<p>I don't mean harder to get into - we know it is indeed that. I mean are the actual academic demands harder than they were in the 70s, 80s, etc.?</p>
<p>Of course, one reason it's gotten so hard to get into the main campus for all 4 years is the increased number of applicants. Also things like the creation of the honors college. But kids who had 3.0s in high school and started at a local campus still come up to University Park for their junior and senior years. Why are they suddenly qualified to do the work when they supposedly weren't right out of high school? </p>
<p>I went to PSU for all four years, 78-82. I did fine - no academic problems. But with the stats I had then, there's no way I'd be admitted to Univ Park these days. So is it just increased demand = PSU can take all the 3.8 to 4.0 students but that doesn't mean it's any harder than it ever was?</p>
<p>I would guess if you where taking classes that were graded on a curve and your classmates earned 4.0s in high school and had taken many APs the competition would push the standards up, making it harder to receive any given grade.</p>
<p>The kids who are accepted into the branch campuses often are borderline applicants who would benefit from having a couple more years to mature and adjust to college coursework on a campus with smaller classes, fewer people and less to distract them from their studies.</p>
<p>I think the definition of “borderline” has changed radically. There was no curve in my high school, and AP classes were extremely rare, and for the very, very top of the class. I was in a very good school that has always been ranked as one of the state’s best. Yet a 3.2 GPA had me ranked in the top 25% of my class. </p>
<p>I don’t think we were dumber then. I don’t think PSU is so much harder now. Today I would be considered a borderline candidate, or worse - and I obviously wasn’t. Neither were my friends that I met at PSU and had similar stats to mine.</p>
<p>What has changed is the number of graduating high school seniors, along with the number of students who feel they need a degree to earn a reasonable living (with the loss of so many manufacturing jobs within the state in the last 30 years). While the percentage of students earning, for example, a 3.8 or higher, has remained about the same, the number is higher. PSU has grown, but not enough to keep up.</p>