Does Penn State factor freshman grades into GPA?

Applying to College
1

<p>If Penn State doesn't factor in freshman year, I'd have a 3.72/4.27 GPA. If they do I have a 3.62/4.11 GPA...big difference...Anyone know!?</p>

2

<p>In the absence of any information to the contrary, I think it’s safe to assume Penn State will use Freshman grades. Those colleges that don’t have that information on their web site. Something to consider - can you afford Penn State being from FL?</p>

3

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<p>I see this question a lot (in various forms) on CC.
Isn’t freshman year part of high school?
Are there schools that actually don’t factor in freshman year grades?</p>

4

<p>Erin’s Dad, I think I’ll just take loans. I haven’t applied for any scholarships yet but I really should…I’m a slacker. </p>

<p>and GolfFather, I heard that Princeton, Carnegie Mellon, Stanford, the UC’s, and USC don’t factor in freshman year grades!</p>

5

<p>^In response to your statement “I’ll just take loans”—I just graduated this past May from a good but very expensive school. My loans will start next month and with the job I currently have, I can definitely afford it but it will take some time to pay everything off in the long run. When I was applying to colleges as a senior, I was given acceptance to my state university with nearly a full ride and I chose the other private expensive school. Looking back, I dont think it was worth it. Just something to think about.</p>

<p>Also, a 3.7 or 3.6 isn’t that much of a difference. Don’t worry if they will look at your freshman year grades. It wont make or break your application.</p>

6

<p>Thanks hopeful360, I appreciate your input! Do you think a 3.6/4.1 (might even be a 3.6/4.0…blah) is good enough for Penn State, assuming I have high (2100+) SAT scores?</p>

7

<p>Yes. Penn State only looks at 3 years worth of grades. They will never see your senior year grades and only send a report to high schools to make sure you did not fail any senior year courses and to verify you graduated. Please keep in mind that Penn State is rolling admissions. Get your application in by the end of October! Our HS sends a lot of students to Main Campus. I have seen much weaker students get in early, and strong students shut out of University Park due to filing late. Good luck.</p>

8

<p>Well in that case my GPA will be 3.6/3.8, including all the classes I’ve taken. I am applying for Fall 2014 so the deadline is November 30. Do I still stand a good chance?</p>

9

<p>You do realize as a student the maximum amount in loans you can take out is ~$30K for your four years in college? The cost for an OOS student is $30K/year. How will you come up with the additional $90K? And leaving FL you leave Bright Futures on the table.</p>

10

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<p>:rolleyes:</p>

<p>It is impossible for any college to peer into the future and see anyone’s final senior year grades during the application review process.</p>

<p>That was not the question.</p>

<p>The O/P asked: “* Does Penn State factor freshman grades into GPA?*”</p>

11

<p>What are your SAT scores?
With a 3.7 you need a 2000 on the SAT for Penn State UP.</p>

<p>I agree that the earlier you submit your applications, the better the odds.
However, you will NOT be allowed to take more than $5,500 in loans your first year and Penn state will not meet need for OOS students - among public flagships, only UNC-CH and UVA do). So if you can’t pay, you need to look for an alternative. There’s nothing worse than getting into a dream school and not being able to attend!
An alternative could be to pick a college nearby so that you can attend the football games (with your credentials, you have Susquehanna or as a safety, Juniata, Gettysburg, or Allegheny as a match, Lafayette, Dickinson or Bucknell as a reach … You can even rank them in relation to their proximity to University Park. All of the above are private colleges so they do not reserve financial aid to in state students, and in fact applying fro Florida you will be considered as bringing geographical diversity so being so far OOS will give you a boost!
For cheap safeties, you have Lock Haven or Indiana U of PA, both would be safeties and aren’t too far from State College.</p>