<p>@Aly310 … Regarding your DUS delay theory, I think you might be right… I think DUS is likely last, as it would be logical since some applicants who did apply to specific schools (engineering, business,…) and might not meet their higher standards, might then be given the option to pick a different major and/or placed into DUS assuming they do meet the general standard for UP. </p>
<p>Yes, I’ve also thought that the DUS might be the issue. But she isn’t sure exactly what she’d major in at PSU (since PA’s can major in just about anything as an undergrad as long as they get the pre-req’s done). She is also considering Speech Pathology which PSU does have an undergraduate degree in (but she’d still have to get her master’s degree).<br>
@mommdc Seton Hill is only about 30 minutes from us. Too close and probably too small for her. She wants to go away, but not too far - and definitely not too close, lol!</p>
<p>I guess we just wait. Sometimes I wish she would have chosen a major, but then again, she’s a borderline applicant so we thought DUS with summer option checked would give her the best shot! </p>
<p>Currently waiting for admissions info for daughter (applied to Eberly, complete 9/22, GPA=3.89, SAT 2000). </p>
<p>My son was admitted to PSU two years ago. He applied DUS, GPA 3.8, SAT 1900. His status changed the week after Thanksgiving (on a Thursday I believe) and was accepted online/received letter Monday. At that time, only two kids from his school had been admitted – both engineering and with higher stats. I did notice both then and this year that many of the early acceptances posted are out of state. </p>
<p>I am hoping that things move into high gear right after Thanksgiving break! </p>
<p>We were also informed that PSU does not read the essays. Our son didn’t send one in. He is currently at PSU as a chem engineering major. </p>
<p>I’m thinking that DUS applications will get notified later. Believe it or not, it seems that this year they are approving applications a lot sooner than last year. Last year admissions seemed really far behind. Most were notified in January.</p>
<p>@jlhpsu - maybe Misericordia University may be too small for your D, but they have a great speech pathology program. They have an extended program.</p>
<p>Two highly qualified people from our school (OOS) have been accepted into Eng. If anyone has been rejected already, they aren’t talking; but, I don’t think those rejections will start until much later. Does it look like the pool of 1800-1900’s SATs and 3.7-3.9 GPAs is ramping up now?</p>
<p>I haven’t heard of any rejections yet. </p>
<p>Several of our friends are still waiting to hear about their kids’ acceptances.</p>
<p>This is my first post on College Confidential. First I want to thank all of you for the great information and a special thanks to @jihpsu for all the great information! My son applied Sept 1 to UP Smeal College of Business, application complete on 9-16-2014. Like many that have posted, he has had at the same status “a decision will be available as soon as one is made” since September. He has a 3.86UW, 4.98W GPA and a 1320 SAT (1920 total). My husband and I are both PSU alums. Several kids from his high school have been accepted, some with lower stats than his. It is very frustrating. Yesterday, he got his first acceptance to Clemson (applied on the same day as PSU) which came with a scholarship. He only applied to 2 schools. My husband and I really want him to go to PSU, but now he is all excited about Clemson. I wish someone could explain the admissions process to me. Based on the posts, it seems it’s better to wait until end October/beginning of November to apply. I did call the PSU admissions office and the rep maintained the application review process is random, which makes no sense at all. She also reminded me that the office will be closed some days next week and over Christmas breaks. During that time there will be no updates. On the upside, congrats to all those who have been admitted! Welcome to the Penn State family! WE ARE!!! </p>
<p>PSUalum89 my son has almost the exact same stats, applied to Smeal mid October and has not heard back. We are from NY. Will keep you posted. Good Luck! </p>
<p>I am a PSU alum in NY and my daughter plans to apply. Sadly, I am sorry PSU is still in the running for her. The admissions process is flawed in many ways. They asked for material that is not reviewed on a regular basis and really base the decision on pretty much only test scores, from what I understand. Why that takes so long is beyond me. Two people apply the same day with similar credentials and similar majors and it can be several weeks between when the two get a result. I volunteered in the admission process a few years ago and haven’t helped out since.</p>
<p>With the high cost of attendance I find it hard to even consider them.</p>
<p>Just for comparison, my daughter applied to Nebraska on a Wednesday night around 10:00PM and received an acceptance email the next morning around 11:00AM. Less then a week later she got notified of a merit scholarship.</p>
<p>my brother just got his acceptance letter today</p>
<p>PSU does not base their decisions on scores only and does not rely on high school reported GPAs, and that’s why it takes more time than people would like.
The transcript must be entered into the system. They must then use this information to calculate their own GPA based on their weighting system, making some adjustments for the rigor of the high school based on school profile.
This I am less sure of, but I believe each is viewed by an admissions person to look for anything that might add more to the application (this is where all this other information comes in).
Also the other information, which is used rarely, identifies students for possible scholarships or used in bubble cases. It is not logical to after the fact ask for this material to be submitted.
Any process that takes 24hrs just doesn’t make sense IMO</p>
<p>Daveverdo. What do you mean when you say “I volunteered in the admission process a few years ago and haven’t helped out since”? I assume you are saying you worked in the admissions office. If so, what did they say when you shared your thoughts of the process being “flawed”?
