<p>Hello,
My daughter is looking to attend PSU next year and loves the school. Step-mom went and has been telling her about it for years. Visited in the spring and planning a second next month.
Grades are good (I think) GPA 4.3 weighted math 610/ Reading 730/ Writing 670. ACT 29. Hows it look.
Also is looking at UNC? (OOS)</p>
<p>in-state for PSU? She has a good chance.</p>
<p>Is your D instate for Penn State?</p>
<p>Can you afford it? Will both parents pay?</p>
<p>UNC…a reach for OOS.</p>
<p>Oos for both?
Thanks</p>
<p>PSU is harder to get on main campus as a freshman. If you do the 2/2, where you start at a satellite campus then the stats are not as tight. I’m not saying your daughter isn’t competitive for main-campus. I don’t know from looking at simply a GPA & SAT. Check their Common Data Set to see if they are stat based or use a holistic application process. You will also see what the range of scores accepted is, etc.</p>
<p>Data from **************.com I looked @ Admissions looks like she’s ok. Don’t know how reliable the info is. First timer on this and college!</p>
<p>Penn State considers in-state and OOS applications equally. (They are happy to have the OOS tuition dollars.) 2/3 of the decision is based on GPA, with SAT and other factors making up the remaining 1/3. (With over 100,000 applications system-wide last year, they don’t have a lot of time to go over lists of ECs, etc.) With her stats she should get into the University Park campus and might want to consider applying to the Shreyer Honors College. (She will be asked to list a second choice campus as well; a fair number of students choose to start out at a smaller campus or attend one close to home so they can save on living expenses.)</p>
<p>You might be interested in this article from today’s Wall Street Journal-
[Top</a> 25 Colleges Ranked By Recruiters - WSJ.com](<a href=“Best Colleges & Universities - Ranked by Job Recruiters - WSJ”>Best Colleges & Universities - Ranked by Job Recruiters - WSJ)
PSU is ranked #1.</p>
<p>Thank all of you very much :@)</p>
<p>What is that 4.3 weighted GPA based on? What scale are you using?: 4.0 or 5.0? How are you weighting her grades? Which courses are you including in your calculation? How rigorous has her high school curriculum been? Without these answers it is difficult to estimate how good your daughter’s GPA actually is.</p>
<p>Are you saying that she’s out of state for both schools???</p>
<p>If so, are you prepared to pay the high out of state costs?</p>
<p>Both schools would cost about $40k per year for a non-resident.</p>
<p>Schreyer would be a real reach. It has gotten incredibly competitive.</p>
<p>I can’t imagine going to a PA satellite campus from out of state. It’s main campus or stay home, in my opinion.</p>
<p>I would not pay out of state tuition for PSU unless you have a really weak in-state university or if money is truly not any issue.</p>
<p>We’re paying OOS tuition for PSU and it’s definitely not pleasant - but we all felt it was without question the best option for DS. And I agree with MomofWildChild- I would not pay OOS tuition for a satellite campus.</p>
<p>Schreyers does not consider SAT/ACT scores. GPA (and course load), essays, and letters of recommendation are the key items. It has gotten more competitive, but the benefits are worth it if you can get in. The scholarship money was certainly nice!</p>
<p>Here is a chart (altho from a couple of years ago) that can give you an idea of the chance of acceptance for PSU.
<a href=“http://admissions.psu.edu/info/counselors/bubble_chart06.pdf[/url]”>http://admissions.psu.edu/info/counselors/bubble_chart06.pdf</a></p>
<p>Looking at the stats, I think she would have a good shot. My D is OOS at Penn St. and absolutely loves the school. Scholarships helped ease the cost and it is definitely the right program for her. You have nothing to lose by applying.</p>
<p>Schreyer absolutely does consider SAT scores. In fact, they throw out the statistic that the math/verbal scores are third highest in the country (after Harvard and Yale). However, once a student has a minimum SAT score for Schreyer (which changes - increases- every year), they consider the other things to distinguish between students.</p>
<p>^^^^^^^No, Schreyer does NOT consider SAT scores. The student must be accepted to Penn State before the Schreyer review process begins (perhaps that’s the “minimum” SAT/ACT score mentioned above), but no one in the Schreyer review has access to the student’s SAT/ACT scores. Now, after the acceptance and/or matriculation, SAT/ACT scores are fair game for public statistics…</p>
<p>Ditto what QuietType said.</p>
<p>From the SHC webpage -
[How</a> to Apply: Schreyer Honors College](<a href=“http://www.shc.psu.edu/future/apply/index.cfm]How”>404 Error: Page Not Found - Schreyer Honors College (SHC) at Penn State University)</p>
<p>Candidates offered admission to the Schreyer Honors College should demonstrate:
* academic excellence,
* strong leadership skills,
* motivation and self-discipline, and
* a commitment to citizenship and civic responsibility.</p>
<p>Schreyer Scholars represent the top 5% of students at Penn State, and therefore should also be at the top of their respective high school class. The Schreyer Honors College does not set a minimum standardized test score or grade point average for its applicants. Candidates will be assessed based on the academic and extracurricular documents submitted with the application, as well as responses to essay questions and letters of recommendation.</p>
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<p>That’s one way of thinking, I suppose, but, I know of a lot of kids who think differently. My D1 is a PSU student. She’s met lots of kids from OOS who wanted in to PSU badly, so they agreed to start at a satellite that would admit them. And what’s wrong with that? They are going automatically to main campus after two years (depending on major) and graduating with a University Park degree. They take the same courses at the satellites they would take at UP. They use the same text books. And the first two years, especially freshman year, is fairly standard coursewise no matter which PSU campus you happen to start at. Students get into their majors as juniors at PSU. So the 50% of kids who started at a satellite and the 50% who started at UP as freshmen are at the same place, in the same classes, and graduate with the same degree. That’s all that employers see. It’s a beautiful system at Penn State. Probably the most egalitarian state university system in the country. </p>
<p>The only exception, of course, is the Honors College, but that’s a tiny number of kids out of an entire class.</p>
<p>My D has even met internationals who came over and started at a satellite campus.</p>
<p>It just depends on what your other options are and what factors are most important to you. If apply to Penn State and Wisconsin and you really want four years at Penn State but are faced with the choice of 1) 2 years at a PSU satellite and 2 years at Penn State vs. 2) four years at the U Wisconsin? </p>
<p>Some people would choose option 1; others would choose option 2.</p>
<p>I can’t imagine being that desperate to go to Penn State from out of state that you would go to a satellite campus and spend two years in Altoona or Erie or the like when you could be at Illinois, Indiana or Wisconsin. I don’t think so! I agree that at the end of 4 years you have the degree. Big whoop.</p>
<p>The reason not to choose one of the satellites is that most are suitcase schools. Son and I visited PSU Harrisburg this past Spring. The academics looked good and the housing was fantastic - much better then main campus- but my son’s friend told him that the entire campus goes home on weekends and in two years he hasn’t made more then a couple of friends. My husband suggested that son become a suitcase student himself and save us some money. We still haven’t found an in-state public that son would like to attend.</p>
<p>To the OP, I think your daughter has an excellent chance of being accepted at PSU main campus, assuming the gpa is weighted on a 5.0 scale. Of course, nothing is a sure thing until the acceptances come in AND a lot can change between the fall of applications and April when the kids have to decide. My daughter applied to PSU, got in, and chose to go to a tiny private.</p>