So someone told me at a college fair that penn state only looks at overall GPA and someone said they notice trends. How helpful will going from a 3.1GPA (2 honors) freshmen year to a 3.8 (2 honors) sophomore year and a 4.0 (2 honors 2 AP) junior year. Will PSU only see my overall 3.65W or will they notice I am more like a 3.8 student because of my strong performance in harder and more recent years of high school. I think I am borderline, but if they recognize who I am today and I am not a 3.6 student I could get in (summer semester). On their own grade report system they had me report all grades from every year so I would think they would look more than the simple overall GPA but I don’t know.
They receive thousands more applications than they have spots, so admissions is somewhat formulaic with a limited amount of time devoted to looking at trends. They recalculate your GPA based on their own formula and go with that. Cumulative GPA counts as 2/3rd of decision and test scores count as the remaining 1/3. If someone is borderline, they may dig a little deeper, but I wouldn’t expect the holistic review that you’d get at other schools.
What college/major are you applying for? What about SAT scores? If it’s one of the more competitive colleges like business or engineering, you may want to reconsider applying as a student in DUS (undecided).
Given that a strong upward swinging GPA is a very good indication of a student who is likely to perform well, we have yet another argument for use of holistic admissions. Many of the strongest universities and colleges do review applications in greater detail. Continue to check over your list of candidates to find the university that fits you.
a 3.6 GPA and 1200 SAT would put you pretty much middle 50% so that could go either way. Your GPA is on the lower end of the middle 50% and GPA is 2/3 of the decision. So since it could go either way, I’d say you are borderline. It really depends on what major you are applying to as well. Some majors are much more competitive than others.
@retiredfarmer Penn State gets 65,000+ applications a year, and people complain already that the process is too long. It is impossible to holistically review that many applications and still notify students of admission in a timely manner. But PSU is pretty upfront about their process. 2/3 GPA, 1/3 test scores and other factors. They don’t look at other factors unless someone is borderline. GPA consideration is cumulative. Again, it’s a numbers game vs. time available to get through all of the applications.
Freshman profile for UP indicates the middle 50% is between a 3.55 and 3.97–so you are below average there. For SAT, it’s 1250 to 1430, so again, you are below the 25th percentile. Based solely on that, I personally feel you are borderline. I’d be inclined to tell you to do DUS wtih a potential summer start. However, DUS has become ultra competitive over the last few years because sooooo many kids are now applying that way. Therefore, you may improve your chance of admission if you apply directly to one of the less competitive colleges like College of Comm or College of Liberal Arts—but only do that if you are truly interested in a degree program within that college. Don’t do it just to get in. If you are looking at business or engineering, try DUS.
@jlhpsu
Excellent point! If the goal is to look for your best bets or to identify other unmeasured variables (e,g, illness), it might be useful to flag GPAs with dramatic growth for a closer look. If your research indicates that these students are good bets set the selection parameters to cut off the high GPA growth rates at a manageable review population. Years ago this required an argument with administrative support. In this age PSU could do so from the admissions office. Put some CS students on it for a great project.
Sophley said this, “Don’t do it just to get in. If you are looking at business or engineering, try DUS.”
The other piece to think about is being successful at college. The size of Penn State is an adjustment for all in addition to the increased rigor and expectations of college classes. I think it is great that you have had growth - clearly, you’ve matured. Use the optional essay to highlight those achievements.
As a parent of a student at UP, now is when you see all the “omg, my kid got a 50 on an exam. He/she was a straight A student. The world is ending”. It happens. In addition to finding a school you can get into, find a school where you will be successful! For many kids, a branch campus is a great place to start for a number of reasons.
So true. UP is so much harder than my daughter expected. It’s more work than she imagined and has to fight for every grade she gets…except for that TV watching Gen Ed class. That one was a breeze.
She would have had it much easier and probably would be enjoying a bit more of a social life had she gone to Altoona. Branch campuses may not be easier but the smaller class sizes make a huge difference.
OP:
" I am not a 3.6 student I"
Therefore the OP should continue your hard work and not become discouraged regarding the FINAL educational goals.
BUT admission to PSU is very difficult:
Because this is true, you need to consider alternative options to add to your list such as Sophly’s DSU suggestion. There are many options.
"ucyvanpelt noted:
“As a parent of a student at UP, now is when you see all the “omg, my kid got a 50 on an exam. He/she was a straight A student. The world is ending”. It happens.” This is NOT unusual as many challenging universities go through this common experience when the straight A students learn that they have to raise their goals. These universities are reaching for a higher rung. At this point we are not sure that you are not that straight A student. Don’t be intimidated or discouraged and lower your goals. Caste a wider net in your search for the right place to start your university experience.
