So does PSU actually reject any (or many) applicants who indicate UP as their first choice campus, or are all of those who are not offered admission to UP offered admission to another commonwealth campus?
At her other choices, check if it’s direct entry or if there’s a second selection/cut off. Direct entry is always better, regardless of location.
Since some branch campuses are essentially open admission, all applicants are directed to a campus, but for OOS applicants it’s better and cheaper to attend CC or directional instate rather than a “small branch”.
Thank you. It’s my understanding that the 2 she is primarily looking at (Delaware and Temple) are both direct entry. She said she only applied to direct entry but truthfully I didn’t check myself. Thanks again! I hope everyone has a nice winter break.
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I think a large majority of applicants are accepted to a branch campus if not UP. However, I would imagine some people are denied if applying for competitive majors such as nursing or engineering if their stats are too low even for branch campuses.
I’m just going to put this out there and I’m sure many will disagree. What I’m seeing both in my community & on this discussion board is very bright students with high gpa’s, high scores (if submitted) and other great qualifications who are getting into their 2nd choice campus. However, students with lower stats who opted for summer are getting into UP. Not all, but many. Is this PSU’s underhanded $8000 ultimatum? You can come to UP but you have to spend 6 weeks of your summer here and pay us an additional $8000? It’s a very common trend I’m following. My highly qualified dd did not put “yes” for summer on her application & got Altoona. PSU was a borderline safety school. Yet some of her peers with lower numbers who put “yes” for summer got into UP. If that’s what is going on then good riddance.
I’d like to add, PSU sent an email to their current families saying they cannot guarantee any in person classes this spring. My friend is livid - paying OOS tuition & pro rated housing & food.
@Jenutzki A couple thoughts about what you wrote:
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you say that your D did NOT check off summer, but was given her 2nd choice of Altoona. Had she put summer session as her 2nd choice, sounds like a good probability that she would have been offered that.
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Did all those other students with lower stats apply for the same college (Business/Engineering, LA, etc.) ? AND you add that they did check off summer.
Sounds like it worked like it should.
- evaluated for UP with choice of major.
- if denied, then move to second choice.
- evaluated for second choice (summer? different campus?)
- if can give second choice (ie. summer), then offer that.
- if not, move to third choice (different campus).
note, they will NOT offer you summer if you did not check it.
I can’t state for certainty that it was a money grab, but since your D didn’t check summer, we will never know. Honestly, if it was a money grab, they would be offering a higher percentage of OOS kids UP and try and milk the IS kids for summer. Not convinced there is a trend, but I would have to see the CDS to know.
It looks like there are a few things that worked against her. Her weighted wasn’t much higher than her UW. Obviously, schools weight differently, but you state that she took 1 AP and the rest honors/accelerated. I am seeing many kids who get into UP have multiple AP classes and the remainder ALL honors (20+ AP and Honors). And while this year is TO, had she had a strong SAT/ACT score, that really could have helped her.
Having said all that, I am surprised she didn’t get into UP. That may speak to this year’s class. And remember, there are many freshman who deferred from last year, so maybe they are being conservative? All I know is there are many more variables this year than in the past, so there may be more outliers.
If she will go summer, then she should call and ask for re-consideration. Maybe the fact that she was rolling to start with meant she was evaluated later when the stats were getting tougher? That is not inside information on my part, just throwing some theories against the wall. Sounds like it was a safety though, so maybe you just shrug since it sounds like you want to say good riddance and move on to other schools?
Yes, Penn State announced months ago what the spring schedule will be - a mixture of in-person, synchronous (ie. zoom), asychronous (web-based, work on your schedule), and hybrid (a combination of the above). Certainly not ideal, which is why many kids have deferred or taken a leave of absence. The reality is that it is no different than most other colleges. I can understand being angry at paying OOS tuition for on-line classes - that is a choice that every kid and family has to consider. But I know kids at much higher tuition schools ($60k, $70k) who are also on-line. My kids have chosen to attend even though virtual. They are ready to be there and out of home.
good luck with your decision and moving forward. She will find the place that is right for her.
