<p>In state. Information and transcript will be submitted by the 25th of November. I am applying to the School of Engineering for Bioengineering.</p>
<p>in state.</p>
<p>GPA (weighted):3.5
low GPA mostly due to lackluster freshman year. upward trend in my grades since then.
Almost all AP and Honors classes.</p>
<p>SATs: CR-700
M-670
W- 710
SAT II Bio: 650</p>
<p>ECs- Volunteered as local soup kitchen for the last 10 years. Volunteered for an election campaign in 2010, total about 500 volunteer hours. I have a job in a sports retail store.</p>
<p>Awesome essay, awesome recs. Even though I know they don't matter, they might be useful if I am "on the bubble"</p>
<p>would it be better to apply undecided and increase my chance of acceptance and just switch into the engineering program? is that even possible, and if so how easy/hard is it to do?</p>
<p>hey i just got accepted to the college of engineering today! Your gpa is a bit low and since your app won’t be finished until late november you most likely won’t hear until december probably. By that time they will probably be going more in depth into applications and they will hopefully see your upward trend and you will get accepted! Your sat is definitely good enough (its actually higher than mine by a little). Good luck! :)</p>
<p>Applying to the Division of Undergraduate Studies (DUS) would probably be the best way to go. Engineering is super competitive, and in DUS you can literally pick from any major in any college. As long as you’ve met any pre-requisites, you can transfer into engineering as soon as you tell your advisor it’s what you want to do.</p>
<p>As far as your chances, your gpa is low, and that is 2/3 of the decision, luckily your SAT is good. What’s your class rank? Last year, my sons guidance counselor told us that after gpa, they go to SAT, then class rank, then maybe consider ec’s if they are exceptional. Definitely apply summer session, and work your tail off to obtain stellar mid year grades. </p>
<p>What other schools are you considering? I think I saw your posts on Pitt’s forum as well. How about Virginia Tech? They have a Biological Sytems Engineering degree, don’t know if that differs from the Bioengineering degree that you desire? University of Delaware has a fairly new Bioengineering major which is not yet ABET accredited, but they will seek accredidation once they graduate their first class in 2014. That might be a good back up for you.</p>
<p>Oh - and I’m not quite sure if you’re actually on the bubble with your stats - here’s the bubble link:</p>
<p>Thank you both. @TRAYE25 yes, I remember you from the Pitt board as well:). The schools I am applying to are PSU, Pitt, Drexel, Purdue and Maryland(My reach). I have considered VT and will definitely take your advice into consideration. </p>
<p>Regarding the DUS, does it mean that I apply for the program and then I have to do a summer session to get admittance? And what exactly is DUS? Is it just for kids who are undecided, and will I definitely get into the Engineering School if I meet the pre-reqs? </p>
<p>One last question. If I apply to the Eng. school and get rejected, am I rejected from just the Engineering school or from PSU totally?</p>
<p>I’d say your in. I got in for bioengineering with similar scores but my gpa was higher. You also have much better ec’s then me (I barely had any) and your instate. </p>
<p>You don’t necessarily have to do a summer session to be accepted to DUS, but applying for the summer session will increase your chances of admittance all around. </p>
<p>In DUS, as long as you meet the pre-reqs with a C or better average, you are in. First semester freshman year, you’ll be in engineering courses sitting next to the kids who were accepted directly into engineering. Last year my son was accepted summer session to DUS, and he too wished to pursue an engineering degree. The process was explained to us in great detail when we attended the admitted students day specifically for DUS, and it really is as easy as that.</p>
<p>If you’re worried about your chances, I would definitely recommend applying to DUS. As far as being turned away from the university all together if you apply engineering and are denied, I’m not sure. I can’t recall if Penn State’s application allowed you to select an alternate major. If so, I would assume they would consider you for the alternate major if you wouldn’t qualify for engineering.</p>
<p>I am also aware of many applicants who were initially denied admittance to University Park, and when they contacted admissions about it, were offered admission to another major. When your stats are “on the bubble”, there is usually some way to work it out. </p>
<p>Be careful–it’s not as simple as just getting at least a C in all the prerequisite courses. Many of the engineering majors are under enrollment control. I believe students apply to their first and second choice major in the School of Engineering in sophomore year and they only admit a certain number of students to each major, based on GPA.</p>
<p>But doesn’t the GPA requirement based on major apply to students who are accepted directly into engineering too? Whether you start out in DUS or engineering, you have to meet the same GPA requirements for enrollment controlled majors. </p>
<p>That’s the way the representatives from DUS explained it to us last year, unless they were all mistaken.</p>