<p>And sax, that data set IS for admitted first year applicants:</p>
<p>"ALL enrolled degree-seeking full-time and part-time, first-time, first-year (freshman) students enrolled in fall 2006."</p>
<p>They mean enrolled in the school (PSU), and therefore accepted.</p>
<p>Btw, i have no problem with the educational quality psu offers. Like I said, it has a good campus with good facilities and a lot of potential. My concern is with the student body, which is too large and not accomplished enough when compared to other similar schools (like UT, UM, UF, etc) since selectivity plays a very significant role in a school's development and reputation.</p>
<p>Admitted data (includes those student that chose not to enroll) and enrolled data are two different sets of numbers. PSU and other schools use both at different times. When you compare school statistics be sure you are comparing the same set of data.</p>
<p>No idea how many students have AP credit. All the kids I know at PSU came in with AP credit; some use it, some don't; but that doesn't really tell you anything.</p>
<p>If PSU wanted to they could sky rocket in the USNews rankings. They would have ED/EA and not have rolling admissions. They would double tuition and tell the world they will only accept the very best. They would stop accepting the very little state money they get. This apparently is not their interest. Even the honors college will take the student with strong leadership and community service over a kid with higher SAT's scores.</p>
<p>I like PSU. Work hard in HS and we will give you a chance. It's all there. Internships, research opportunities,a godzillion # of activities and causes to involve yourself in. What they won't do is hold your hand. It is up to you to ask for help and get involved. High SAT scores alone do not equal success in life; PSU gets this. You will be part of one of the largest alumni groups in the world and they are very, very loyal. </p>
<p>There are many, many really smart kids at PSU. Take a few honors classes if you want to be with students who are trying to push even harder.. You don't have to be in the honors program to do this. Get in the honors program as a junior if you are looking for reputation and prestige. It is one of the finest.</p>
<p>Anyway this whole discussion is way of topic. I am just soooo tired of this whole darn forum and their insanity with rankings.:) Sorry for the rant.</p>
<p>Oh, and one more thing about SAT scores. PSU is one of the only schools I know that does not superscore (the best on each section) your SAT scores. They take the best score from one sitting. Most colleges superscore so that they can brag about highest SAT scores.</p>
<p>I will be taking a couple o honors course this semester, and of them only has 10 students!!!!!!!!! Does anyone know if this is normal? 10 students seems very small. I did get email messages encouraging me to drop the class and schedule the regular section, but I need it to make up for my weak first semester; besides, I think I can handle it--the toughest part will be the participation and projects, I guess. Then again, I have no choice.</p>
<p>frasifrasi: Who is suggesting you drop the H class? Your advisor? Maybe you should at least ask why? Maybe this particular H class has a reputation for being unrealistically hard or the prof. is a really, really hard marker. Maybe this is why there are only 10 kids? H classes will not increase your GPA any more than a regular class. Might look good but not if you get a C and the work load brings down your other grades. Maybe look for a different H course.</p>
<p>how would you compare PSU with UmassAmherst? similar? for hard working student with decent stats, how are educaiton opportunities? applicant would be OOS for both.</p>
<p>sax, the head of the department(who also controls enrollement for the class) sent me the emails encouraging me to drop the course. His reasoning was that some of the students coming into the class had taken the AP for the course already and that it would be better for me to take the second semester class only after seeing that I do well in the first semester of the regular section. This is reasonable, but I was always at the top of the Ap classes i took in hs and am very confident in my study habits. </p>
<p>I contacted a couple of students who took the class and they have said you get a lot more attention and help in preparation for exams, so it seems like an opportunity to get involved with the classmates and professors as opposed to just a seat in a 300 people lecture room. As I expected, someone also said that the honors sections are sometimes more lenient and comfortable than the regular sections. Of course, I have to read the syllabus and get a week's feel in the class before deciding if it is worth staying, but I plan on applying as a transfer to a couple of private schools the end of spring semester and taking the courses would be a critical factor if I can perform well enough to get the recommendation letter these schools require in the application.</p>
<p>Are you talking physics honors Mech or E/M and Dr. Robbinette? Have you taken AP physics?</p>
<p>Dr. Robbinette is a guru among advisors. Physics majors with AP's of 5 take 211 and 212 over. You should go talk to him. He is very approachable and will get back to you immediately. He does freshman advising over the summer so he is there.</p>
<p>Frasi. I would call him and explain exactly what you are trying to do and why you want to take the class. This way you will get to know each other a little bit which is one of your goals. He doesn't teach the course though. Maybe you can audit the class while taking the regular one?</p>
<p>Why are they trying to get you to drop the class you are already registered for, frasifrasi? Are they worried about you, or are they trying to keep the class "elite" by having only honors college students? If there is room and you want to take it, I don't see any harm.</p>
<p>Maybe you could find out what knowledge is assumed by checking the syllabus or talking to the prof or previous students. If you seem close, you could perhaps fill in what you are missing via a tutor. I think that such a small class would be a wonderful learning opportunity!</p>
<p>Lfk, to answer your question, I think it is a bit of both (but mainly the latter). And sax, no; Not everyone there has taken Ap physics. The two kids who I talked to had not taken AP physics and did very well (got A's) in the course. I would roughly estimate about 60% of the class might have taken AP already, but definitely not "all."</p>