<p>Last year’s admittance there were a few students with very low GPA and low SAT/ACT scores. Students well outside the bubble. Most were sure this one applicant wasn’t even in the running to be considered for Main, possibly not even for a branch campus. Well, she GOT in! She was OOS from FL. She was even very surprised. She even commented by saying not to give up hope even if people tell you you’ll never make it.</p>
<p>It just seemed like the only thing she had going was that she was OOS. Her intended major was DUS. She even got one of the rare scholarships. It just seemed she got in for OOS to fill in diversity or something. Maybe they don’t make preference for the Tri-state area, but I feel most colleges want people from every state in their admittance rates.</p>
<p>Then on the other hand, there was a very high stat kid with great stats and Ec’s. Nothing wrong at all with this applicant. Nothing! He did not get in. Very shocked, as we all were. An in state applicant.</p>
<p>I don’t think one can really predict what “chances” one has when there seems to be no consistency that we on the outside can pick up on. We just use our best guesses. That all!</p>
<p>PERplexD - I think you are right about the OOS being used for diversity (as an excuse). All colleges list how many states and countries are represented on campus. A few schools like Delaware and UNC-Chaoel Hill have limits on OOS, but I find it hard to believe that the others don’t look at OOS and see big dollar signs. Since public schools are being funded by their in-state taxpayers, it wouldn’t be very smart to acknowledge that being OOS is a hook :)</p>
<p>I noticed on the acceptance thread last year that there were some outliers. It seems so difficult to predict anything! Which is frustrating right now…but all we can do is wait I suppose! I expect we have a while to wait because my D has stats lower than tgose currently being notified. I always thought she had great stats until joining CC and found out that while she is a smart and successful kid, the competition is amazing! CC can be intimidating, lol…
But i love all of the great information here. </p>
<p>I know someone from Florida whose daughter just got accepted to Smeal. I don’t know her grades, but I’m now wondering if they are as fabulous as they would have to be to get accepted to Smeal in November … or maybe it’s the OOS thing? I do know this family will not need financial aid. </p>
<p>Jlhpsu - don’t let CC get you or your daughter down. My older DD had 3.7uw and 1840 SAT and after reading CC threads/posts I was so worried that she wouldn’t get in anywhere. She was limited in her choices because of the major she wanted. She not only got into all of her choices (PSU, Univ. Of Delaware, James Madison, Towson University, and WVU) she got scholarship money from each one. PSU offered the lowest money, of course, and we didn’t find out about that until February (she was accepted in early Dec). There were plenty of kids admitted in her year with lower stats than hers. Hang in there and good luck!</p>
<p>Jlhpsu - Don’t get discouraged by CC admission threads/posts. After all, this is the Internet. Anyone could exaggerate their scores and stats a bit. Truthfully, it is not that hard to get into Penn State since it is a state institution. If I were you, I wouldn’t worry about a thing. Good luck</p>
<p>my daughter’s first choice is PSU main. She is coming from a very competitive public high school in PA. (so she’s in s state) Her school does weighted GPA and her weighted is 4.4 as she’s taken about 5 AP classes and all offered honors classes. Her SATs were 1860. The writing part carries much of that though, as she scored 690 and now I understand a lot of school don’t look at that. What are her chances for main campus? She will not want to go if she has to go to a branch and I am mainly concerned bc this is her most affordable choice. I hate to see her saddled with a lot of debt. thx</p>
<p>@confusedparent15 - What major did she apply for? It make a big difference if she applied for engineering or business (very competitive) vs. liberal arts. Also, did she indicate she’d be willing to start in the summer? </p>
<p>@jss402 - Plenty of state institutions are quite hard to get into. Of course, it’s all according to your perspective. If you’re applying to places that reject students with a 3.9 and a 2300 SAT, then yeah, PSU isn’t that hard to get into. But it can be very competitive for most students - and especially those trying to gain admission to business or engineering.</p>
<p>Hi, she applied to liberal arts. She does have two friends that have been accepted into the engineering school, but they are female and I know engineering schools are looking for that. None of her friends that applied for the business school have heard yet. We live in a very competitive school district. The high school counselors here are good. My daughter’s told me that 2/3rds of PSU’s admission is the GPA and rigor of course work. The other 1/3 is SAT/and interests. This seems to have held true. My daughter had a 4.4 and has taken several AP and almost all honors classes, when offered, throughout her 4 years. Her SAT was 1860, but she scored 690 on the writing section, so that may have helped, too. If you have a good GPA and coursework that shows you challenged yourself, I think you are in good shape. Good luck to you! It’s a VERY stressful time. </p>
<p>My daughter got accepted to a branch campus - we knew her scores/grades weren’t even close to the main campus requirements. But I think your daughter has a good shot at the main campus - or did I misunderstand, in your last post you said she applied for Fall and got into for that? If so, congrats! And if you haven’t heard yet, it seems Penn State notifies the obvious candidates right now - the students with very good stats and very bad stats. Everyone else seems to have wait until December or January for main campus. I do know one out of state business major who just got her acceptance, but I think she had very good scores/grades. </p>
<p>I think you have a good shot. My friend scored a 1500 on her SATs and a 22 on her ACTs, she has a higher weighted gpa then you (I believe a 4.0 W), but you have a more rigorous schedule then her. Anyways, she was just admitted to a school slightly more competitve if not the same as PSU, so I think you’ll be ok especially if you applied for summer :)</p>
<p>Guys please chance me! Responses appreciated.
International Student
GPA 3.83
SAT 1930 (Superscore), 1850 (highest on one sitting)
IB 41/45 (predicted)
IGCSE: Physics Chemistry and Math A A* A*
Intended Major: Computer Engineering.
Strong essays and recommendation letters.
Decent extra curricular activities and community service</p>
<p>@jlhpsu
Hello, You really seem to know your penn state admissions stuff so I really need your help with a problem I have if you have any time. Thank you so much. </p>
I’m sorry this is an old thread. But in your post (#20) you said someone with a low GPA OOS got a scholarship. Do you remember which scholarship it was?
I’m really hoping I get in. Penn state main is my top choice by far. </p>