<p>According to The New York Times, Penn State's applications are up this year, even since the tragic sex abuse scandal broke. See Despite</a> Scandal, Applications to Penn State Rise - NYTimes.com</p>
<p>Is this jump due to PSU's media prominence this month (which provided references to some of the school's strong programs beyond football) or in spite of it?</p>
<p>You assume that there is a special cause for the rise in applications. Without information on both the application volume over years and information on the changes in application volume at other similar universities, you can’t make an assumption of special cause. </p>
<p>In other words, I do not accept the premise of the question.</p>
<p>PSU had a pretty good year in football including Joe Pa breaking the all time wins records so that could also be it. The officials who covered for the pedophile might have been onto something.</p>
<p>When did PSU begin accepting apps? In the summer? If so, then a good number of apps may have been submitted before the scandal.</p>
<p>That said, many people might be separating the academics from the scandal.</p>
<p>mom2collegekids–The article claims that the rising app rate has continued through November, even after the bad news broke:</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Even though the jump in apps in November seems minimal, the number definitely didn’t go down as some had predicted.</p>
<p>Perhaps it is due to unrelated factors, such as students who, in better economic times or in times when there was less college admission competition, would have applied only to private or out-of-state public schools are now including the in-state flagship in their application lists.</p>
<p>or possibly more students are counting on it as a safety…</p>
<p>I’m more interested in Penn State’s yield. App numbers are increasing everywhere, mostly thanks to the influx of international apps. Also, it’s not uncommon for Admissions Offices to lie about the number of true applicants that they have in their system. It is possible that people who have completed their Penn State application may now be completely against enrolling there.</p>
<p>Even more interesting than the yield, is the quality of their yield. What kind of students will still enroll at Penn State in the midst of a scandal this big? Only 6 months from now will tell…</p>
<p>Quite a few kids at our school who don’t have the stats for PSU decided to throw their hat into the ring in the last 3 weeks. One mom actually said to me that she expected it to be easier to get in. Isn’t that an odd way of thinking? So while some decide to stay away from the scandal and not apply, others think it’s an opportunity.</p>
<p>Good point chocoholic…</p>
<p>I half expected the lower qualified applicants (for argument’s sake the football lovers out there) to no longer apply and the strong nerdy kids (who for argumentative purposes could care less about football) to keep applying. If you care about a BIG football atmosphere, why go to a school marred in controversy? </p>
<p>But as you suggested, maybe more weaker applicants WILL apply as they expect more qualified applicants to steer clear of Penn State.</p>
<p>What does it matter? The scandal doesn’t affect Penn State’s hard undergraduate factors. Tuition costs don’t shoot up because of sex scandals, neither do student-faculty ratios or other main undergraduate factors that attract students. People seem to forget that college is for education, not for football. That’s an icing-on-the-cake deal.</p>
<p>Quite a few kids at our school who don’t have the stats for PSU decided to throw their hat into the ring in the last 3 weeks. One mom actually said to me that she expected it to be easier to get in. Isn’t that an odd way of thinking? So while some decide to stay away from the scandal and not apply, others think it’s an opportunity.</p>
<p>I think it’s likely to be an accurate way of thinking. In our district, the high stats and academically oriented kids seem to be passing on PSU this year.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>We’re in PA and I actually heard this line of thinking yesterday (at school) too. I’ve only heard of a couple top kids at school applying though, and both applied early. I haven’t asked if they still are thinking of attending. I think it depends upon more than just being accepted there. </p>
<p>And I don’t know about ALL the kids at school - just what I overheard.</p>
<p>I’m more interested to see how the transfer rate compares to previous years as current students who are disillusioned hit the road.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>My D applied and was accepted. She just complete the honors college application. She may or may not attend. If she decides not to attend, it won’t be because of the scandal.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I hope that other current seniors, like this one, will bring many factors to the table when making final decisions about attending Penn State.</p>
<p>Having once worked in public relations at a college, I am familiar with discussions about the ways that negative PR can influence application and enrollment numbers. I feel that most prospective students and their parents will distinguish between publicity that reflects on the entire institution (e.g., “Four-year graduation rates plummet") and isolated episodes that involve one or two individuals who just happen to be affiliated with a particular school (“Prof indicted in wife’s murder”). </p>
<p>Penn State, however, falls into a gray area (or maybe more like a* black hole*) because, although those involved in the abuse and its cover-up represent only the tiniest fraction of the PSU community, the visibility and power of the football program loom so very large.</p>
<p>Even so, I have found that the media is bringing out both the best and the worst of this university as a result of these atrocities.</p>
<p>I expect PSU will be burdened with defending costly lawsuits or paying settlements. My concern would be how much of that cost will be passed down to the students - who had nothing to do with the mistakes of the school’s leadership.</p>
<p>I’m a current Penn State student. While everything going on sucks, Penn State is still an awesome school. It’s just one department and a few rotten tomatoes. The rest of the school is still just as amazing as it has always been.</p>
<p>My son applied to Penn State before the news broke. This week, he received a letter from the new president saying the he hoped my son would keep in mind all the good things about Penn State and not look at just the recent publicity. It talked about the 10,000+ students who held a vigil to recognize the victims in the scandal.</p>
<p>With an OOS cost of attendance of $40,000+, I think people will believe they have better options regardless of the scandal…</p>
<p>Prior to this, I have had applicant parents “shocked” when finding out the cost of attendance…</p>