So, I plan on applying to my favorite school, Penn State UP, this fall. The problem is, I’ve only taken the SAT twice and my highest score is a 1700. The next SAT is October 3 and the scores won’t come out until October 23 I believe. My question is, should I wait and take the SAT or should I apply right when the application comes out (September 1)? P.S. If the better way is to take the SAT then I plan on practicing for it all summer.
Wait. Take the SAT’s again (or try the ACT’s). Regardless of what you hear, it does not matter when you apply as long as you apply by the November 30th deadline. That’s the priority deadline. Only the VERY TIPPY TOP of kids hear early. The rest hear in December and (most in) January. My D applied September 2nd…had a completed application by September 8 and didn’t hear until January 26th. She is there now in the summer session. That was the norm. There is absolutely no benefit to applying earlier than November 30th. BUT, make sure your ENTIRE application has been processed and is complete by November 30th, otherwise you could get pushed to the next batch.
What I’d do if I were you, is do your entire application prior to the SAT’s. Then when you submit your SAT scores at the end of October, you will know everything else has been received. They won’t consider your application until all materials are in, but at least if you have everything else in, you’ll know you are all set when you submit your SAT scores.
Also, put you are willing to go in the summer (if you are) to increase your chances. I don’t think my D would have gotten in to Main without that.
Good luck!
I think your SAT score is pretty good for PSU main. And you should always try to complete your college application process asap so that you can move onto your financial aid process. Also, you can send additional test scores to the school after you applied.
1700 is not high for PSU main. Take a look at the acceptance thread ftom this year. The middle 50% is 1750 to 2000. So 1700 is in bottom 25%. Financial aid process won’t begin until after you are accepted and as long as you get your application complete by Nov 30th, that date won’t change.
@jlhpsu May I ask what your daughter’s GPA and SAT/ACT scores were? And if she applied undecided or not? Because I am not willing to go in the summer so I can’t get that extra boost by checking it off on the app.
My daughters GPA was about a 3.5 from a very competitive highschool (94% for an A). Her ACT was a 28 composite with a 32 in the english/writing portion. By comparison, that ACT score would compare to about a 1950 or 2000 SAT score. She applied undecided and willing to go in the summer. Since they evaluate you first for fall and only move to summer if you can’t get in for fall, I am fairly certain that had she not accepted a summer start she would have been placed instead into a branch campus.
She is there right now for summer and really loves it. So for her, it was a great move as she didn’t really want to start at a branch. For others, they’d rather have their summer at home and go to the branch campus for two years.
@jlhpsu do you think I would get in for the fall (not willing to do summer) DUS with my 3.2 gpa and over a 2000 on my SAT?
@cameron98 I really don’t know. Their decisions seem to vary widely. My daughter had a higher gpa than you and a similar SAT to what you are aiming for and she only got in for summer. It gets more and more competitive every year. All you can do is try. Why aren’t you willing to go in the summer?
@jlhpsu just for financial reasons
I know someone with a 1610 who got denied froM smeal but called admissions and asked to be considered as undecided and was accepted the next day
@pitt2021 afaik , smeal is more competitive than the engineering school. I think the guy you are talking about must have got through DUS
@ParNeel yes that’s what I meant when he said he asked to be considered undecided
Since when has Smeal become more competitive than engineering school?
My son was accepted to the Engineering school in 2008. He wanted to change to Smeal and when he called admissions to do that, he was told his application would need to be re-evaluated because Smeal had tougher criteria for acceptance than the engineering school.
@txl146 this is what they tell you during orientation! Smeal has more popular courses and ETM requirements are more stringent
@ParNeel. What is ETM?
@sugarpal ETM means Entrance to major. u need specific gpa in order to get into the major of your choice
@Sugarpal ETM is Entrance to Major…that is, the requirements that everyone must meet to get into the major junior year. So even if you are accepted into a major for freshman year, you aren’t REALLY in that major until you pass all of the ETM requirements. Same if you start out undecided. As long as you complete the ETM requirements, you can apply for the major for junior year.