Hey, I’m a senior at an extremely competitive Catholic high school. My GPA is around a 3.7 or 3.6. I have taken 20 honors classes and have done all requirements in every subject for high school that Penn State wants. My SAT is around a 1900. I want to major in Finance. I am going to apply now which is early but I don’t know if I should apply to the Smeal business school or just go in as undecided. I want to do Smeal but idk if I will get in. What are my chances ?and what is the best way for me to get into Smeal?
Also if I don’t get accepted to Smeal does that means I can’t change to major in business at PSU. So that if I’m rejected from Smeal I’m automatically rejected from the whole school?
If you’re unsure of whether you’ll get into Smeal, it might be better to do DUS/undecided. You will need a 3.5 GPA as well as completing certain “entrance to major” course requirements to get into finance, and you can do that from within Smeal or DUS, it doesn’t matter.
And through DUS I can get into Smeals Finance with a 3.5 GPA
yes, but make sure you work closely with your advisor and tell him/her of your plans to major in finance. This page has more information http://ugstudents.smeal.psu.edu/academics-advising/get-into-a-smeal-major/entrance-to-major-requirments
Thank you so much. I’ll definitely see about just applying to DUS. Does it make a huge difference that’s am not a Smeal student or no you still get the same degree ?
@JamestXavier You will definitely be a Smeal student if the criteria is met. Technically no one is a Smeal student until they complete the entrance to major classes with the correct gpa, not even the direct Smeal admits. They are still considered pre major. Just make sure you tell your advisor early on so that she can get you into the correct classes that you need for finance.
What’s the point of even applying directly to Smeal if even direct admits are considered “pre major” just like DUS students looking to get into business?
Truthfully, we’re not sure. My son was admitted directly to Smeal but he is also considered pre-major. The only difference that we can see so far, is that he gets a Smeal advisor and he’s been invited to a lot of Smeal only events. He also has a Smeal student who is his mentor if he needs anything or has any questions. The NSO was also geared towards Smeal students only (met some Smeal professors). But other than that, we haven’t found any other difference.
Thank you so much so I apply to pen state as undecided
@japsmom I have pretty high stats for Penn State but now I’m regretting choosing Smeal. I thought direct admit would actually mean something over going DUS—>Smeal.
@class0f2017 I looked at your stats. You have very high stats. I think you will be fine. My son had lower stats and got in. If you are denied Smeal, you can always call them and tell them to submit you for DUS.