Chances for PSU/UP-Engineering College?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Penn State
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<p>My son is a HS Senior interested in PennState/UPark for Fall 2014, College of Engineering</p>

<p>Unweighted GPA 3.92
AP/Honors Courses Many, Sr yr has AP Physics/Calc/History
SAT Math 650
Verbal 570
Writing 560
Total 1780</p>

<p>Taking the SATs again this Sat (10-05); has been studying for them...should be around 1900 in 2nd test</p>

<p>Varsity Basketball, Soccer, NHS, Special Olympics, Meals-on-Wheels, some other volunteer work</p>

<p>His 1st choice for major is Mechanical Engineering...
What are his chances based on 1st set of SATs? How about 2nd?</p>

<p>Should he look to enter Summer of 2014 instead of Fall 2014?</p>

<p>Thanks very much !</p>

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<p>It’s always good to indicate summer session, just in case. His SATs are only a little low (my daughter’s were in the same ballpark) and she was accepted to UP for fall in 2010.</p>

<p>Good luck to him!</p>

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<p>Thanks for the feedback. Also, his class rank is 7/ 156. Do you know if that’s a factor in the decision-making process? </p>

<p>Thx again</p>

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<p>He is borderline according to the admissions “bubble chart”, boosting the SAT might just make the difference. You should keep in mind that the numbers for acceptance into the COE are higher than they are for the university overall. Also, he will not be accepted into a specific major until spring of sophomore year. Mechanical is one of the engineering programs with under enrollment control so he will need to get off to a strong start.</p>

<p><a href=“http://admissions.psu.edu/info/counselors/bubble_chart.pdf[/url]”>http://admissions.psu.edu/info/counselors/bubble_chart.pdf&lt;/a&gt;
[Penn</a> State COE: Entrance to Major](<a href=“http://www.engr.psu.edu/AdvisingCenter/EntranceToMajor.aspx#control]Penn”>http://www.engr.psu.edu/AdvisingCenter/EntranceToMajor.aspx#control)</p>

<p>“Class rank is also considered for students with honors or Advanced Placement courses whose schools do not supply a weighted GPA.”
[Admission</a> Statistics: Penn State University Undergraduate Admissions](<a href=“http://admissions.psu.edu/apply/statistics/]Admission”>Admission Statistics - Undergraduate Admissions)</p>

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<p>1moremom:
Thx for the reply. The links you provided are very helpful. I’ve been overwhelmed with info on the whole college application process. It was easy (and cheap) for my oldest son: He’s in the Marines as a helicopter electrician</p>

<p>Q1 When we visited PSU in July , we asked about higher SAT req. for COE and their reply was Yes, but they couldn’t /wouldn’t offer a figure. Do you know of any , either official or unofficial? I expect Math is the section with a considerably higher threshold for COE.</p>

<p>Q2 RE: Controlled enrollment…PSU also noted that in our tour for Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering programs but couldn’t answer specifics about it . I’m assuming students at satellite campuses (after 2 years) are in the pool which appears to be based straightforward on GPA… </p>

<p>Thx</p>

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<p>I don’t think there is a required SAT score per se, but the average typically is higher in the COE because of the caliber of students who apply to the program, which is known to be one of the more rigorous. (I was surprised to hear from an engineering department head that the verbal scores are also higher on average than those university-wide.)</p>

<p>If you read the Entrance to Major link carefully it should answer most of your questions. I think basically, there are minimum GPAs for guaranteed enrollment in the programs with enrollment caps. I believe it is typically 3.0 with a few majors being slightly higher. (Those numbers are probably adjusted annually.) When all the students who have that minimum have been placed in their programs the remaining spots are filled beginning with the remaining applicants with the highest GPAs. It is uncommon for a student to not get into one of his/her top choices. (The students at the branch campuses are considered along with those at UP.)</p>