Smeal accepts only 11% of applicants. Gotta be candid, why risk applying to Smeal as a Frosh when you can go DUS and then Smeal? You technically are not in Smeal till after 40 PSU credits and above a 3.2 or 3.5 GPA. Seems like a much better strategic move with very little downside
Look at how many people are trying to get reevaluated for DUS…plus the people who applied normally before Nov 30…plus the people who applied normally after Nov 30…
They only have so many spots. And a lot of them are already taken.
If you understand how Penn State works as far as majors the best and safest bet for UP as a Frosh is DUS
This is my first child going through this process and had we known smeal was this competitive we would have applied DUS in the beginning instead of now having to be reevaluated. I didn’t realize we should have researched it to find out the acceptance rate for just smeal. I guess lesson learned for my other kids and unfortunately my son will now have to go elsewhere if he doesn’t get in as he has no interest in going to Altoona. Everywhere else he applied we applied to the business program and he got in so when we applied to penn state we just did the same thing.
It’s unfortunate that they don’t clearly put this on there website or that his counselors didn’t tell him but as he said to me earlier, if he doesn’t get in then I guess it wasn’t meant to be. I just feel bad for him because I know he wanted this but because we didn’t know all this until after he applied he is now in this position
My son is in the same position as nyann. The counselor told me he has very little chance of UP DUS for the fall. They are going to re evaluate him, but for the summer option.
2151994 they didn’t tell me that about the fall when I called but summer is listed as an option if he doesn’t get fall. It may depend on who you speak to. Some may be more honest about the chances than others. I guess we will just wait and see
What are the chances of being reconsidered for fall if already accepted into the summer session?
@freakyboul123 If you applied for Fall first and checked yes for Summer option and you were accepted for the summer then it’s summer. If your first choice was summer and you were accepted you can call for reevaluation for Fall. That’s exactly what I did, applied for summer DUS and accepted then reevaluated for Fall and accepted for DUS Fall
My son was accepted to DUS for Summer after applying for Fall and selecting summer as a backup. Frankly, I was very surprised given a 3.4 UW with many honors classes and AP’s, and 1380 SAT, plus both parents PSU grads. I called admissions, not really to ask to have him reevaluated for Fall but to learn more of the reason why, as I have another child in HS who will be going through the process in a few years. I was told that this year is just extremely competitive, that every major the stats of those being admitted are very similar (so DUS is not really easier to get into this year), that there are less slots available this year, that this year is the most competitive year they have ever had. That’s all I can tell you. I don’t think the chances of getting reevaluated even for summer DUS that many of you are hoping for are too great, unfortunately. Last year’s admittance of two many students to UP is making it ultra competitive this year.
*too many
Just my 2¢. I think the SAT and ACT scores are becoming more and more important. With so many variation on weighting for Honors and AP classes as well as course rigor it becomes more difficult to distinguish between students. A standardized test helps with that aspect. Furthermore, I have seen relative high GPA’s not accepted, however, I have not seen anyone with an SAT above 1400 rejected.
My S accepted DUS Summer. He applied directly to summer. SAT 1310new SAT and GPA 3.26 UW school does not weight and very rigorous school. In-state Well worth the wait. He’s thrilled.
Applied 12/23, still waiting on a decision. Asked for reconsideration for DUS Summer after rejection from the MT major. Do you guys think my stats are good enough to have a good chance at admission?
SAT: 1320 (650 Math, 670 Writing/Reading, 23/24 Essay (8,7,8))
ACT: 30 (27 English, 28 Math, 33 Reading, 33 Science)
GPA: 3.766 UW (School doesn’t weight)
Rank: 80/387
11 AP Classes, 4 years of Spanish and 2 years of Korean
Clubs/EC: NHS, AIDS Prevention Awareness Club, Theatre, Choir, Key Club, Speech and Debate (National Ranking)
Leadership Positions: Secretary/Treasure of Choir and Theatre
Work: Starbucks Barista
Out of State (WA)
@dpschool I received the post card and am still waiting on Smeal UP. It’s killing me too, I’m hopefully something will arrive overnight Friday into Saturday. Seems like a lot of people were posting last week at that time. Good luck!!
@Baristalife Your stats are excellent but i think you might have difficulty gaining admission because you applied after 11/30. Good Luck!!
After being declined on Wed for Mechanical Engineering at main campus (3.76. 1400 sat) my son was accepted for 2+2 Erie Behrend Campus. It looks pretty great online so we are going tomorrow to check it out. We also did not know that certain majors were extremely hard to get into. In fact, it says students are accepted into pre-engineering and do not declare a major until the end of sophomore year. But, his decline letter was for Mechanical. For future reference, every student with scores in range should apply DUS or do engineering undecided if that is their major.
Son just got accepted to Berks Campus rather than UP we’ll check it out and see if he likes it. Must be a higher number of engineering applicants this year I thought his numbers were pretty good. We know some kids who go to Berks and speak highly of it.
Anyway, he got accepted to several good schools so decision time soon! Good luck everyone.
Computer Engineering
1360 SAT 700 Math
28 ACT
4.2 weighted
AP courses
wide range of activities including ROTC, band, plays, robotics, baseball, eagle scout
applied in OCT
@briant did your son put Berks down as alternate campus?
@MSMead did your son put Erie/Behrend down as alternate campus?
@yogisandy …yes he did put down Berks as an alternate…in the end unless the kid has their heart set on UP it doesn’t matter you get the same degree and at 2 of the years at UP. For engineering they have to apply to their major in two years anyway so everyone is in the same boat academically.