Does Penn State really only look at the grades and test scores if sent? So they don’t consider the personal statement, extra curriculars, jobs, LORs??
According to Naviance, nobody from my son’s school has heard yet if that makes anyone feel better. This thread shows a lot of acceptances so us with no answer get nervous!
They are pretty much a numbers game. They don’t look at LOR’s. They will look at ECs and personal statements, but only making up 1/3 of the decision. Also part of that 1/3 is state, legacy, etc… But 2/3 of the decision is GPA and rigor.
Thanks @jlhpsu. I am really hoping to hear soon! The longer I wait, the more nervous I get!
Was told the most important metric they look at is EFC. Full pay > GPA + Scores
Interesting… where did you hear that?
From someone connected to PSU.
Thought admissions department won’t see FAFSA , EFC and other details as they typically kept separate , that’s not true ?
This isn’t accurate as Penn State gives very little aid anyway. Regardless of EFC. They also give very little merit aid. Penn Staye gives almost no aid in comparison to cost to attend. And they are need blind with admissions.
Agreed. I feel like I’ll never get a decision at this point lol.
As a result they prefer full pay.
last year PSU gave 61million in institutional need based aid. They gave 16million in institutional merit aid at University Park.
I looked it up and Penn State is in fact listed as need blind, so they wouldn’t know who the full pay families would even be.
I have no reason to doubt the Esq./Executive Bd. Member I spoke with.
Penn State is need blind. They have no idea which apps are full pay or not. On the common data set there are only two things that are listed as “Very Important” in making admission decisions…GPA and Rigor.
The board member is mistaken.
Other long time members here may be able to give more information on that @lucy_van_pelt @MYOS1634 @greenbutton
I’m going to go with a definitive “maybe”. It is true that Penn State is technically need blind – your financial aid package isn’t even assembled until after your offer is made — but clearly intl and out of state applicants will be full pay, or nearly so. The Colleges have their own metrics for handing out aid, as do the Commonwealth campuses, so perhaps this “board member” has conflated a few things. Penn State has made a lot of effort to increase aid in the past 3-4 yrs, but it will never be easy to afford for most.
Board members are specifically prohibited from discussing these things publicly, so already the source is pushing an envelope. The standard of GPA , strength of schedule, and test scores where available has not suddenly been outweighed by a metric not even available on the app itself.
@greenbutton. As always, great information! Thanks!
Good to know they are increasing aid amounts but I think they still have a long way to go to compare to many other flagships. But at least they are going in the right direction!
SAT: 1430
GPA: 4.0
Rank: 7
State Residency: NJ
Applied: 11/1
EA: Yes
Decision: dated 11/10
Decision/College: Smeal
Do you guys know if there’s a certain day and/or time when results are generally posted??? Also I’ve been hearing a lot of talk about majority of EA results coming out on December 15th, does anyone know if that’s true?
Congrats - this is the first Smeal result I’ve seen!
Penn State is need blind/doesn’t meet need.
It means it does not care whether you can afford to attend or not, because they do not provide institutional need based aid and don’t control PHEEA or FAFSA (federal/state grants).
If they admit you and you can’t afford to attend -not their problem, they never promised you’d get enough financial aid and certainly not institutional aid. They don’t care how much money your parents have, because whether they make 35K or 350K PSU expects the same amount and won’t offer more or less.
They do offer merit aid: based on your academic results or what you have to offer the university. Unrelated to what your parents make.
Finally, they do distinguish between instate applicants and international/OOS applicants, because those are going to pay much more than instate applicants, but as a state-related university they have to admit a certain % Pennsylvania applicants so that you’re not disadvantaged if you’re from PA, as it’d take the cake.
@fanoffriends @jlhpsu @MYOS1634
Please feel free to DM me the Board member’s name @fanoffriends. I don’t want to out myself by posting anything else. Is this person a PSU Board of Trustees? On an Alumni Board? A college (ie. Schreyer or Smeal) Board? Or even just a local chapter Board? Because many of those individuals are not in the loop re: admissions.
I don’t believe that Penn State admissions looks at full pay. They have NEVER said they meet need … so why would they care? The only consideration might be for international - they want to ensure that you have the resources to attend.
Penn State is notoriously stingy re: financial aid. I know many kids who felt “insulted” by the lack of financial aid at Penn State and went to a different school (Pitt for example) instead. Very different schools with each having their own strengths. Penn State makes many financial lists - not in a positive way - as one of the most expensive state schools, for example.
People will use all sorts of excuses and rationale to justify things. Maybe the person who applied didn’t get in needed financial aid - so the easy excuse is “they aren’t full pay, so didn’t get in”. Please feel free to DM me and I can explain more -