I have been accepted into Pennsylvania State University - University Park and MyPennState login page says that I have been admitted into the Smeal business college for finance. I have been reading through different websites and I read that even though it says that I have been admitted into the finance program at Smeal, I am still not in the program and I have to keep a 3.5 gpa throughout my freshman and sophomore years to become officially part of the finance program.
My questions:
Is it true that I have to keep a 3.5 gpa even though I have been accepted into Smeal according to MyPennState?
How hard could it be to maintain a 3.5+ gpa in Penn State? I’ve pulled of a 3.8-3.9 gpa in high school with a 1920 sat score.
If I do not manage to keep a 3.5 gpa what happens?
certainly possible; or there wouldn’t be Finance majors, but will probably take some effort
if you don’t keep a 3.5; but you keep a 3.2, you could elect any other business major. If you don’t have a 3.2, you would probably have to switch to a non-business major or transfer.
You will be fine.
Yes, nobody’s admitted to Smeal “for real” until they’ve proven they belong there. Your only advantage over a DUS student is that you’ll get a Smeal adviser.
You don’t have to keep a 3.5 throughout freshman and sophomore years. You need to have a total GPA of 3.5 by the time you apply, so over 3 semesters. A good idea is to “frontload” your GPA by taking classes you’re reasonably certain you’ll do well in. This way if your GPA slips a bit sophomore year with required, difficult classes, you’ll have a cushion. And of course, in order to have a 3.5, you’ll have to resist your friends all going out to party or have fun every night of the week for the first three weeks (their first grades will then fall and whip them into shape… but you don’t have the luxury of tempting fate and screwing up your first gades. So, parties will be restricted to Fridays and Saturdays, and you’ll be studying in the library every night of the week beside those two.)
What level of calculus have you had (if any)? What level of foreign language? Have you taken AP Economics? AP English Language?
“A good idea is to “frontload” your GPA by taking classes you’re reasonably certain you’ll do well in. This way if your GPA slips a bit sophomore year with required, difficult classes, you’ll have a cushion.”
Actually, to declare a finance major, Smeal now requires not only an overall gpa of 3.5 but also an average of 3.5 based solely on entrance-to-major required courses. This policy is specifically intended to prevent students from entering the major with artificially high GPA’s due to a preponderance of basketweaving type courses.
@MYOS1634 I have taken AP Calculus and I’m 90% sure I’m getting an A. I am fluent in french (my mom is french so its pretty much like English to me). I have not taken AP Economics nor AP English.
@Aida What are the entrance-to-major required courses?
I’m a fairly good student and the party scene is never for me. I’m a first generation college student so I really have no idea how difficult it could be to get a 3.5 gpa in college. Can anyone give me some insight to their own experience preferably at Penn State for a business major and how hard it was to maintain their gpa?
OK, here’s a cool hack: Take a 300-level French course in the Fall (you have a choice between literature and history). With that you demolish the language requirement and one humanities gen ed at once (the equivalent of taking 4courses - PM me for details and faculty recommendations). Since you’re fluent, it shouldn’t be too hard, plus you’ll learn more about your cultural heritage.
You could actually do a French minor, or add the French for business concentration, or should be easy and it’s a good way to professionalize your unique skills. The French minor would be very easy to do since you’d basically start with a big headstart: one 300 history, one 300 literature (freshman year), Linguistics and Advanced Speaking (sophomore year) and just one more class, which could be French for Business.
Strictly speaking the students need a C or higher in the entrance to major classes, and for a future finance major, have a 3.5 in these specific classes: Calculus 110 (or 140 but I’d recommend 110), English 030 (or AP 015 i f not a good writer but not as interesting), Micro Economics (ECON 102 or 102H), Statistics (SCM or Stats 200), then basics of management and 3 intro business classes (accounting, marketing, finance) all of which represent about 2 courses per semester year, and could just be Calc, English, Econ first semester, Stats and Basic Management (+ Econ104) second semester, and a relatively “easy” sophomore year with the 3 business classes spread over the 2 semesters.
I wasn’t suggesting using only “gut” classes (and there aren’t that many anyway, although taking one per semester is a good way to keep your schedule balanced and those often remain your fondest memories of college)but rather balancing your schedule well.