Penn State - UP application tips?

D24 was able to do a 90 minute (which turned into 2 hours) walking tour + a one on one appointment/personal tour of her college/major of choice this summer. Information sessions were booked.

Any tips or strategies to share for applying? I noticed in last year’s group, someone got into Northwestern but was offered 2+2 by Penn State, so I’m a bit worried. My daughter has PSU in her top two right now, but fall entry, UP is the only option she’ll consider.

Sorry for the second question, but also - was the appointment this summer evaluative at all? This was Bellasario. It was surprisingly interview-like. D24 was prepared with great questions that showed she had done her research, and she received positive feedback for that. She sold herself well when asked questions like “who this major” according to DH, who was required to be present (I assume this is a post-Sandusky rule). But she couldn’t pop off her stats when asked about her grades. Hopefully this wasn’t important…

Any info is appreciated!

Your daughter needs to make sure Penn State receives all parts of the application by the EA deadline of November 1. Best to submit everything, including the application, SRAR, and SAT/ACT scores (if submitting) at least a couple weeks prior to the deadline. If she is applying to Schreyer Honors College, she needs to write high quality, thoughtful essays.

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Thanks! Definitely submitting early. She’s getting her Pitt application in by the end of August, so the others will flow from that (common app done, main essay done) SRAR experience, etc).

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I encourage her to submit her common app essay to PSU (historically ‘optional’) and then also do the PSU essay and treat that as a “why us?” essay (even though the prompt is written like the common app prompts, again historically…will know the requirements next week when common app opens again).

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SRAR may take a long time to load or even be requested so make sure the basic app is complete 2-3 weeks before the early deadline at a minimum.
Some students were locked out of priority/EA bc of their SRAR, so their applications were only considered in January, and that virtually guarantees 2+2 bc almost all spaces are filled at that point (unless you want a lesser known major but that probably doesn’t apply to Bellisario).

For Schreyer, she will need to write 2 long, thorough essays & half a dozen short (200w) essays. The topics are posted already.
https://www.shc.psu.edu/admissions/first-year/

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Thank you for the “why us” tip! Hard to know otherwise how to do two similar personal statements.

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Any strategy tips? Any info on what they are looking for re: fall entry for UP or Bellasario?

Obviously her GPA and rigor are what they are at this point.

My D23 had a similar experience last summer. I set up a meeting with the Bellasario admission counselor, which turned into a 3-hour meeting and private tour. We had also registered for the campus tour, but we missed it because of the time we spent at Bellasario. We came away so impressed and felt like the counselor was advocating for her. It made Penn State feel more intimate. The counselor’s advice was to apply early and check off the summer option. D applied before the deadline but wound up not submitting the SRAR until after. Although she didn’t receive her decision until late January, she was accepted to UP for the fall.

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Thank you for chiming in! I remember parts of your daughter’s process. I hope she’s excited for Emerson!

Is there any benefit to applying via Penn states app vs common app?

My DD applied to Smeal EA OOS and got 2+2. Requested reconsideration for DUS and she got in. She is there now and we are thrilled with the DUS major. Allows her to take classes in any college (except direct admit like engineering, nursing etc), but she is aligning with Smeal. When my younger DD applies next year we will start with the DUS major,. It appears to be an easier way to get in without any impact.

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