It has been harder for DUS students to gain admission as of late than in previous years, but in general, yes, I’d say DUS is less competitive than Eberly.
Your daughter can take any major (that isn’t direct entry such as nursing) pre requisites from DUS
If she is accepted as a premajor in Eberly, she can still switch her major. She is not committed to continuing in Chem.
Hope that helps!
@jlhpsu If you get denied from your major, can you call admissions and ask to be evaluated for DUS? or if you are denied does it mean you are denied
Yes, you can call and ask to be reconsidered for DUS.
@hunchojack Well, yes to both. It DOES mean you are denied, but you can also call and ask to be reconsidered for DUS or any other major for that matter. There is no guarantee in that though because other majors do fill up. But in general, it can work.
@MYOS1634 no she hasn’t applied to Schreyer. When we read the profile of honors kids too much for my d
She’s a good student but doesn’t want to devote whole life to studies
Thanks for asking 
@jlhpsu Thanks for your reply. When you say harder to get in DUS in recent years how so?
My d has 680 math 640 English 4.0 uw, 5.1 w
23rd in class of 577, has rigor in senior year classes
I’m worried that we made a mistake declaring chemistry as major as a prospective student
That it may have slowed her ap down
September Accepted to pitt as science major, need to know psu ASAP so we can choose
Tough choice, alumni dad , sentimental fave and psu ranks so high
I read that penn state housing choices are affected by date of acceptance
Hence our interest in when as well as iif accepted
She should try - Schreyer kids don’t spend all their time studying, they’re involved in tons of things. And when they do want to study, they have access to quiet rooms and have a personal adviser right off the bat. on top of it, they benefit from guaranteed housing in an awesome residence (well located and with one of the best dining halls, to boot) and small, interactive classes. Only 2/5 classes would be Honors, so the student can pick according to strength.
With a 4.0 uw in a very rigorous schedule, she would be strongly considered.
When they say housing is affected by date of acceptance, they mean “by the date you reply to your acceptance and if you apply for housing after March 30”
Many universities give their answers in March unless students applied EA.
@ziveli513 I don’t think your daughter will have any problem getting into DUS with her stats. She is also likely fine for Chemistry. Her stats are very good. That being said, what I meant by DUS being harder in recent years is this: Many students are now wise to the idea of applying DUS rather than straight to Engineering or Smeal, so the stats for DUS applications has been rising, and thus so has the acceptances. What used to be one of the less competitive majors to select is now more competitive than in previous years. Last year it was less competitive to get into a liberal arts or some Ag majors than it was for DUS.
I don’t think that her applying chemistry slowed her application down. Penn State’s admissions process can be frustrating and sometimes long, but changing to DUS now might actually slow her down at this point because it’s likely already in someone’s pile. My advice would be to sit tight.
You are right that housing is decided based on when a student deposits, but it is way too early to be concerned about that. Usually it is not until March/April timeframe that those committing are likely placed in supplemental housing. At this point, the regular decision deadline hasn’t even passed so housing is wide open and likely will be until February-ish.
I hope she hears soon and good luck! I don’t expect her to have any problems with admissions.
@MYOS1634
Thanks for the Schreyer encouragement! We’ll talk about it, housing advantages are aoowskiRoom assignments are processed in date order of when the student accepts the offer of admission. Therefore, the earlier the offer of admission is accepted, the better chance the student has of being assigned to a room assignment based on indicated housing preferences. The University cannot guarantee that HFS Contract preferences will be honored. All first-year students will have an on-campus housing space.
@jlhpsu thank you! That is encouraging. At this point I’m just trying to make sure we haven’t made a mistake
Waiting is fine if we have our best foot forward which sounds like we have
Thanks again
Yes, but it’s usually okay till mid to late March. It’s WAYYY too early to be stressed about housing.
And Schreyer students are guaranteed to have a spot in the Schreyer residence (unless they apply for Global, which is a great option for someone interested in International issues - admission to the Global floor is competitive - but Schreyer students not admitted to Global are automatically placed in the Honors Dorms in any case).