is undecided if they want to attend.
@off2co11ege , Accepted Students Day dishes out some new info, but not a ton. It’s really more of a rah-rah show for those who have yet to decide and the accepted student typically gets some kind of tshirt or giveaway. If you already 100% know you want PSU, I personally don’t feel it’s worth it unless it’s an easy drive for you. NSO, on the other hand, is required.
Re: timing of NSO. NSO occurs throughout late spring and summer…multiple days each week. You will receive an invitation in late spring to select from one or more potential dates to attend and is based on your college of acceptance (College of Engineering, College of Nursing, DUS, etc.) Each college will have several dates – typically. Honors kids are brought in first as they receive priority registration for fall. Thereafter, it’s completely random. The real challenge can be for LEAP kids as they may receive an invite to attend NSO for May/early June and then turn right around and come back to campus to start summer. All of this is done at the same crazy time as finals, graduation parties, and what little time you have for summer vacation. If you can’t make the NSO dates offered, just call and tell them. For LEAP kids, there’s typically an option to arrive one or two days before their summer classes start and do NSO then, but these special NSO dates aren’t always published on the official schedule.
PSU, as we all know, forces us to be patient…and we will again be reminded that life isn’t fair. You will panic if you get a July date and think you won’t get the classes you want. Try not to worry. University will release more sections of classes as we get closer to fall–and may even block out some sections just for freshmen. Just get on a wait list and know that many spots open up the week or two before classes start. The only difference between NSO in late May versus July is that July kids may end up with an 8 a.m. lab or class that first semester. Students always panic…and it seems to magically all work out. And if you kid walks out of NSO and isn’t happy with his/her schedule, they will then have open access to get into LionPATH (portal) and research/change/enroll in courses.
Heading up Friday (2/8) for the Saturday (2/9) Admitted Students Day. I saw that there is a Penn State men’s hockey game Friday night and grabbed a couple of tickets. Anyone have thoughts? Is hockey generally a fun event?
^ By the way, they’re playing the Minnesota Golden Gophers, if this matters.
@STEM2017 , absolutely! And the student section is a riot to watch.
@STEM2017 We went up to attend the For The Glory event and I had never been to Penn State. My D19 was blown away, in love and prepared to sign on any dotted line when it was over…LOL.
@Cotton2017 Wow I just looked up that event - amazing! We didn’t get that invite - good for your D! I’m trying to turn this 24 hour visit into something more than just listening to people talk.
@STEM2017 Good idea!! The hockey game seems like a lot of fun. We were able to tour the sports museum in the stadium so you could add that if you like sports. We had recently toured WVU and attended a BBall game (so much fun). I was expecting similar campuses but really different. My D preferred PSU to the large hills at WVU (but I prefer the tuition at WVU…LOL). One thing at PSU- on our tour, they really didn’t hold your hand. They had buses set up on a loop at different stops and you jumped on and off to see the areas you were interested in. They had PSU students in these specific blue coats at each stop and they would point you in the right direction when you got off the buses. I didn’t think I would like this but turned out to really like it. We jumped on and off buses all day checking out the library, dorms, stadium, lion statue, main hall…etc. My D really loved it - come back and tell us about your tour.
@Cotton2017 Very helpful, thanks. Will definitely be back with a recap.
Def do the hockey game. You’ll enjoy the action and see the school spirit in person. Take the stadium tour, eat at the creamery and walk around downtown to get a feel for the off campus vibe.
@STEM2017 I hope you have an amazing visit… can’t wait to see if you love it as much as me and my daughters.
@STEM2017 btw…we really love VT too!
@STEM2017 I’ll be there as well for the admitted student event!