They definitely change during the day when you get closer to the deadline. I’ve seen three or four batches of decisions released in one day when the decision deadline is close. In 2015 when my daughter was waiting, she heard at 5:30PM after checking the portal all day and hearing from others who were getting decisions earlier in the day. That was 5 years ago and she’s graduated now, but I’ve seen similar patterns in the years since. We are waiting also this round so I’m taking my own advice and remaining patient. It’s a tough wait, but worth it!
@jmhpsu: OMG that was FIVE YEARS ago???
Everyone who submitted on time for EA: don’t check till Dec 1. Then, you can check daily till Dec 22.
(The process is in part “line assembly”: all the pieces arrive separately and are put together. It should be faster this time since there won’t be a need to add the test scores.)
Yes! It was for Fall 2015 application cycle! She graduated in 2019. I also have a son who will graduate in May from UP campus and now one applying for Fall 2021. We’ve been on this board together for a long time lol!
I told my daughter the same thing about checking. Her stats are at the top end of the middle 50%, but she didn’t submit test scores so she is likely not going to hear until December. Still, I check once a day haha. Hard habits to break…But compared to the crazy I was 5 years ago with my first, I’m virtually ZEN now.
@jmhpsu Wait, your son is graduating? this spring? Man, that was fast ?
Nephew applied EA and was just admitted to his first choice - 2:2 Behrens:UP. 26ACT, 2.66 GPA so definitely not high stats. No hooks.
SAT: 1400
GPA: 3.94 UW 4.62 W
Rank: NA
State Residency: MD
Applied date: 11/14
Applied Early Action: yes
Decision date: 11/20
Decision/College: Accepted to Smear
Campus applied to/Campus accepted to: University Park
DS checked his MyPennState account on 11/20 and got the good news. Learned a lot from CC forums. Good luck to everybody!
Yep!! First year (2017) at Altoona and three years at UP campus. Graduating May 2021, just in time for his sister to start somewhere! She loves Penn State but isn’t sure she wants to go there now that we bought a house in State College lol.
Quick question, does any one know whether Penn State send out decision during weekends? I saw many ppl in the last year thread got their decision on 11/21
My D’s Naviance states that the Penn transcripts were ‘requested’ but not ‘sent’. I questioned the GC and she said that meant that even though she transmitted them on her end, Penn State Admissions didn’t upload them yet. Does that make sense? Submitted application on November 5th. Portal doesn’t say anything is outstanding, but also doesn’t say they received transcripts/LORS/etc. The only thing on the application checklist is fee paid (completed) and SRAR (recieved). Nothing outstanding.
@Propinquity4444 they don’t look at LORs or official transcript
@Noahscott13 is correct. At the moment, they will only use your student’s SRAR. If they are accepted and decide to attend, PSU will request an official final transcript.
@STEM2017 Do they consider the essay? I would think it’s difficult to choose out of so many excellent transcripts! Who gets in to UP and who gets diverted to the other campuses?
My S was admitted to UP Smeal 2 years ago, but D is going undecided so I’m not sure if that will have a negative impact on her decision.
@LeMDMO do a lot of students from your son’s HS apply to Penn State? A six day turnaround for Smeal is incredible.
Better question for @jlhpsu
Penn State asks for a personal statement, which isn’t exactly an “essay”. It is advisable to do the optional statement if you are applying without test scores since it will help them decide. But Penn State has always looked at the high school record as the most important admission information. Rigor, GPA, class rank - those things are 2/3 of the decision. Test scores and everything else made up the last 1/3. It’s likely the same without test scores, with a bit more weight put on the rigor and GPA.
We were surprised as well. There are about 80 students applying from my son’s HS, based on Naviance.
Wow those are fast turnarounds I am assuming since I applied without scores with a3.6 UW 3.85 W that I must be in either deferred or rejected-ugh !!! I applied criminology’ UP with option of summer -I was looking at the other thread that posts acceptances/stats -maybe I should have applied undecided
I would not read anything into the turnaround time. Kids from all over have not heard with a broad range of scores.
@DianeMartin2025: If it makes you feel any better, 153 kids from my D’s school have applied so far, and only 4 have received decisions. Typically UP accepts about 75% of applicants from her school, so there is still plenty of time. Way to early to make negative assumptions. The waiting is tough, but try and hang in there!
Last year among the admitted students, the middle 50% GPA range (25th-75th percentile) for the university park campus is 3.55-3.90 (UW). Without SAT and ACT scores, it may take a little longer for the AOs to decide.