So, I’m almost positive I am going to be attending Penn State University Park. I was accepted as an undecided student. I know for a fact I want to major in business, so my question is: how difficult is it to get accepted into Smeal once you have completed your freshman year? Is it easier than applying for direct admission? Additionally, I know that in order to stay in Smeal, you must mantain a 3.5 GPA. Could anyone clarify if that is difficult or easily obtainable.
You seem to have a little bit of misinformation. If you’re accepted as Undecided (DUS) - it is just as easy to get into whatever major you want so long as you meet the same requirements as those accepted directly to the major. In Smeals case, by the end of your Sophomore year, you need to have a 3.2 GPA (3.5 for Finance only) to be admitted into the business school after taking the entrance to major classes. A 3.2 is a solid GPA that will require a pretty good amount of work, and a 3.5 for finance is pretty tough. However, once admitted to Smeal, you do NOT have to maintain that GPA to graduate.
@Etuck24 Is the 3.2 (or 3.5) GPA based on the student’s overall GPA or just the business classes?
That is overall GPA. You need a C or higher in the intro business classes for them to count
There is a list of business classes - 6 or 8 - that you must complete successfully by the end of sophomore year. In all but Finance, you need to get a 3.2, and for Finance a 3.5. This is true even if you were accepted directly into Smeal. My daughter was accepted to Smeal and this is what she was told last week when we visited.