I’m currently in the process for reconsideration from one of Penn State’s branch campuses to University Park. I was admitted to Schreyer, so would rather be at UP if that’s possible. I spoke to a couple of counselors at Penn State who all told me that I could apply either as Undecided or as an Economics major if I wanted to potentially declare a major in Smeal later on. I chose Economics because that’s the field I was originally interested in.
Now that I’m reading earlier threads, I’m wondering how difficult it would be for me to declare a major in Smeal provided I fulfill the requirements for it beforehand. Alternatively, would I have access to Smeal resources even if I’m not a major there? Definitely would appreciate any input!
You cannot apply for Smeal from Economics - which is in the college of liberal arts. The ONLY way into Smeal is from DUS (Undecided) or Smeal Pre-Major. They might have been telling you to apply to Economics because it’s in the college of liberal arts which is sometimes less competitive than DUS. DUS in recent years has become increasingly competitive because of sites like these who inform students that getting into Smeal pre-major as a freshman is exceedingly difficult and that it doesn’t matter for the overall plan to start in DUS. So, many high stat kids who would not get into Smeal, apply DUS instead.
At this point, I would leave it. If you are admitted for economics, just change into DUS at New Student Orientation and you’ll be good. It’s easier to change a major into DUS than to be accepted into DUS upon application. You will not get a Smeal advisor from DUS, but the DUS advisors are well versed in the requirements for Smeal so you won’t have any issue.
Once you are in DUS, you need to complete all of the entry to major requirements (the exact same requirements students in Smeal pre-major are completing) and apply for your major at the end of sophomore year (exactly the same as the Smeal pre-majors). Make sure you know the entry to major requirements. The GPA requirements can be quite steep (3.5 for finance, etc).
After reading previous threads here on CC, I got in touch with the counselor I was working with last week and changed my reconsideration application to DUS this morning. I’m hoping it’s not a mistake, so I’m going to hope that my stats are high enough for UP. He mentioned that I should get a response within a couple of weeks, keeping my fingers crossed.
Thank you again for your thoughts! I really appreciate it!
If you are a Schreyer kid, there are Honors versions of the ETM (entrance to major) courses such as Marketing (MKTG 301), Finance (FIN 301), Management (MGMT 301), and Accounting (ACCTG 211). Many Schreyer kids take one - or more - of those as their required honors courses.