Anyone know what the transfer success is from DUS to Smeal? CU Boulder publishes stats (link below) for transferring to their business school from their Exploratory Studies major and the success rate is very low, almost as if they try and weed kids out!
What is the point of applying to PENN STATE via the COMMON APP if you have to complete the PENN STATE SRAR through their website anyway? Does it make applying easier in any way?
Penn State is fairly new to the common app, I am guessing it is an old process that is still in place that will eventually change. Only a few of the school my kids applied to required it.
1 Like
Clemson and Tennessee also require the SRAR and accept the Common App. I believe itâs a way they compute their own GPA that may be different from the methodology submitted by the applicant.
I am curious about this also. My son is accepted into DUS at Penn State. He has an offer of direct admission to Leeds at CU Boulder. Want to have some more facts before making a decision.
2 Likes
My son just got into UP on reconsideration. OOS admitted to Smeal other campus. Sent an email per suggestion of this site to be reconsidered for UP undecided. Was accepted less than two weeks later.
32 ACT
Captain of varsity hockey team (state champions)
3.9 UW/4.2 weighted
8 APs
1 Like
It will make the recommendation letters to be sent by common app instead of sending them again in the penn state website
@trisip8178 Penn State doesnât review recommendation letters.
@WVgoestocollege @4kidstocollege The entrance to a business major (ie. Smeal) is the same whether you go FROM DUS or FROM Smeal. When you enter Smeal as a freshman, you are considered âBA_PMAJâ - âBusiness pre-majorâ. You are the same in DUS âDUS_PMAJâ. You canât get a major in DUS - you must move somewhere else.
There are 3 sets of requirements:
- ETM (entrance to major classes)
- required GPA (finance is tougher than Accounting, but these can also change)
- credit window (typically in sophomore year).
Read the requirements here:
https://ugstudents.smeal.psu.edu/academics-advising/get-into-a-smeal-major/copy_of_entrance-to-major-requirements-for-students-entering-penn-state-starting-su-20-fa-20-and-sp-21
There is no âonly the top 50% get inâ or âif you meet the minimum, we will consider you, but you may not make itâ or âonly Smeal pre-major get in and it is harder from DUSâ. IT IS EXACTLY THE SAME FROM BUSINESS PRE-MAJOR OR DUS PRE-MAJOR.
What you CANNOT do is enter from HHD or Comm or Ag or Education. You must spend at least 1 semester in DUS to get into Smeal. And frankly, you canât register for the ETM classes needed UNLESS you are Smeal pre-major or DUS pre-major.
It is a different process than some other schools that have direct entry into Business and a harder path from Gen Ed/LA/Undecided/Exploratory studies. There is no âtransfer successâ because it is all about meeting those ETM requirements.
@4kidstocollege @Sloane0626 @ProudDad721 Penn State takes the data from SRAR and uses their own weightings as a way to come up with an âequalizedâ GPA across high schools. Weighted GPAs are so incredibly different that this is their way of leveling the playing field. I donât know if I see them walking away from the SRAR since it allows the student to input the raw data. They only verify the transcript for admitted and enrolled students.
3 Likes
My daughter was recently accepted for reconsideration to UP. Does merit usually come with the acceptance letter or is it sent later? Thank you!
I donât know about the timeline, but Penn State gives very little merit, none for most students. Very little institutional need-based aid, either.
1 Like
@WVgoestocollege @4kidstocollege
Dovetailing off of what @lucy_van_pelt posted aboveâŠMany other schools have a requirement to get in, and conditions to STAY in. So a freshman student may get accepted directly to the major and then they have to meet requirements to be able to stay in the major.
Penn State does it a little differently. No one is IN a major until they meet their majorâs entry to major requirements - explained well above. But once you complete them, you are in. Itâs not a concern that they may do the ETMâs successfully and then not get accepted to the major. If they successfully complete them, they get in. Same idea as a student needing to keep requirements to stay in a major at other schools.
For Smeal, you can only complete those entry to major requirements from DUS pre pre major (undecided and then go to a different major as there is no âundecidedâ major to graduate from) OR Smeal Pre-Major - which is what every single student accepted to Smeal as a freshman is.
I hope that makes sense.
3 Likes
@username0987 Merit is expected to come out in early February.
However, if she was just accepted based on reconsideration, I would not expect merit. Sorry to be blunt, but as @kidzncatz stated, they are notoriously stingy.
Thank you @jlhpsu and @lucy_van_pelt for your detailed responses. Extremely helpful!
2 Likes
During a tour of V-Tech (also requires SRAR) someone said that they were losing potentially well-suited students because some guidance counselors were not submitting transcripts correctly/timely. By going to the SRAR it allows for them to make sure they get this information to make an admissions decision knowing that they will get the final transcript in June and will allow for cross-check.
1 Like
I donât know where you can find out more info and I donât know anything about the specific LLCâs you mentioned but my class of 2025 daughter is in a different LLC in West halls. She has had a great experience there. Her floor was primarily freshmen. It was a small cozy home in a big school. She met her friends there, a lot of whom were taking the same classes as her which was nice for study groups. There were organized events and get-togethers. The West location is really nice and I think the dorm was quieter and calmer than some of the craziness that goes on up at East.
I am also wondering this. I understand that both pre Smeal and DUS have to take the same courses and meet the same requirements however, the pre major Smeal receive a Smeal advisor so wondering if this gives them a leg up for first dibs on the prerequisite courses? If they take twenty something credits from high school and itâs hard to get into the 8 required classes then could be impossible to be able to apply to Smeal in the credit window. Iâm also looking for stats on how many students get into pre major Smeal from DUS.
1 Like
Students that start in DUS never go into pre major Smeal, they go directly into Smeal if they successfully complete the Entrance to Major requirements.
2 Likes
We had multiple universities require the SRAR - once filled out, we just had to link up the new university, and it was sent - allowed us to only have to enter everything once (same benefit as using common app to send to multiple univ vs individual univ portals).
1 Like
@apaus while it is true that DUS students donât have a Smeal advisor, the DUS advisors know the ETM requirements.
(And frankly, I could advise your kid. It isnât rocket science).
Edit to add: there is always drop in advising at every college. If you really donât trust a DUS advisor or have something incredibly specific, you can go to drop-in advising and talk to whoever is working that day. Drop-in is actually great to get a quick answer instead of booking a while meeting with your advisor.
And veteran tip: donât wait until the week before you schedule classes to set up a meeting with your advisor. You wonât get in. Plan ahead and get in early.
As for âgetting the classesâ, you register by amount of credits. So if you attended LEAP over the summer, you have 6 more credits than a fall semester entrance. There is no priority given to Smeal pre-major over DUS pre-major. The system isnât that smart.
As for the âcredit windowâ, please re-read the link above. It is âPenn Stateâ credits. So AP credits donât affect your credit window.
Donât overthink this.
My oldest started in DUS. She then graduated summa cum laude in 4 years in a Smeal major with 4 minors, wrote a thesis, did study abroad, and had a major leadership position on campus.
Penn State - for being as big as it is - tells you the requirements. Meet them and you are in the major.
5 Likes
Congratulations! May I ask when did you apply and when did you receive your decision? 