@girlzan Congrats!!! Can I ask when did you apply? My daughter completed her app on 9/20. I know they say it’s random, and anyone submitting before Nov 30th can be told first, but I find that hard to believe. The wait by both alumni parents is killing us! 
She submitted on 9/20/17. It didn’t change status until 11/11/17. That was a long wait. Hoping the next wait isn’t so long.
@jlhpsu is this earlier than in previous years they are giving decisions?
Also what time does psu update there portal so I don’t have to keep checking 18 times a day.
Based on last year’s decision thread, it seemed folks surmised that decisions posted at midnight eastern time. I know this year I have seen changes in application status throughout the day.
My daughter’s status also had the same change today. Not sure if it means anything.
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Accepted UP - Smeal !!
Stats:
SAT: 1530 770M 760CR/W
SAT IIs: 730 math 2
GPA: (Weighted) 4.38
AP : lang bio calc ab stat macro lit
Location/Person:
State or Country: NJ
School Type: public
Ethnicity: white
Gender: female
Does the portal generate an email when a decision has been made or do you need to compulsively check the portal for changes?
Yankee - In previous years there were no email notifications. If that holds true for this year it means you have to check every 15min for the next 2 months
Congrats you earned it. Those stats are incredible.
To all that asked, he applied last week of September and was accepted 11/16
Accepted to UP- College of the Liberal Arts (intended political scientist major)
I applied on September 8th.
Stats:
SAT: 1420 690M 730CR/W
SAT IIs: 700 Bio, 780 US History
GPA: (Weighted) 4.73 W/ 4.00 UW
AP : Lang (5), US History (5), Government (5), Comparative Politics (5), Bio (4), Psych (5)
APs Currently In: Lit, Human Geo, Stat and French, World History
State or Country: MD
School Type: public
Ethnicity: white
Gender: female
@bennett23 Congratulations!!! My D applied to Smeal with similar stats. May I ask when you submit your application and did you use the Penn State app or Coalition app? (Not sure if it makes a difference, just curious.) Thanks!
Congrats to all of those getting acceptances!!!
@psuguy1818 No - decisions began trickling in in November in previous years as well. The majority of decisions will still be mid Dec thru end of January, but some will hear earlier. Notice that of those accepted today - they all had very high stats. The very high and very low stats often hear earlier
@onthesearch814 - it is true that Penn State decisions are random. You will see people getting accepted that applied 2 months after others who are still waiting. It’s because there are different admission reps and each application goes through it’s own filtering process and each “line” takes a different amount of time. So depending on the major you applied to, whether you are in state or out of state, whether they have a profile on your high school, etc…different piles and different lines. In fall of 2014 my daughter applied on 9/2 and in November we were seeing people get acceptances that only applied in October. It was frustrating. Frustrating more was that she had to wait until the end of January for her acceptance. It almost killed me (a stroll through some of my earliest threads will show you just how stressed I was).
The portal is updated usually once a day. Usually overnight. I say ‘usually’ because there have been differences. Especially when it gets closer to mid January when so many decisions are released, the portal will be updated several times in one day. Regardless of how often they update it - most kids (and parents!) still check it multiple times a day. It can’t hurt - except I was ready to rip my eyeballs out if I saw “Your application is currently under review” after 4 1/2 months of waiting back then.
This is the scary part - it’s also the fun part. In a little over 2 months, everyone who applied by November 30 will have a decision. That’s all anyone can know unfortunately. In the end, it’s all worth it if they get accepted, but I know the frustration of waiting well. Hang in there everyone. Not that much longer in the grand scheme of things. After the long agony waiting for a decision - August will be here before you know it. That time goes SO fast!
D accepted to UP-College of Health and Human Development OOS
Applied: October 7
GPA: 3.95 UW 4.34 W
6 AP’s
ACT: 31
State: MA
School Type: Private (Catholic)
Congratulations to all who’ve received acceptances and Good Luck to those waiting to hear!
Accepted to UP- College of Agricultural Sciences OOS
Applied: October 18
GPA: 3.8 UW
35 Dual Credit Hours, 35 more on the way, 1 AP
ACT: 33
State: TX
School Type: Public (magnet)
@3CollegeMom Thanks! I used the Penn State app. I submitted the application in early or mid September and my transcript was sent on Halloween. Hope your daughter gets in too!
Accepted today! Applied on the first or second day the application opened. A huge congrats to everyone else who got accepted and for those still waiting, good luck! Please let me know if you have any other questions.
@StudentStudies congrats! can you share your stats?
@simple0920 No problem! I was accepted to University Park-College of Communications. Like I mentioned, I applied the first or second day the application opened-not sure if that had any effect.
GPA: 3.9 UW
RANK: Top 5-6%
SAT: 1310
ACT: 29 (didn’t send)
STATE: PA (in-state)
CLASSES: Over 20+ AP/Honors (AP classes: lang, government, history, biology, lit)
SCHOOL TYPE: Public
Let me know if you have any other questions!