What are my chances of getting into Penn State?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>I'm currently a junior. I just received my SAT scores from May 5th, and it's starting to make me really doubt my chances of being accepted to a good state school such as Penn State. I'm going to study over the summer and try to re-take the SAT and ACT in the fall, but here's my information:</p>

<p>I'm the child of two low-income, disabled parents. I'm also Hispanic. </p>

<p>I have a 3.75 UW GPA for my junior year (I took 5 Honors and 1 AP class this year--I ended up receiving a B in Honors Pre-calculus and a B+ in Honors Chemistry, but the rest were solid As), and a 4.0 for my sophomore year.</p>

<p>My rank is 8/356.</p>

<p>My classes for next year are:
AP Biology
AP English
AP Psychology
Calculus I (I'm not AP material for math... Lol.)
+ Electives
By the time I graduate, I'll have taken 4 AP classes out of the total 8 my school offers.</p>

<p>May 5th SAT score:
Math - 530
CR - 540
Writing - 590 (Essay: 9)
Not quite sure what happened. :p All the practice tests I took almost guaranteed me an 1800+, so this came as quite a shock. I tend to freeze up on standardized tests, so it probably explains why my scores are so different than expected... or they made a mistake.</p>

<p>Extracurriculars (I'm not quite sure which of these exactly "qualify" as extracurricular):
- Ice skating (I took lessons for a full year, but now I just skate for fun)
- Member of my school's Medical Careers Club (2 years)
- Counselor at a summer camp (Volunteer for one week/50 hours)
- Volunteer at a hospice (8 months/35 hours)
- Observing/Job shadowing a surgeon (3 months/50 hours)
- Volunteer at an animal shelter (One week/10 hours)
I have other hobbies/activities I enjoy doing, but they're not "organized". I realize I should probably get more extracurriculars, since I obviously don't stick with things for very long. Since my parents are disabled, it's difficult for them to drive me places and I don't have my license yet.</p>

<p>I realize I'm not the most interesting student in the world, and I'm certainly not the brightest. However, I want to major in Biology, and if by some miracle, get accepted into medical school or physician assistant school. If you could chance me for Penn State (Temple University is my second choice), that would be splendid. :D</p>

2

<p>How about guaranteed admission to a PA program. There are several colleges that offer freshmen entry to a 5 year program. Your grades are good enough. Unfortunately, I don’t think Penn State has this program, but at least 15 other colleges in PA do.</p>

3

<p>Well if Penn State really makes GPA 2/3 of their decision, then you’d have a pretty good chance. Class rank/GPA is good - all of those except for ice skating are EC’s. I’m the same situation as you - good class rank/gpa but not the best test taker. Good luck to you, Penn State is my top choice too</p>

4

<p>I’ve also heard that Penn State really takes GPA into account (I didn’t know it was 2/3, though!), so hopefully that makes up for my SAT scores. Maybe I do have a chance. :smiley: Good luck to you too!</p>

<p>@toledo Thanks. I’ll look into that. It’d be nice to graduate in 5 years instead of 6 in case I decide to take the PA route.</p>

5

<p>I think you’re set for penn state. As a large public school, they take gpa and test scores into account more than anything else. Your test scores are questionable but your gpa is awesome as well as your class rank so I think you could get in and you could possibly get some scholarship money but not too much because it is a state school!</p>

6

<p>When you practice for the SAT, try to make your surroundings as similar to the actual test as possible. Sit down at home or at a library: don’t allow yourself food/drink while you’re working, make sure you stick to the time limits (use a timer), and go through the entire practice test. If you can afford to take a SAT prep class, do that too. Bring up all those sections above 600! </p>

<p>I think your SAT is the only thing that (might) hold you back but your GPA/rank is great. You should also try to hold some significant leadership positions in your extracurriculars if possible. Good luck!</p>

7

<p>Thanks! I’m really hoping that I can raise my SAT scores, because they really were a disappointment after the studying I did (I received a 1640 on the PSAT’s with no studying… 1660 on the SAT’s a year later with a lot of studying). I’m also going to give the ACT’s a try and see if there is any drastic difference in the scores.</p>