Hello,
I’m currently a High School Junior and I really have my mind set on going to PSU (of course I have other ones in mind too, just incase). I’m worried that the classes I took won’t look good enough. Current info:
~Haven’t taken PSAT/SAT yet but I’ll probably update this when I take them this/next year. I’ve been prepping a lot and I’m pretty confident for the writing/reading sections though, so I don’t EXPECT to get a bad grade on them (hopefully not).
~GPA: 3.7
~Haven’t done any AP classes, but doing 2 in Senior year. I don’t believe this would count though (?).
~I’m going to have 6 Honors classes. This is one thing I’m worried about- 1 in Freshman year, 2 in Sophomore and 3 in Junior year so far
~In the school Orchestra for 8 years now
~Apart of a Philharmonic for 2 years now
~Volunteer Club for 1 year but I’ll probably sign up for that again
~Taken a language for 4 years now, going to be 5 at the end of high school
So that being said, how good do you think my chances would be at Penn State (main campus)? I’m really worried that I haven’t done enough, but getting in is my dream.
Without a test score it’s hard to tell.
In addition, Penn state admits by college, with some colleges hard to get (Engineering) and others impossible (Smeal) while you could apply DUS, complete entrance to major classes and get into either one as a junior when pre admits don’t (there are no direct admits).
So with A’s in English and French but a B- in precalculus, if you apply for French Studies you’d be good but if applying for Mechanical engineering likely not.
Can you increase the number of honors and AP classes you take or are you at the max of what your school offers?
If you can take more, you should, as this factors into the decision.
Taking five years of a foreign language helps.
Senior year grades don’t count but schedule does (IE., a rigorous senior year will count in your favor and the number of honors and AP classes taken then will be added to the tally.)
Another issue is cost: have you run the NPC? Are you instate? Can you afford the price listed by the NPC?
If you’re out of state (if your parents live outside PA), do they have $45,000 a year for your schooling?
Thanks for the response- Currently, I’m not sure if my school would accept a Course Change Request, because school starts in 2 days. I could have taken Honors in 2 classes in the subjects that I have currently, but I didn’t want it to drop my GPA as they were my worst classes, However, yesterday I did ask if I could add an AP class onto my schedule- no response so far. I’m disappointed that I didn’t take more Honors classes in my Freshman/Sophomore years though, I wasn’t quite thinking about college a ton… so that’s a big regret. But hopefully the classes that I’m taking in Senior year will be more impressive.
I have run the NPC, and I am in-state, the price is reasonable but I could still lower it from other scholarships/grants and such, so that number isn’t definite yet. I just hope I can do enough to make it in, I’ve been prepping for the SATs quite a bit and doing research.
Ps. I’m not planning on going into Engineering or Smeal, I was thinking about majoring in Film & Video or a Biology major, but I’ll probably apply DUS first.
What’s your current schedule like and what could you change?
Do you think you could get a B or higher in an extra honors or AP class?
This year:
-Honors Civics and Government
-Honors French IV
-Geometry
-Chemistry
-Honors English 11
I get all A’s except for whatever Math class I’m taking that year (My math grade is almost always B+ because of the teachers I get, unfortunately). I could probably manage to get an A, as long as it’s not fully Math related. I’m just hoping I can still change my schedule and add an Honors/AP course instead of a year-round study hall.
Wait, are you in geometry as a junior? What math classes have you taken so far? Does it mean you’ll be in Algebra2 as a senior?
What do you have for your 6th period? (Does your school offer a 7th period in addition to lunch?)
Does your school offer AP Gov? If so, ask to take it. Same thing for Honors English 11: ask if you can enroll in AP English Language. If you got A’s in History and English in 10th grade, you should be able to handle these two AP’s. Perhaps add AP Psych as a 6th class and art/music as a 7th class.
Have you taken US history yet? If not, plan to take APUSH if possible. No need to take AP math/science (beside APES which is an “easy” AP science, which you could take next year).
Forget Biology major, you need to take 2 semesters of calculus (you’ll have a math test to determine which math classes you need to take - I recommend you take elementary statistics or math of money + math for citizenship. If you find Algebra hard, precalculus and calculus will kill your GPA.) In addition, Biology is one of the majors with the worst job prospects.
You could apply for French since you’ll have AP French; not many students apply for that major, it’d likely increase your odds.
Look into all the possible majors in CLA, IST, Arts&Arch, Communications and Education.
Of course you can also apply DUS.
Yeah, I’m in Geometry as a Junior. I’ve taken Pre Alg, Alg 1, and Alg 2 so far. As a Senior, I’ll be in Pre-Calc most likely.
My school has 8 periods, but technically 9 because we don’t “count” a class period which is used as a study hall. My 6th period is Geometry, I believe (7th is Chem).
Also, yes, it offers AP Gov. At this point in time, I’m not sure if I’ll be able to change my classes though. For AP English, they only offer that to seniors (which I’ll be taking next year).
I’ve taken US History 1, 2, and Honors US History 3. APUSH is the hardest AP course offered at my school so I’ve never considered that in fear of it bringing my grades and/or GPA down, as it did for the top students in my grade.
French has never been my type of thing- I do get good grades but I don’t think I would ever be interested in pursuing it. I might look into other majors though- thank you for the help!
I think admission varies a great deal depending on the major one chooses. My daughter’s friend was accepted to UP this year starting in the fall with a 1090 SAT, mid-80’s GPA, and most (if not all) regular college prep courses. Not sure if being class president and/or participating in a hospital internship her senior year made a difference in her acceptance; she was accepted into a health field (not nursing). Meanwhile, other kids with much stronger scores, rigor, and GPA were accepted for summer session; I think they were science and business majors.
Okay, thank you!- I probably will be applying DUS as I’ve heard it can help. Hopefully I can do enough by next fall to be accepted.