Thanks in advance. </p>
<p>I’m going to be perfectly honest: I don’t think the news is good for my OOS son applying to sciences, primarily because PSU really does not give holistic consideration to applicants based on what we are reading here, what the visiting admissions person said, and judging from the kids in his hs who have already gotten accepted. My son’s application package was marked as complete by mid-October. He is an 1860 SAT and a 3.47 GPA with 11 APs and Honors, two dual enrollment (university not comm coll) math courses, leadership in honor societies, work experience and volunteer experience. He hasn’t heard a peep, yet many, many others in his HS have already gotten their acceptances. Every one of them had either or both GPA and SATs well above the 50 percentile minimum. He falls below the “sure bet” numbers in both categories, and I just think they have to cut and he’s one of them. I’m glad that he has a bunch of schools who do truly evaluate holistically.</p>
<p>@PennsyDad I volunteered as an alumni rep to recruit in my community. I would go to college fairs, high schools, and call applicants in my town to convince them to go to Penn State. I never really told the admissions office why I didn’t want to help anymore. I just didn’t like selling the college to someone who I know couldn’t afford it or wasn’t good fit. They really looked at it as sales, it never felt right to me. As far as the “flawed” system I felt they did not treat everyone equally and they talked about looking at the whole person but really just looked at numbers.</p>
<p>@jadeplant I would not assume that your child won’t get in. They were very ear in the admissions chat the other day that it means nothing bad if your friend has heard and you haven’t. They say that it’s random and not based on when you apply. They do seem to take the higher stat appliant first. But in December and January you will see many other stats represented in the admitting pool.
My D has similar stats as your son. She applied DUS and checked off summer for the best chance…and also had a backup campus listed. The admissions counselor we spoke with seemed to think she was competitive for summer admission at least. But of course we won’t know until we know.
@daveverdo I believe ALL schools are based on sales. That’s what the slick ads and tv promos are for. It’s not their job to tell you if the school is the best place for you, it’s their job to tell you why THEY think they are the best school. It’s up to each applicant to decide if that mission fits with what they are looking for and what they are willing to spend. </p>
<p>Yikes! We are still hopeful…
But, on the wholistic question, yes, I agree. The fact that PSU doesn’t even consider 12th grade is a real confirmation that they do not look at the “whole” kid. In our case, the best GPA to date is now in 12th and it is the courseload with the most APs and beyond. The GC went ahead and sent the first quarter grades, but pretty sure it won’t make a diff. Just wish we had at least one acceptance as we approach the holidays and a million questions from friends and family.</p>
<p>@jlhpsu There were a few schools we visited that, during the info session, gave specific reasons why some students shouldn’t apply. They were very forward about cost and fit. </p>
<p>Virginia Tech is an example, they said outright that they give very little aid to OOS students and if you can’t afford to pay you shouldn’t bother applying. </p>
<p>There are several other schools that before they take your deposit they explain in detail what you loan payments will be once you graduate. Those schools have decreased the debt of graduates by a tremendous about because when a student hears they will be paying $1000/month for ten years they decide to go someone else.</p>
<p>I think we just need to be patient. My son’s app was submitted on Sept 24th and all documents were in by Sept 29th. He is higher than average accepted student SAT score 2100 and 4.0 gpa many honors and AP classes etc. Haven’t heard a peep since the status changed end of Sept to “we are reviewing your credentials etc”. Things have certainly changed since my daughter applied 3 years ago end of November and was notified of acceptance within 2 weeks. I think trying to surmise that the top tier students are accepted first and thinking it’s not looking favorable for the average stat kids might be hard to guess. Does anyone know if admissions is closed this week for Thanksgiving? Won’t even check the status if that’s the case. I did notice PSU admissions has a twitter account and they respond to it. Can’t get my son to inquire there and I don’t have a twitter but I’m sure if anyone really has a question you might luck out inquiring on their twitter. </p>
<p>I’m sorry, but it is unreasonable (crazy?) to expect a school that receives 119,000-120,000 applications a year to apply holistic admissions processes. I would be interested in knowing which large state universities (of equivalent size) utilize a holistic process? The cost to review that many applications would be tremendous. Either application fees would skyrocket, or the costs would just be passed along. The amount of time and energy spent to review SHC (~6,000) is great. The process starts the first week in Dec when faculty readers get their assignments. It does not conclude until the end of March.<br>
Why Penn State (or other schools) do not scare people from considering them-It’s simple, they don’t know how competitive people will be for scholarships or what their financial situation is. They do not meet with students 1:1 during visits to analyze their credentials or their parent’s financials. I toured colleges a few years back with my child and one in particular tried to scare students just what you described. It left a very bad impression. It did not come off as honest, it came off as very elitist and snobby. Students who are really budget conscious have access to tremendous resources listing statistics about financial aid. It’s not like when I went to college 30 years ago.
Many people from the east coast do not consider PSU that expensive compared to alternative OOS schools or private schools. What one family sees as unaffordable, is not out of the question for others. </p>
<p>I don’t disagree that the process can seem random and its not completely clear why one person gets a response before others. This is probably a logistic issue related to how the application is assigned and what college they are reviewing for (colleges have their own admission standards from what I’ve been told). </p>
<p>I agree that a holistic approach would be impossible for a school the size of PSU. Plus if we think we are waiting a long time now, I can’t imagine what the wait times would be in that case. I’m “ok” with waiting in that I don’t blame PSU for the fact that my D is waiting. It is what it is. It’s just anxiety producing which is what I was venting about in staring this thread. </p>
<p>My D did give me permission to tweet to admissions and I did a while ago. Basically, they said the same thing everyone says…decision time lines are random and the only time guarantees they make are that you hear by Jan 31 if you apply by Nov 30. Then the wait is within 2 months for apps after Nov 30. </p>