From PSUAdmissions twitter…
A few weeks?!? Ugggh.
That’s still way earlier than lots of RD decisions. 
@bodangles…What school is RD?
…Lots of other universities do RD. Ivies don’t release decisions until late March.
Figured rolling decision after I posted. 
My daughters friend applied to Pitt at the end of September and heard back in a few weeks. She is a very good student…but, not top tier like I have seen here. My daughter has also applied to UMaryland…they don’t do RD and all decisions I have been told come out end of Jan.
Oh, sorry, I intended for it to mean “regular” decision. As in, a few weeks is much better than five or six months, in my opinion!
PSU is not “rolling” the way other schools are. They don’t get applications and process them in order of application date. I don’t know why they call it rolling. I guess because they don’t have a final deadline. But it should be called “Batch decision” because that’s what they do. Believe me, when my D applied in September, we didn’t expect to wait 5 months. But also, it’s a blur now. So hang in there everyone. It’s a rough wait, but then once they are accepted it is like a blink of an eye and 9 months passes and they are starting school.
@jlhpsu I read last years thread about your 5 month wait. I can only imagine how frustrating and aggravating it must have been to see people apply at the end of November and hear a week or two later…And not even be top tier applicants.
Just curious…do you get your acceptance/rejection letter before or after the portal is updated? Some schools send the letter before the portal is updated.
PSU posts it first, then letter came out
Question for anyone — Many of us who are on the borderline have applied as DUS and summer session, however my real preference would be to start in the Fall. If I am accepted as a summer session student, would it be inappropriate to contact admissions to see if one’s enrollment could be deferred to the Fall??
@Burbs20, we tried this 4 years ago and were told no. My son missed the priority deadline, but was a 3.6 GPA and 30 ACT. I tell anyone I know applying to Penn State to apply early! Happy ending was he went to University of Miami and had a spectacular 4 years, and we had the perfect excuse for an annual Miami trip!
@Burbs20 that’s a big no no. They tell you when you apply for summer that you MUST attend summer session if you are accepted and wish to attend. Meaning, you cannot change to fall. You should have applied for fall, with the option of summer - not just directly to summer. If you apply for fall with the option of summer, they evaluate you already for fall first. They only evaluate you for summer if you don’t get in for fall. So in that case, you’ve already been denied for fall and can only go in the summer. There were a lot of people who tried this last year…thought they could apply for summer and then change into fall. It doesn’t work that way and a lot of people who got in for summer really didn’t want to go.
But there are a lot of people who DO want to go for summer if they can’t get in for fall. So if you know you aren’t willing to go in the summer, don’t apply for that because you possibly take someone else’s spot. If you are willing to go for summer, then put fall with a summer start as a second option. Basic bottom line, only apply for what you are willing to do (this isn’t just to you - it’s to everyone) because it so muddies the already murky waters when a ton of people apply for things that they really don’t want to do and then later try to change.
For what it’s worth, my D went in the summer and LOVED it.
I misunderstood the question…I thought the post meant Fall with option for Summer. That was our situation. It makes sense that switching to Fall from a Summer admit would not be allowed in either case since it would basically be slipping in through the back door. I have heard that the summer session is great fun.
I know many kids don’t want to do summer, but I think it is a great program, especially at such a large school. My son got in for fall and switched to summer because his older sister wished she had done it. It gives them time to get acclimated to the campus and classes before everyone else comes. I personally have never heard of anyone who did it and regretted it.
My daughter started in Fall but knows quite a few people who either started in summer, did LEAP, or took summer classes by choice. All say it was fun, and no one has reported any negatives! I am sure it’s hot at times, but they have a ton of activities scheduled and I think people who start in summer are super comfortable on campus when Fall people come in. We met someone during move-in who was from summer and he quickly swept our girl and her roommates off to lunch with a big group of friends while we messed with cables and wires in the room. When she came back she was all smiles and eager to hang out with her new pals as soon as we left! So I give summer admits a big thumbs up for being so welcoming to what was ‘their’ campus already!
My son had a few friends that “had to” go to summer session to get admitted. He also had a few friends that wanted to go to PSU; were accepted for summer…and chose to go elsewhere because of it.
My son was accepted for Fall, but went up to SC and stayed with friends several weekends over the summer. He says if he had to do it over again, he would go in summer even though he was accepted to Fall. Says he will strongly encourage any of his high school friends that are a year or two younger to go in the summer…instead of going elsewhere.
Now; from my perspective…my son took 6 credits at a local community college that transferred to PSU, for $1,000…instead of the $7,000 or $10,000 or whatever they charge you for 6 credits in the summer at PSU. Plus he was still able to get assimilated to the campus and make some new friends before the Fall. Best of both worlds is the way I see it.
The only downside I see to the summer session is the financial aspect - the cost of attending in addition to the loss of wages the kid would have earned by working that summer.
DS put summer as an option somewhat begrudgingly and was relieved to be admitted for fall start. For him, the value of fall start was being able to enjoy his last summer of fun with his high school friends. As it turned out, he was getting a little bored and antsy by August and more than ready to go to school by the move-in date. A week or so after graduation (or even more if your area of the country graduates in May or early June) would have been plenty of time to hang out with friends before heading off to PSU.
Bottom line, if you can afford it, I wouldn’t think twice about summer start. Definitely not a deal breaker.
Many students only get accepted because of needing to take summer semester. They are housed at the honors housing, which are nicer dorms. I do not recommend it unless your must do it.