I perfectly understand your point of view. I even kind of agree with you.
I don’t agree however with the first point you made about students missing the first deadline. I didn’t express myself well. When I propose creating a new deadline, it’s not moving the one that already exists; as you pointed out, that would not solve the problem. Evident.
What I meant was having the actual deadline as a “ghost deadline” (only for their use), and giving students another one, so that they make sure that they receive everything they need to receive in time. There’ll be exceptions, of course, but it’s better having 10 problems than 500 (I’m making these numbers up).
@lucy_van_pelt you are totally correct. PSU did not miss any deadlines. My son did not apply early and should not accept a quick decision. We are patiently waiting.
@nrpm3c Penn State is not known for Merit, unfortunately. That’s why my daughter is at Pitt despite coming from a family of avid Penn Staters. lol. Good luck to your kid!
With a current PSU UP student and another admitted this cycle, I’ve appreciated info and insight from you (and other posters such as lucy van pelt). Thank you!
Related to GPA evaluation, my younger kid’s application form for scholarships specific to PSU college of admittance had GPA pre-filled with a number higher than his school’s unweighted calculation, but lower than the weighted, so I’m thinking that’s the PSU recalculation. I have no absolute or comparative scale, but the number seemed reasonable to attribute to him. (My older enrolled DUS, so didn’t have access to the same application.) Totally agree that GPAs are not apples-to-apples comparable across high schools. Our weighted scale is super atypical, for example. Would be nice to have UC-type clarity about recalculation.
PSU used to have some clarity to admissions. Only my eldest applied to Penn State and that was when they used the “Bubble Chart” with the blue, yellow and black “bubbles” on a chart of GPA and SAT score. Blue bubble - in at UP, yellow bubble - takes a while for decision, black bubble - no UP, offered another campus.
Eldest had application materials in by end of October, had her decision by November 5th. I don’t have any more in HS, and middle and youngest didn’t apply to PSU, though I get frustrated reading about how PSU admissions now work (and admissions are frustrating at many schools now, not just PSU).
Is CS a direct admit major at Penn State or do the students need to complete first year requirements and reapply to the major at the end of freshman year? Direct Admit Majors | Penn State per this link, I don’t see CS as a direct admit but I am getting conflicting information. TIA.
Notice that the admission decision says “intended major”. Your student (and most students - except for the few direct entry majors) will need to successfully complete the Entrance to Major requirements to actually be admitted to the Computer Science major.
Thank you. That “intended major” language has been confusing. Can anyone chime-in on how hard or difficult is it for students to get their intended major, especially for CS?
Bubbles sound delightful, lol! I feel like PSU admissions went well for both my kids, but we were fortunate to have and use a lot of information and resources to prepare for the process, and neither kid applied to a lot of other schools, which made it easier to focus on PSU stuff. The overall admissions landscape can be so tough these days. I appreciated the thread on this site comparing our generation’s admissions experiences with what our kids are facing. Can’t blame any of us for being a cranky mom!
you need a 3.2 to get into the major at UP. If you don’t have that gpa, you aren’t sent to a different campus, you can either appeal or choose a different major. For example, if they had less kids than expected enter into that major, they might allow some of the appeals in.
the key to get ‘into’ a major is to pay attention to the requirements.
take the required ETM classes.
do well.
apply in the credit window.
Honestly, the biggest mistake I see is freshman fall kids think they’ve got it and take too many weed-out classes together or too many credits. And then end up with a lower than desired grade in one or more class.
It is about balance.
There is a credit window of 29 - 55 credits of Penn State credits. That does not include AP or DE credits. Use those wisely. Take CMPSC 131 and Math 140 in freshman fall. Add English 15 and then take 6 credits of an easy gen ed. Get an A in those gen ed classes. Or consider taking less credits in fall since football weekends are hard for studying. Take gen eds in spring also. Balance the next CMPSC class and Math 141. If you are a glutton for punishment, consider adding Phys 211. Maybe you have AP credits for one of those… you can’t apply until you have 29 credits taken at Penn State at the earliest.
But once you have the classes completed and you are in the window, apply and get in.
Don’t overcomplicate it. but find a balance that works.
@fc_pulpfiction I don’t understand your point with the “ghost” deadline?
I think you are saying “tell everyone it is Nov. 1st, but really make it Nov. 10th to allow for the SRAR and score submission?” The problem with that is that they’ve now lost a week or 10 days until the EA deadline. If they decided to allow submissions beyond their “official deadline”, I would argue to make it Oct. 15th to allow for everyone 100% received by Nov. 1st and then they still have the full time until Dec. 24th.
They have a deadline. Honestly, waiting until the day before allows no time for wiggle room. What if your internet crashes? Your pc dies? You lose power (remember Sandy and how power was out along the East Coast for days?) ?
I get it - that kids don’t apply until 10/31. But since the application was open on August 1st, why not apply earlier? My kids waited until they had their official HS senior schedule in hand so the SRAR was filled out correctly, but we did it early to ensure everything was received on time. But then again, I hate the scramble of last minute stuff, so it is a bit of a personal preference. ◡̈
Penn State is a HUGE university that receives like 100,000 applications. It stinks for you that your stuff didn’t arrive before the deadline, but I’m not sure how that is Penn State’s fault. I would call admissions and tell them your situation and maybe they can help you. Good luck.
That certainly takes me back a bit.