<p>I hang around these forums to answer your questions about Penn State- classes, clubs, life, honors college, science, research, living on campus, etc. I won't be too helpful with general application questions as that changes every year. Also, please don't randomly message me questions; ask them here to benefit everyone else. </p>
<p>About myself- </p>
<p>Junior, Biology Major
Schreyer Honors College Scholar
Heavily involved with research (won several grants)
etc. </p>
<p>HS stats-
GPA- 4.21 (Val)
SAT- Over 1900, but less than 2000.
Random ECs</p>
<p>Do you have any information on Penn State’s math program? Are the professors good? Do many people major in math? Do Penn State’s math majors go on to good grad programs?</p>
<p>Also, how easy is to attain research? Thank you.</p>
<p>I’m going into bio, and I know psu isn’t known for their bio dept., but how strong is it with regards to research oppurtunities and strength of faculty?</p>
<p>Googolplex- I do not know a lot about PSU’s math dept other than the calc 1 and 2 class I’ve taken for my major. The profs seem competent, but other than that I can’t say. I do not have any math major friends. </p>
<p>psufan1993- PSU is actually really well known for their bio program. It provides a solid background in general biology while allowing you to specialize in an area of interest (plant, animal, genetics, etc). The graduate program was recently rated within the top 10 in the country, and such caliber only benefits the undergrad program. </p>
<p>fcs- I am not sure if engineering has a co-op program or not. Eberly does, you would need to contact the engineering dept to get more info on their programs. </p>
<p>amandakayak- SHC has only improved the already excellent education that PSU provides. The $$, the small class sizes (allowing more interactions with the prof), the honors dorm, etc, really have made me education excellent. I’d definitely recommend applying for the program. It is worth the effort of the application. </p>
<p>In regards to research- It is pretty easy to find a position on campus, even as a freshmen. It just takes some time and initiative on your part. Time is required to search out faculty of interest and read some of their papers. effort comes in to contacting the profs individually and actually sounding like you have a solid interest in their program. Profs can easily sniff out emails from students who just seem interested in conducting research for an extra line on their resumes or cvs. Be genuinely enthusiastic about the research subject and the prof will pick up on that. </p>
<p>Research is typically done for credits during the semester and then often times, for $$ during the summer. The faculty is top notch, a lot of the programs are nationally ranked.</p>
<p>fcs325, Yes, there is a coop program; you should be able to find something about it on the College of Engineering website, maybe under Career Services. (If you can’t find anything email the contact address.) I think coop students typically take an extra year to graduate and will have three coop experiences (one summer and two during regular semesters).</p>
<p>Is taking a foreign language required? I can’t find the answer anywhere. If I’ve taken a certain amount in high school, do I still have to take it in college? Thanks.</p>
<p>How is Penn State Main’s environment? I visited there over the summer so I didn’t get to see a lot of interactions between the students. Are some people (can’t really describe it, but) mean? Is there a lot of bullying, hazing, and such? Compare to a typical high school that is.</p>
<p>I got a gpa over 3.5 with 17 credits, i have completed 45 credits in total in my very first semster, (including highschool exams british a levels). would i have a chance of getting into the honors college for engineering? is it challenging?</p>
<p>Let me answer soramay6 s question. We live in happy valley, I have not experienced any social that made me feel bad as an international students. Its an amazing campus with many different kinds of students, sociable ones, party types, nerds etc</p>
<p>On the PSU website it said 1/3 applicants get into Schreyer. Have you or your fellow Schreyer students been surprised by who got in? Or is it like super genius kids in general?</p>
<p>I’m not sure where you got that figure. They have a few thousand applicants every year and accept 300 for the freshmen class. </p>
<p>There are a good mix of student types here- you have the genius socially awkward students and the overachieving outgoing students, and everything in between. Nothing too surprising once you get over that everyone is different.</p>
<p>Penn State says they treat in-state the same as out of state for admission purposes. I assume the same policy applies to the Honors College. They are happy to get the extra tuition money, particularly because they do not promise to meet financial need. Main campus is now about 1/3 out of state.</p>
<p>You’ll get a letter in the mail. I believe I received my letter during the last week of Feb. But that was in 2008 so I am not sure if they have changed the dates at all since then.</p>
<p>Last year D2’s SHC acceptance letter was mailed on 2-26-10. Two years before that D1’s letter came 2-24-08. in other words, look for a letter at the end of February.</p>