The former you only apply for summer session.
The latter you apply for the fall semester, and if you don’t get in, they evaluate you for summer as a backup.
@jlhpsu thank you so much, such a relief. I will have to visit again before I make my final decision.
Thank you!
Now that I have been accepted comes the Golden Question… Financial Aid
Does Penn State give good scholarships and or aid?
If I have packages from other schools, is there a chance Penn State will match those?
@jackoneill Short answer…probably not. Penn State is notoriously stingy on financial aid. They do offer some merit aid to Schreyers students (honors college) and some individual colleges within PSU offer their own scholarships.
@jlhpsu ouch that hurts. So even if I have offers from other bigger schools (like Michigan State) they won’t match it? That is unfortunate to hear, but even without aid it is probably still affordable for my family. Thank you!
@jackoneill If you’re an out of state student, they have no obligation to fund your education – as a state-related university, their first priority is people from Pennsylvania. OOS students are valued members of the community, of course, but also valued sources of tuition, financially.
Asked to be reevaluated for summer after being rejected for fall. Resulted in the same response. Absolutely heartbreaking, 1490 SAT and 3.97 weighted and unweighted GPA 
1490 new sat?
Was there a 'red flag’that you know of?
@julietxn for what major? There must be something with either the way your school weights your grades or the rigor of coursework. Or perhaps you didn’t take the classes needed in high school.
Did they give you a reason?
If 1490 is the old SAT then that makes more sense. If that is for the new SAT would be confusing unless you were going for Smeal or certain engineering…
Anyone else having issues logging onto MyPennState? Keeps saying my username is incorrect, even though it’s the same one I had when I applied.
@jlhpsu I applied for DUS. I took 3 AP classes and the rest are all honors and four years of english, social studies, science, language (spanish all four years), and math as well so I exceeded my high school course requirements. I took the new SAT and got a 1490/1600. It doesn’t make any sense honestly. I was not given a reason and I even put PSU Harrisburg as an alternate. The decision says: We have completed the reevaluation of your application as you requested. Although we cannot offer you admission to the Division of Undergraduate Studies at Penn State University Park, or Harrisburg, there are other educational opportunities that await you at Penn State. I’m assuming I got rejected from Harrisburg as well but it’s confusing me since it says “or”
Call and see if they made a mistake, because it makes no sense indeed.
@julietxn Wow…I’m surprised by that. I can’t imagine why you would be denied from UP DUS with those stats. I, personally, would call and talk to an actual admissions rep on Monday (the folks that answer the phone are not actual admissions reps). Mistakes are made. Especially at this time of year when admissions is crazy.
It does sound like it was also a NO for Harrisburg and my assumption for that is that it’s because of space. Sometimes the branch campuses just run out of room. Altoona is still taking students I believe. That’s where my son is going in the fall. It’s a pretty campus and it’s the closest campus to UP. Lots of students go up to UP often for events etc…
But I’d call. That decision seems very strange on the surface.
^yes, a 3.9/1490 applying for DUS should have heard in the Fall in fact.
@julietxn Something has to be wrong, I simply don’t believe that a 3.9 GPA and 1490/1600 would get declined from UP and Harrisburg. Those stats are competitive to some Ivy’s, Duke, ND, etc.
The SAT score would put you in the Top 10% of kids ACCEPTED at Penn State let alone applied.
Call Admissions on Monday am
@Oneiota @jlhpsu yeah i’ll definitely give them a call on Monday! I indeed did apply to Harvard as an Early Action applicant but got deferred to Regular Decision so it doesn’t make any sense that I can be deferred from Harvard and denied from PSU. It’s devastating to see others with lower stats get in and I don’t.
Nevertheless, I’ll find out on Monday and hopefully I get connected to the office. I’ve tried contacting them over the phone but the line disconnects before it rings. I’ll keep you guys updated and hopefully it’s a mistake. Thanks!!
@julietxn Definitely ask for a counselor. As jlhpsu said the people who answer the phone are not counselors, you have to ask.
I’m certain there had to be a mistake on your application…no way you get denied with a 3.9 and 1490, I don’t buy that
@julietxn Definitely a mistake. Let us know what you find out tomorrow. There was someone who posted last year with the same issue. PSU apologized and said it was a mistake.
SAT IIs:1540/1600
GPA:3.6
Rank: My school doesnt do rankings
Essays:none
Teacher Recs:none
Counselor Rec:none
Hook (if any):chess club captain
Location/Person:
State or Country: PA in state
School Type:public
Ethnicity:white
Gender:male