<p>A schreyers student came to talk to us today and said that this year, for the first time, as long as a student was admitted to psu, they disregard the gpa/standarized test scores when admitting to schreyers. They focus a lot more on activities, essays, and recs.</p>
<p>is this really how it is?</p>
<p>thanks</p>
<p>I doubt it. It says on the Schreyers website that they recommend having a 1350+ on your SAT before applying (meaning that they do in fact consider test scores).</p>
<p>It is true.<br>
According to the Schreyer website:
Candidates offered admission to the Schreyer Honors College should demonstrate academic excellence, strong leadership skills, motivation and self-discipline, and a commitment to citizenship and civic responsibility. Schreyer Scholars represent the top 5% of students at Penn State, and therefore should also be at the top of their respective high school class. The Schreyer Honors College does not set a minimum standardized test score or grade point average for its applicants. Candidates will be assessed based on the academic and extracurricular documents submitted with the application, as well as responses to essay questions, and letters of recommendation.</p>
<p>yeah agreed, I think its new this year. Thats weird, it would take them forever to find the 300 freshmen ._.</p>
<p>good for me though! :D</p>
<p>I'm pretty sure that statement has been on the website for years. the key is that Schreyer uses a "holistic" admissions process. If you have relatively low SAT scores (lets say 1250) but you are stellar in all other areas - #1 in your class, great GPA, tough coursework, significant achievements that show passion for your desired field of study, then they will consider you for admission. Stellar essays help too. This isn't different than prior years.
But, the kids I know that have been accepted in the past have pretty high scores.
That said, the Dean is relatively new so they may be making some changes. Regardless, it's pretty hard to get in given the small number of spots and rising number of applications (they got close to 2000 apps last year).
Good luck!</p>
<p>my friend actually told me his dad read schreyer's past statements read something like rarely did schreyers accept students with a ACT score lower than 31, this year it was gone. I think last year they accepted 300/2400 students.</p>
<p>but its kind of unrealistic in a way, i mean, Schreyers has the third highest average SAT of any school in the nation.</p>
<p>They did make changes to the app and review process for this year. I found this on the High School Counselors PSU admissions page here <a href="http://admissions.psu.edu/info/counselors/fa07_newsletter.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://admissions.psu.edu/info/counselors/fa07_newsletter.pdf</a></p>
<p>"Two changes to the 2008 Schreyer Honors College application. The Schreyer Honors College will no longer be stating a recommended minimum standardized test score for Honors College applicants. The faculty review committee has not used the standardized test score in their review process, so the Honors College will no longer include a score reference in their application materials. Also, letters of recommendation from teachers and counselors will be submitted online. A system has been set up that is secure, reliable, and easy to use."</p>
<p>well that is extremely convenient</p>
<p>The Dean of Admissions came to our school and told us that they are no longer looking at standardized test scores. It is a new thing but they really want their scholars to be more than just test/grade smart. They want you to be involved, a good part of the community, a world traveler etc.</p>
<p>what about GPA?</p>
<p>I don't remember him saying anything about GPA but he said your transcript is very very important and then your essays.</p>
<p>The vast majority of the people they admit will still have very high scores and GPA, but I think this is a smart move and shows that they are considering applications by looking at the whole applicant rather than just a few isolated datapoints. It's certainly a lot more work for the college (compared to a simpler 'points' based system where you get scored on grades and tests) but is shows that they obviously care a lot about getting the right students. </p>
<p>With todays world of vast commercialized test preparation and (for selective programs) almost everyone showing up with near perfect grades the scores and GPA are not longer that useful in picking out the 'best of the best.' It makes a lot of sense to do it this way so I'm not surprised.</p>
<p>agree rocketman.
But I will say that the process has been holistic for the past few years. High scores were never enough...even in the old system of review. Perhaps they helped more though...</p>
<p>Since I am reading through the messages, I thought I might clarify a bit. Although I am only in my second year as Dean, I am told that our application review committee has not considered the SATs for many years. There was an oddly worded note on the application about past SAT scores of previous classes, but since we were not using the SATs as a gauge or guide I had the passage removed since I believed that it was keeping well qualified students from applying. </p>
<p>So what DO we consider in reading the applications? The transcript is certainly very important. Not just how good were the grades, but what courses were taken? Did the student take the most rigorous course offerings available at their high school? If there was the odd dip in grades, was it in the field that the student intends to study? And if there is such a dip, was any explanation provided?</p>
<p>The essays from the student are looked at very carefully and have been crafted to try and gain some insight into the character of the applicant. We have many many more applications that we can admit. So we are looking not just for high marks but for the quality of the individual. Have they been involved in their community, as a leader, are their essays insightful, reflective, etc. </p>
<p>Finally, the letters of recommendation helps us to place this particular applicant in context. They too can and should give us a sense of the character of the student and helps us to understand what they would be like as a member of the college. </p>
<p>I hope this is all helpful. We will begin sending out letters in just a few weeks! Hang in there.</p>
<p>Dean Brady </p>
<p>cbrady @ psu.edu</p>
<p>Christian M M Brady, D.Phil.
Dean, Schreyer Honors College
The Pennsylvania State University
<a href="http://shc.psu.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://shc.psu.edu/</a>
<a href="http://engage.shc.psu.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://engage.shc.psu.edu/</a>
814-865-2631
AIM: drcbrady</p>
<p>Can you tell me how many openings there are for honor students to get in the honor courses? It seemed like a benefit to being in the college would be to register early and able to be in the small honor classes. But if all honor students (300) are all registering at the same time they seem to be competing among themselves for seats, and shut out of classes. Certain students with majors have required courses during time frames. If these students can't get into the honors classes are they forced to now look for an honor option?</p>
<p>mrtagr - Most first year honors students do not have trouble getting into the honors courses they want. They don't always get it, but usually they do. Let me also clarify that students are not talking all their courses as honors and so are able to choose which course they would like to do as an honors course. This means that there isn't as much pressure as one might think for those H-sections.</p>
<p>Congratulations to PSU for adopting holistic admissions for the honors college. About three years ago, some at PSU involved with the honors college were misinforming prospective applicants that a 1450/ 1600 SAT I was expected, or average, for honors college admits. This was difficult to believe as those students typically target HYPSM and similiar schools. Although I do not know whether or not those figures were true, I suspect that the honors college at PSU was attracting mostly engineering and science oriented students; especially so as, at least in the mid-1990s, PSU's Honors College stressed research over leadership & community service.</p>
<p>Thank you icy9ff8. We will still report the average SAT of a class AFTER they have enrolled. It is just a marker that everyone in higher ed has come to look for and our average this past year was right around 1450. In a few years we will look and see if our changes in policy have had an impact on that number. I think it will not but we shall see.</p>
<p>So, the admissions committee for Schreyer's can't even see the SAT scores at all? Or do they just disregard them?</p>
<p>GreetStreetJ - It depends upon whether the high school transcript shows them or not, but the readers are directed to NOT consider them in making their recommendations.</p>