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There are no guarantees in the college admission process for any University. Also, the PSU spring plan is not unique as most Universities are doing the same. My older son goes to FSU and had no in person classes in the Fall and will not in the spring (he is a Freshman). There also is no prorated housing or food.
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This is my first time around but I’ve utilized my extra free time during the pandemic to really dive into resources about this application process. I’ve sat in on many college coffees with my sons CC office, listened to webinars, read Jeff Selingos book, follow AOs blogs, etc.
The one common theme is so much of this process isn’t personal. It’s about the needs of the school each year and no one but the AOs knows what those needs are and they change from year to year. I know it’s hard not to take it personally (BTDT, have the t-shirt), but truly none of these offices know our children. They know what they want and need. Sometimes it’s the smallest thing that can put them in the deny pile (or here the 2+2 pile)
Schools can be vastly different in how they weight, grade, course offerings, etc so I can’t fathom honestly how AOs can do it.
But every AO is clear that this is not a reflection on our children but on the pool and the needs of the school. I know it doesn’t stop the hurt and sting (of which my son has felt as well. Like I said BTDT with being angry).
I do believe there is a school for everyone. I also believe that kids will bloom where they are planted too. It’s a grueling process for all involved made worse by a pandemic changing all of the norms.
I understand you are upset and I do think sometimes things like yield or financial needs of the school come into play. Is that the case for PSU? No clue. But I do know it’s not personal even though we as parents and our children can feel that it is. None of these people know my son, he’s stats, some letters about him and a personal statement.
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One huge element that’s missing from this discussion is that college enrollment is down across the board – it was down in 2019, but COVID-19 has pushed post-secondary enrollment declines way over the edge. This is something that every university has been grappling with for years – read the Chronicle of Higher Ed for more there. What’s interesting in Penn State’s case is that enrollment is not down at UP, but it is down at the branch campuses. So when AO’s consider enrollment decisions, decreases in branch enrollment are a deciding factor.
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for those who called after receiving a 2+2 option and are now being reconsidered under a new major, have your portals changed back to being under review/does anyone know when they will?
Thanks for all of your honest replies. I’m quite certain had she selected summer she would have gotten UP. The way they see it (since it’s not personal) she’s lucky to have gotten a second choice. How do they know she really doesn’t want to go to Altoona? But I was confused because when we visited during the summer of 2019 they did a slide presentation and showed gpa ranges and how they correlate with UP vs satellite. I remember looking at her & saying, “with those numbers you should be fine” since her gpa was well above the range.
We still have a bunch more schools to hear from & some nice acceptances so I’m not too worried. But I definitely noticed something there.
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I applied for Political Science
Yes My daughters is back to review and still says EA They said a new decision around 3- 4 weeks
So that does t make sense to me. I would call when admissions opens back up and talk to an admissions counselor to find out why you weren’t accepted to a liberal arts major with that GPA. Mistakes happen. At best, you can be Reconsidered, at worst you will at least get an explanation.
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Still no updated regarding mine yet. Anyone else same?
still nothing here early action status is still yes though
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As per Admissions they will continue releasing in Jan for EA folks
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Same here. No way she is going to Altoona. She’s devastated as well. Luckily she’s been accepted to 4 others already and waiting to hear from 4 others still. PSU not meant to be. Good luck with wherever she ends up!
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Then it doesn’t make a lot of sense.
As soon as they reopen, call and ask to talk to someone who makes admission decisions (not just the random people who answer the phones). List your GPA, number of AP’s, which ones, and major applied for.
What AP’s do you have? Any score?
(Dual Enrollment?)
If you add up all year-long AP’s and Honors classes you took, are you in the 16+ range, the 10-15 range, or below 10?
If they point out something you’re not mentioning here, be ready to switch and ask for reconsideration for something else (Global&International Studies if you’ve got strong foreign language skills, Labor and human resources, SODA if you’ve got strong math skills). Or just call for reconsideration for one of these.
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