<p>My daughter participated in the online admissions chat tonight from 6:30-8:30. It was very helpful. Not all of her questions were answered, but many were. And many people asked questions she didn't even know she had until they asked, so it was a very beneficial experience. Here are the important and random take aways from the session: </p>
<ol>
<li><p>Some people are getting admission decisions now, however, MOST people will not find out until Mid December through end of January if they have a completed application prior to November 30th. Date of application is not relevant for date of acceptance. Decision timetables are based on major, campus, session, GPS, scores etc... and are not in order of application. </p></li>
<li><p>PSU does not see how many times you check your status on MyPennState ;) </p></li>
<li><p>ONLY freshmen live in East Halls, but freshmen also live in Pollack and North. North has suite style dorms, and freshmen can live there, but there are a lot of upperclassmen as well. </p></li>
<li><p>Sororities live on campus, Fraternities live off campus</p></li>
<li><p>Going to main campus from a branch campus is dependent on meeting the requirements for your major, which is why it takes most people two years. You can discuss with your academic advisor if it is possible to UP sooner if you have dual enrollment credits etc...but most will do the 2+2 if you start at a branch and wish to go to UP. </p></li>
<li><p>Summer session - if you select summer session as an option, you must actually be open to that. If you are accepted into summer, you cannot change into fall admission. </p></li>
<li><p>gym memberships are $50 a semester or $100 a year and include classes and equipment etc..</p></li>
<li><p>There were a lot of specific questions about Shreyers and different majors. I copied the chat into a word document. I don't know if it's possible to attach that here in CC anywhere? </p></li>
<li><p>LOR are NOT considered in regular applications. EC's are considered as is legacy status. </p></li>
<li><p>If anything in your application has changed since you applied, you should contact admissions. </p></li>
<li><p>No preference given to OOS vs. In State vs. International</p></li>
<li><p>If you want to participate in the next chat, you can register on their admissions website <a href="http://admissions.psu.edu/info/chats/">http://admissions.psu.edu/info/chats/</a>
The next chat is November 10th. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>I hope that helps some people! It was a beneficial chat for my DD. </p>
<p>Forgot to mention…they also said to check your status in the morning…it will only change once per day (I think at night sometime) according to PSU admissions. </p>
<p>Thank you! Great info! I will register for the chat on the 10th. I have noticed most people getting notification/accepted at this point are for Business or Engineering… did they mention dates/times which different majors would hear? My daughter would fall under College of Agricultural Sciences at UP…</p>
<p>@TLD1267 They didn’t specify which colleges or departments would hear. When asked how it is determined who hears when, the admissions counselor said:
“there are a variety of factors including major, GPA, test scores, campus selection that all factor into when a student would hear. At this time of year, it is frustrating, but it is best to be patient” </p>
<p>I forgot to add a few things:
They also said that trends in GPA don’t really matter. Your overall GPA matters. So it appears that contrary to my belief, it doesn’t matter if you had an improving trend, etc…Just that final 9-11th grade number. They said they DO NOT USE 12th grade grades in their decisions (the capital letters was theirs)
The best time to call admissions is between 10-12 and 3-5
when asked about EC’s, the admissions counselor said “we consider activities in our decision, but academics are the primary factor”
They do convert GPA’s so that everyone is evaluated fairly against each other. (taking into account school grading scale etc…). </p>
<p>That’s all I can think of right now. I’ll have to check the chat transcript to see if I left anything important out!</p>
<p>As far as dorms, freshman are also in West and South. Sororities are located in South; they have their own floors. There are also Special Living Options (SLO’s) - where you can choose to dorm with others in your major or interest (ex: Earth House).</p>
<p>It was asked specifically if they consider legacy and they said it is considered. I would guess it’s not high on criteria list, but it might push a borderline student over the line. I know they asked about legacy on the application. My daughter is a double legacy so I’m hoping that helps! </p>
<p>I’m applying to the same college as well! As a Veterinary & Biomedical Science major. I’ve seen most people are being accepted to Communications, Science, or Engineering. I’m wondering if what school you are applying to is a factor. </p>
<p>I would imagine it is a factor…for 1 thing I would assume those majors/schools have a greater # of applications. I am happy so far that I haven’t seen a single thread or comment related to the College of Ag Sci…makes me think they haven’t started reviewing apps yet…my daughter got her app in mid Sept and her transcripts were sent early Oct. Her intended major is Animal Science.</p>
<p>Quick question about the summer session, it is of my understanding that you are first evaluated for fall and if your scores are too low you are placed in summer, yes?</p>
<p>@5melissa1234 They will evaluate you first for fall. If you can’t be oferred admission to fall, they will then consider you for summer IF you selected that option on your application. Summer admission is a little less difficult than fall. But, they won’t offer you summer if you didn’t select it as an option. Lastly, if your stats won’t get you into fall or summer, they offer you a branch campus…Again, IF you put a branch as a back up. If you don’t put a branch back up you can simply just get a denial if you don’t meet UP criteria for fall or summer. Basically, the way I look at it, the more options you select and are open to, the better the opportunity for admission. </p>
<p>Another weeks passes with no change to my daughter’s status…did they mention during the chat if they post changes over the weekend? Wondering if I should bother checking the next to mornings.</p>
<p>thanks for the great info. My DS did not put Summer or alternative campus BC he only wants Fall/Smeal. I hope they dont view that as a lack of interest. </p>
<p>I don’t think PSU Admissions worries about interest. They are reviewing approx. 120,000 applications and make the best decisions they can. If your DS gets denied, he can call/email Admissions and let them know he would be amenable to Summer or alternate campus if he changes his mind. If he doesn’t want either, then it doesn’t pay to put summer/alt. campus in his application. My older DD and the one that applied this year were adamant that if they didn’t get Fall and UP, they weren’t interested. Your son is not alone in this. Good luck!</p>