Hi, I just got offered the Paterno Scholars Fellowship which includes a half tuition scholarship. Can someone explain to me what this program actually is because from what I understand, it is some sort of honors thing even though Penn State has the Schreyer’s Honors College which rejected me.
Paterno Fellows have certain requirements to fulfill, and then they can graduate with honors at the end of their undergrad. It’s like a gateway program into Schreyer. You take honors courses and have high GPA requirements, similar to Schreyer itself.
I was offered the Paterno Fellows scholarship this year as well and found a lot of good information on their site (http://www.la.psu.edu/current-students/undergraduate-students/paterno-fellows). Like bodangles said, it is a gateway into Schreyer, meaning you could join SHC after your freshman year (though you won’t be able to get the Schreyer scholarship). Aside from that there are some cool honors classes, additional research/study abroad funding, a selective living option if you want to live with other Paterno fellows, guest speakers, and a nice line on your cv. It seems like a really cool program!