I have always wanted to go to penn state but it’s a little bit of a reach for me. My freshman year of high school i did extremely bad which has effected my gpa. I have a 2.8 but I was wondering if since my grades went from all Ds to all B+ and As and I’ve showed lots of improvement if I have a chance? I’d definitely explain this is my personal statement. I haven’t taken my SAT yet since they were canceled due to Covid but also many school are not asking you to submit them this year. I also have many community service hours, played 4 sports and was very involved in school. Would penn state be too much of a reach school for me to even apply to?
If you are accepted to Penn State, it will almost certainly be to a branch campus rather than main campus. Your GPA is below the 25th percentile for branch campuses, though I do know of people with GPA’s similar to yours that were accepted to branch campuses. As you know, after 2 years at a branch campus, you can move up to main campus as long as you meet the specific entrance to major requirements for your major at main campus.