<p>The major thing that I think hurt S's application was the fact that his original GC, who he liked and who knew him fairly well, left the school between his sophomore and junior years. He never seemed to build the same relationship with the GC that was assigned to him his junior year.</p>
<p>Wow, that depresses me even more. Thank you for the info.</p>
<p>Wow, karp4170, I am surprised your super accomplished son did not get into Schreyer. It just shows how subjective college admissions are these days.
You are right that your son will still have many opportunities to do honors and special projects with profs.
If I could make one suggestion, it would be that Schreyer seems to offer significantly more advising to students, so if your son develops some relationships with profs, they can help him plan his academic route. He can also reapply for Schreyer after sophomore year but with his level of accomplishment, he will probably do fine without it.</p>
<p>G Dad -
Don't be depressed. Have your son/daughter fill out the application and send it in. Who really knows what admission committees think? It sometimes just depends what they are looking for in terms of academics and extracurricular activities to meet their goals. Here is the link for the Schreyer Honors College 2005-2008 Strategic Plan. <a href="http://www.scholars.psu.edu/about/2005strategicplan.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://www.scholars.psu.edu/about/2005strategicplan.pdf</a></p>
<p>S was initially disappointed when he did not get accepted into Schreyer, but is really liking PSU. He is taking English Honors 30 this semester and I believe has registered for an honors class next semester. </p>
<p>As an aside, S was recruited by several Ivies. He had a written 'likely letter' from one and a couple more verbals. However, we do not qualify for any financial aid which means we would have had to pay the full $42K plus a year plus the costs associated with his sport. Considering he is interested in engineering, PSU ranks in the top 20 engineering programs nationally and the partial athletic scholarship he was offered, S chose PSU. (It was his choice.) Now, he is assured being able pay for graduate school and graduate without any debt.</p>
<p>Also, if he maintains good grades and chooses to do so, he can reapply to Schreyer before his junior year. The only thing that 'junior' admits to Schreyer don't get is the $3500/year scholarship.</p>
<p>spinner-
Thanks for the advice. We also cross-posted.</p>
<p>
[quote]
How are athletes in general treated at Penn State? - Midwesterner
[/quote]
</p>
<p>From what we have seen so far, varsity athletes are treated quite well. Many, if not all, freshmen male varsity athletes are housed in the Pollock Halls, adjacent to the South Halls where honors housing is located. (Many, if not all, freshmen female athletes are housed in the South Halls) They have easy access to McElwain and Pollock Commons dining halls. McElwain is noted for having the best food on campus. It is the home of the All-Sports Training table. It is also a short walk to College Avenue. From what S has said, varsity athletes are housed, for the most part, with other athletes in the same sport. However, the housing is not as nice as honors housing. It appears that all the varsity athletes, regardless of whether they are in revenue or non-revenue sport, have access to the same services/facilities. All freshmen are required to attend a minimum of 7.5 hours of study hall per week. If the athletes grades are good after first semester, they can waive study hall if they want or continue to go if they so desire. If GPA falls below a certain level, the athlete must return to study hall. S says the study hall facility is quite nice. They have access to a quiet area equipped with study carrels and a room/area equipped with computers. Varsity athletes also have access to free tutoring, if needed. They have access to a team advisor at the Academic Support Center in additon to their departmental advisor. The team advisor helps students set up their schedules to avoid as many conflicts as possible with their practice schedules. Varsity athletes have access to a dietician/nutritionist. Also, varsity athletes are supplied with gear which may include running shoes, t-shirts, sweatshirts, jackets, warm-up suit, etc.</p>
<p>I just heard about a Schreyer Physics major who is on the bowling team.</p>
<p>However, bowling is not a varsity sport, it is a club sport.</p>
<p>In fact, there are some sports that are available at varsity, intramural and club levels. A listing of club sports can be found at:
<a href="http://www.athletics.psu.edu/recreation/clubs%5B/url%5D">http://www.athletics.psu.edu/recreation/clubs</a></p>
<p>A listing of intramural sports can be found at:
<a href="http://www.psu.edu/RecSports/fall.htm%5B/url%5D">http://www.psu.edu/RecSports/fall.htm</a></p>
<p>A listing of varsity sports can be found at:
<a href="http://www.gopsusports.com/home/%5B/url%5D">http://www.gopsusports.com/home/</a></p>
<p>If I am notr accepted to Schreyers, will I still be considered for regular admission?</p>
<p>Yes. As long as you apply by Nov 30, you will likely hear from PSU first (by Jan) and then hear from Schreyer by mid Feb. Of course, you must be accepted at PSU to be considered for Schreyer admissions (not a problem for most Schreyer applicants!)</p>
<p>Thanks to everyone for the very informative posts! You have certainly given us a lot to think about.</p>