PSU Class of 2021 Decision Thread

Does anyone know if you can apply to two colleges within Penn State? One as a main as one as a backup?

Chances for my son at PSU UP???

SAT: 1420/1600 (720 math, 700 reading)
GPA: 3.78 weighted, 3.57 unweighted
Rank: 78/226

Subjective:
Essays: Great
Teacher Recs: Solid
EC: Vice President of Model UN; officer of Ski and Snowboard; Interact member for 2 years

Location/Person:
State or Country: In state, PA
School Type: Public competitive (consistently ranks in the top 50 high schools in PA)
Ethnicity: white
Gender: M

Other Factors: Dad went to PSU and grandfather and aunt when to PSU.
General Comments: All materials were in by Sept. 5; GPA is not as strong as it could be, but SATs are

Also–Applied to the Division of Undergraduate Studies; however, he will not do summer session. Will decline an offer to a branch campus.

Thoughts??

yes you can

@engineer212 You have a good GPA and a high SAT for UP, I’d say you have a very good shot. Being legacy also helps.

@FingersCrossedMom Looks solid, GPA is good and SAT is excellent. Considering he applied DUS, he should be a shoe-in.

@sekr77 I’m fairly sure you can’t, I could be wrong though. If you get rejected from a major you can ask to be reconsidered for DUS though.

My question is this: when people list their stats and ask to be chanced, and they say essays are great and so are teacher recs, how do you know what the teacher recommendations are? Didn’t everyone have to sign the FERPA? Having signed that you waive your right to see your recommendations. Confused and would appreciate some clarity. Thank you!

@sekr77 @mykidscheer No, you can’t. You can have a back up in starting semester and starting location, but there is not a back up for major. You can only apply for one. If you are concerned about getting in, apply DUS (Undecided) as it is one of the least competitive (although still competitive) majors in which to get accepted. For reference, two years ago my daughter applied with about a 3.5 GPA, DUS and put summer session as an option. Thankfully, she did. Because summer is where she got in. Had she not checked summer, she likely would have been denied and deferred to her back up campus.

@jlhpsu Thank you very much for answering so many of my questions you are really helpful. Anyway, I had a question on how summer session works. What are usually the requirements on getting into summer, and if denied acceptance into UP, can you contact admissions and ask them to reconsider you for summer? I applied for Psychology with a 3.0 gpa 1200 sat

Anyone can answer or state their opinion if you want

Thanks for replying regarding my son’s chances…everyone is waiting with fingers crossed at this point!

Thanks for replying regarding my son’s chances…everyone is waiting with fingers crossed at this point!

@nhenry123 Summer session admission is only slightly less competitive than fall. The option for summers session is on the application. If you check that you’d be willing to be considered for summer, they ONLY do so if they evaluate you for fall first and determine they can’t offer you fall admission. (The exception to this, of course, is if someone applies directly to summer, they are obviously not considered for fall). There is no downside in checking summer…except that you have to go in the summer. Meaning, if you get in for summer, they don’t let you change to fall. It’s summer, or a commonwealth campus.

If you didn’t check summer, you can call admissions and ask that summer session option be added to your application. In that case, they would evaluate you for fall UP campus first. If you can’t get in for that, they will evaluate you for summer session UP second. If you can’t get in for that, they defer you to a commonwealth campus.

@scout07 Teacher Recs aren’t even taken into consideration for PSU. They don’t matter.

Hi all, please chance me!
weighted GPA: 3.96
SAT: 1990
ACT: 28 (superstore of a 30 but I don’t think Penn State superstores…)
Applying for Rehab and Human Services major in Education college
Rank: 22/180
Location: OOS, NJ
Female
Asian
Rehab and Human Services major
Sent in my app 10/23!

Stats:
ACT: n/a
SAT: 1230/1600
GPA: 3.7 UW, 3.74W
Rank: top 20%

Subjective:
Essays:
Teacher Recs:
Counselor Rec:
Hook (if any):

Location/Person:
State or Country: PA
School Type: Public
Ethnicity:
Gender: Female

Applying for forensic science major

@hasannadeem47 @jlhpsu thank you guys!!

Accepted @ University Park! College of Arts and ARCHITECTURE

Stats:
SAT: N/A
SAT IIs: N/A
GPA: 4.00 out of 4.00
Rank: 34
Other stats: 34 Composite Act E: 35 R: 36 M: 29 S: 35

Subjective:
Essays: Well written
Teacher Recs: N/A
Counselor Rec: N/A
Hook (if any): Attended architecture camp at UP

Location/Person:
State or Country: PA
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: White/Asian mix
Gender: Female

I’m excited because Penn State has a great architecture yes okay wow

My daughter is making herself sick waiting for a decision. She applied approximately 2 weeks after the app went live. She applied to Smeal, and made summer session an option. Chances?

Stats:
SAT: 1300
GPA: 3.8 weighted (when she applied, she’s a 4.3/4.5 now)
Rank: 35/165
APs: yes
Subjective:
Essays: Decent
Teacher Recs: Yes
Counselor Rec: N/A
Location/Person: in state
State or Country:
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
ECs: many, with multiple leadership positions

Accepted for Penn State. Majoring in Landscape Architecture

Stats:
SAT:2000 Old and 1410 new.
SAT IIs: 750 Us History
GPA: 4.57 W, 3.77 UW
Rank: School does not rank
Other stats: 1 Ap, Score of 5. Taking 4 more this year.

Subjective:
Essays: Solid
Teacher Recs: Pretty confident they were positive
Counselor Rec: Same as above.
Hook (if any): Nada

Location/Person:
State or Country: Montgomery County, PA
School Type: Public, one of the top in the state.
Ethnicity: Asian-American
Gender: Male