Hey, I was just wondering if anyone could give me some insight on my chances at Penn state next year(I’m a Junior). I know that there are a lot of subjective parts of the college admission process, but I just want to have an idea if penn state would be a safety or match school for me based solely on stats.
SAT I: 2230/2400 and 1540/1600 (800 math, 740 reading, and 690 writing 10 essay). I also got a 221 on my PSAT so I’ll probably be at least a semifinalist (Pennsylvania)
Unweighted GPA: Based on my school its a 3.96 but I got 3 B+'s so I think that’s wrong. I tried to convert it to a normal scale and I got something like 3.833
Weighted GPA: My school has a weird system so its like 4.97. On a system based out of 5( add .5 for honors and 1 for AP), I think I have a 4.35.
Class Rank: I wasn’t looking into competitive colleges as a freshman and sophomore so my class rank was 39/558 at the beginning of the this school year. It is now 19/558 after one semester and it will likely go up.
AP Classes: Due to scheduling errors, I was not able to take AP Chemistry this year but I was able to take AP Statistics. Next year I hope to take AP Chem AB, AP Calc AB, AP Calc BC, AP Micro, AP physics AB, and AP physics BC. My school has 4 classes one semester and 4 new ones the next semester.
EC’s: I know these are subjective so I will just list them.
-Robotics Club (FTC) since 10th grade. Co-Captain this year and most likely Captain next year
-Anchor Club (Community Service) no position
Peer Tutoring in Math since 10th grade
Rec soccer for 11 years
Habitat for Humanity (started this year)
Summer Job at local children’s amusement park (around 35 hrs/ week)
I’m definitely more math, science, and engineering oriented as compared to English and the humanities, but I still want to take English classes. I think I would want to major in physics or mechanical engineering. What do you think my chances would be?
Schools like Penn State are not safety schools unless they have some automatic admission for you based on your locale or grades. A safety is a school that you have 100% chance of both admission and funding.
ETA: Apply to Schreyer!! We get good scholarships in general, early scheduling, small classes, good advising, and lots of study-abroad money, should you want that.
Apply prior to November 30th and I think you will have no problem getting in. If you put summer as a possible starting semester I’d say your chances are extremely high as well. No one will give you a 100% chance you will make it in because Penn State admissions is strange sometimes and we’ve all seen really weird anomalies on both ends of the spectrum (kids who got in that we didn’t think would and kids who didn’t get in who we all thought were shoe ins).
That being said, I think if you apply by the priority deadline and finish strong this year, I think you won’t have any problems. Good luck!
Okay, no. And I will tell you why.
While you are SUPER qualified and have AMAZING stats, Penn State is easiest to get into the earlier you apply because of space. At this point of the year you are super late in the proccess. Secondly, colleges want a high yield. They want most of the people they offer admission to, to attend. When someone has too overqualified stats, they actually might reject you assuming you are using them as a safety and do not plan to enroll
And PSU doesn’t really do that “reject the overqualified” thing. I don’t think many state schools do, if any at all. Otherwise safeties wouldn’t exist.
Not sure what else you are looking for as an answer. You are obviously a strong candidate with a high likelihood of admission, but no one can tell you that you will definitely get admitted.
Despite your chances not being 100%, they are probably 99.9%. Penn State is a great school but I know many students who were underqualified and got in summer semester. The only reason you would be rejected would be for applying extremely late or for having some behavioral/legal history. Assuming you have neither of these issues, I would count PSU as a safety.
With this kind of credentials, you should be applying to some of the most elite universities in the US. If you’re in Pennsylvania, why don’t you apply to colleges, such as Swarthmore, U of Penn, and CMU?
I originally went to Penn State because of my family’s unexpected financial situation, but I regretted the choice and transferred to another prestigious institution during my freshman year. Looking back, this might have been one of the smartest decisions I’ve ever made in my life.
Sure, the cost of attendance at some of these colleges is insane. But you have to realize that your education and diploma last a lifetime. I think it is worth the cost and effort to go to these elite colleges.
Send me a PM if you have any questions. I would actually love to talk with you. Thanks
@jss402 Thanks for replying. I think you might have been mistaken because I’m just looking at Penn State for a safety. I would still love to go to penn state though. I was looking at Cornell, Lehigh, Bucknell, Carnegie Mellon and possibly Princeton or MIT. Could you chance me for these schools?
Would you mind giving me your SAT II SUBJECT TEST scores because they are mandatory requirements in some of these colleges. Otherwise, you have a good chance of getting into top notch schools because your exceptionally high SAT score stands you out among other applicants. Please take advantage of Early Bird application.
As a fellow engineer, I must ask you this: what field of Engineering are you going to study at PSU?
@jss402 I haven’t taken the SAT II’s yet. I’m taking the math 2 one in June and either the chemistry or physics next October. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to apply early decision because my family needs to compare the financial aid packages I’ll get. As for the type of engineering, I was thinking mechanical, aerospace, or engineering science/physics.