Hello.
I am a senior in high school applying from out of state. I went to a very college predatory and well known private school in Texas for my freshman year. I had a 3.0 after my freshman year. I transferred to a local public school for the remainder of my high school. I steadily increased my GPA to a 3.57 weighted and a 3.3235 unweighted on a 4.0 scale.
Extra curriculars.
-JV Basketball
-JV Baseball
-Select basketball and baseball
-Multiple Men’s basketball leagues
-I have volunteered over 75 hours of Community service
-I have worked a summer job for 3 years
I am in a church affiliated youth group
Ap and Honors Courses
(Not as many as I would have liked Bc at the private school they didn’t offer many honors courses for freshman because of how difficult the regular courses are)
-Honors English 2
-Honors French 2
-Honors World History
Honors World Geography
-Honors English 3
Honors Physics
-Honors Pre-Calculus
-Honors Anatomy and Physiology
AP’s
-Government
-US History
-Economics
-Biology
Penn State is my dream school and I really want to get in. I applied for DUS and clicked yes for summer session. I am also applying early action
In terms of course rigor and assuming you took CP Chemistry, you’re only lacking in Foreign Language (they expect 3-4). You’ll likely have to take French for 2 semesters. You’ve got a total of 12 AP+honors courses so it’s average. Your GPA however is low, so you should expect to be placed either in Summer Session or on a smaller “branch” campus. I’d say your odds are okay for Summer Session DUS.
The key question is: can you afford it without any financial aid? Do your parents have 50K for your college (so, 200K for 4 years)?
Ok then hopefully you’ve indicated this on your application and it’ll be a plus for you. (You’ll still need to take 2 semesters of Spanish or French though - French should be less crowded though).
What about your budget? What do your parents say?
@MYOS1634 I am hoping to get some financial aid. They said I could afford 40-45 k a year from an OOS university, but idk if that’s worth it. I am applying to other state schools that I am likely to get more money from. Do you recommend going to a cheaper school that might not have as good of programs or Penn State and pay more money?
You won’t get financial aid though, beside the 5.5k federal loan all students are entitled to.
See with your parents if they actually have the money - they shouldn’t borrow money for you.
What do you like about psu? There may be other universities with a similar vibe that may be less costly.
@MYOS1634 I have over 50,000 in a college account saved up over the years. And my parents are willing to cover the rest of undergrad. They are not borrowing the money.
Ok so you have ~$13,000 college fund + 5,500 loan and your parents can afford $30,000/year = you’re good financially.
If your father is an alumnus, that’s a plus, too.
Considering you have all the core courses, bonus points for summer session + extra foreign language + bio/chem/physics and precalculus + some APs, I think you stand a pretty good chance.
However, there’s no certainty. Other big schools with OK to good football outside of Texas that are also easier to get into:
UNebraska, USF (Florida), UIowa, Ohio University, Montana State, UDelaware.=> pick a couple as your OOS safeties.
Hopefully you’ve also applied to several TX universities?
Yes. I have applied to Texas A&M, TCU(mom is an alumni), and Texas Tech as a safety. I was planning on applying to Auburn, OU, and LSU as easier target state schools and then Clemson as a reach.
Are top 20% ?
As you know Texas public universities base admission on rank.
If you’re not top 20% I would only consider Texas Tech a safety if Naviance indicates that for the past 3 years your school’s students, with your specific rank/uw/w gpa have consistently been accepted.
Smeal is not direct admit for PSU. If you don’t have the GPA after freshman year you won’t be admitted. I think a 3.2 gets you into most Smeal majors. I’ve heard Finance is the toughest admit with a 3.5 or better. Something to consider. Last year S20 only considered direct admit business schools. Not all schools are direct admit to the major of your choice.
Tech is more of a match based on the GPA, and arguably in the reach category. The average GPA is 3.57. You’re not far off of that, though. You may want to put down Texas State or UTSA to be certain. You have an almost 100% chance of not going to Penn State or Clemson. If you manage to get in, it’s unlikely you could afford to go there anyway. Financial aid doesn’t cover out of state tuition.
@coolguy40 I used to go to a very difficult private schools where there are usually 10+ going to Ivy Leagues or top ranked universities. I go to a public school now that is also top.
I am applying to LSU, Auburn, OU, ole miss. And then I was gonna apply to TCU, Penn State, Clemson, and South Carolina. From what I have heard from other ppl that if I apply DUS and Summer I should have a pretty alright chance of geeting in to Penn State. I am taking the ACT Saturday. I have not been able to take it yet but I have taken a practice test and gotten a 27.
- French should be less crowded though).