I am not sure why they force people to choose a satellite campus option if they have no intention of attending there. They do give them the choice to opt into summer session or not.
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What major did she apply to? You can call and ask for reconsideration to DUS (undecided) or a different major. Iām assuming she applied for a very competitive major and thatās why she was given the 2+2, especially since she didnāt check summer option.
Just an FYI - Penn State is NOT a state school. Pennsylvania has the Passhe system (Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education) which consists of 14 state university systems across the state. Penn State is not one of them. We are considered a āstate relatedā land grand university. This means that while the PASSHE schools get 95% of their funding from the state, Penn State gets about 10% of funding from state appropriations. This is the same at Temple and Pitt which are also public schools but not state schools. This is why Penn State tuition is so much higher than actual āstate schoolsā in PA (Such as IUP, Edinboro, West Chester, Clarion, Lockhaven, Bloomsburg, etcā¦)
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I agree. Some schools seem to do that but to me it should be a 2-part question: a) if you donāt get into main campus, would you consider another and b) which one (if yes to a)).
Agreed. D had to make a selection (and got it) but she would never do a satellite campus. Wonder if they knew that if it would be different results.
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I you are offered a 2x2 admission does that count as a University park admission or denial? Is it counted again at the alternative campus. If it counts as an admission for UP then that is maybe the reason why you are forced to put in another campus.
No. If you apply to UP and get into a commonwealth campus, that is counted as a denial at UP.
I sincerely appreciate the information as well as advice. I like the idea and concept of this program. For sure it would be a great way for a transition. Thank you for the link as well!
So does it then count as a Commonwealth campus application too?
Yes, because you basically applied to two campuses. First choice and second choice. If you are denied at your first choice, itās a denial for that campus. If you are accepted at the commonwealth campus, thatās an acceptance at that campus.
So being forced to add a commonwealth campus that you would have no interest in attending make those campuses look more attractive as their application numbers are higher.
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Iām curious how this works too. Yes weāre still feeling a little jaded over here in full disclosure lol. I just canāt see how kids with significant scholarships to Temple, Pitt and UDel would ever consider a branch campus admit. This year seems particularly whacked. PSU was a historical safety for āaverage excellentā kids in our top 10% public PA HS but no longer it seems.
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Many families find the opportunity to do 2+2 advantageous. Student starts closer to home, perhaps commuting to save money or get off to a stable start.Guaranteed transfer to UP as a junior, but many commonwealth students stay put, where opportunities are great and competition for them is much less.
Penn Stateās requirement that applicants put a second choice down is a result of years of experience with people who donāt know what they want until it is a real (not theoretical) choice. Certainly it makes zero sense for an oos student to go to Abington or Mont Alto instead of SUNY or Temple. But as PA closes many of the state system schools and consolidates, these Penn State campuses may gain traction.
PSU was never a safety school for most students, regardless, and applications are flooding in. It has always been difficult for average-average students to gain admittance, and I say that knowing that both of my grads were very lucky to get in (and they are not engineers, business, education, nursing grads)
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my oldest just got in 2+2 option. We are OOS so it isnāt really awesome. I get the idea behind it, but itās not ideal for folks who cannot commute. Iām happy he got in, and that he has option to get to UP eventually, but itās hard to figure out how itās worth it.
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Totally agree. Does anyone get a flat out rejection or do they just send you to a satellite campus? In Naviance by son was totally in a āsea of greenā (acceptances). Several of his friends (avg stats 1400 SATs and 4.0 UW GPA) all got 2 years satellite/2 years main. Apparently they are overwhelmed with strong applicants and because of the larger class from 2021 (including people who deferred from Fall 2020) main campus is very full. I hope Naviance is not going to reflect this 2/2 plan as acceptances to PSU.
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received decision today?
got mail yesterday. Did rolling not EA
Email or paper mail?
Every single year we hear that this was āthe most competitive year everā when in reality, Penn State has always been extremely competitive for certain majors and more competitive than many other schools for the other majors. Unless Naviance plots out acceptances for certain majors, the GPAās of those accepted are useless. A 4.0/1400 will likely get you in for DUS or a liberal arts major but very well may not for Smeal, Engineering, Nursingā¦ Thatās always been the case.
Also, if those friends of your sons are all from the same HS, that may be the issue. Weāve seen 4.0ās get deferred to commonwealth campuses because their HS weights too leniently. A 4.0 at one school is not a 4.0 at another because grading scales and weighting vary so much. Itās another reason why determining if your application is competitive or not can be challenging.
Not all commonwealth campuses are commuter campuses. The commonwealth campuses that are 4 year colleges in their own right (Dorms, clubs, 4 year majors) and still attract OOS students are Altoona, Erie (Behrend), and Harrisburg. In fact, the Erie campus has highly ranked programs that are not offered at PSU main campus, and Erieās Engineering college is a top 40 program at schools where a doctorate is not offered. These are not engineering programs where the student does the 2+2 (although they can for majors that UP also has), but where they stay at Behrend all 4 yearsā¦which many kids choose to do. Behrend has almost 5.000 students and 2,000 live on campus. It has an 845-acre campus with 41 majors that can be completed at Behrend. 75% of students who attend Behrend complete their degrees there. Itās as viable as a college as any small to medium-sized college could be.
Altoona and Harrisburg similarly attract students from all over and have programs unique to their campuses. Altoona has one of the only railroad engineering majors in the country.
My point is, do not discount the commonwealth campuses outright. The three mentioned above are great colleges in their own right, and also allow for students to complete their degrees at UP campus if they so choose. We know many very successful engineering students at Behrend. My son started at Altoona and loved it. My two daughters started at UP campus and similarly loved it. The commonwealth system allows for kids to find their place within Penn State and because of that, Iāve always found it a really welcoming PSU atmosphere. There is a sticky thread at the top of the PSU CC threads that outlines the different campuses.
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paper mail, no email
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Just wanted to add my thoughts on the 2+2. When my S22 applied to PSU he put Harrisburg as his second choice. I thought it would be a good idea to check out the campus in case that was what he was offered. We went during one of their open house events and were very impressed. My son loved the campus even though it was small, he felt like he could start there and finish up at UP. The dorms were nice and the students were all friendly. Turns out that he got into UP so thatās where he will go if he decides not to go to University of Delaware. My point is not to rule out the smaller campuses if you really want a Penn State degree. You might be surprised.
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