Did he apply early in the admissions cycle. This may be old info, but it use to be that Penn State became harder and harder to get into the later one applied. They started taking applications in August (use to anyway), lots of applications do in then, Aug - Sept

Summer start has been a thing with Penn State for a long, long time, at least since when I went to college which was in 1985! People love it because it makes a big campus seem smaller and is a good way to make friends before fall. My niece started summer and had a great time.

My DC refused to check the summer start button and said he absolutely wouldn’t go if he had to go in the summer. He got lucky and was accepted for the main campus fall start. I think if your son really wants Penn State, he should cancel his internship and accept. It is only January, not a big deal to cancel an internship 5 months in advance.

My nephew got accepted but to a small regional campus. We applied from the West Coast so that was no longer an option.

Anonymous wrote:DS applied "EA" in the fall and heard back quickly, but isn't Penn State essentially rolling admissions? Like when they're full, they're full?

I'd heard that with Pitt and Penn State the apps needed to go in early.

But in this case, the kid will still be there in the fall of 2023. They will just also be there in the summer of 2023.

DS applied "EA" in the fall and heard back quickly, but isn't Penn State essentially rolling admissions? Like when they're full, they're full?

I'd heard that with Pitt and Penn State the apps needed to go in early.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There should be no 'shocked' anymore in regards to anything college admissions related. High stats does not guarantee a thing.

OP - I think I am shocked because there are so many College Confidential posts with Fall acceptances and the stats are well below his. But yes, I agree there should be no “shocked” anymore.

Could it be his app was much later than these you are seeing on CC?

OP - I assume this may be a factor, but not sure. Scrolling through an FB college post on this topic shows that a number of higher stat kids encountered this during an earlier round of acceptances. It appears most, like my kid, clicked the optional summer start button (we didn’t know about the internship then and had no idea PSU would turn the option into a requirement). Some parents said it’s a way for PSU to make extra money, rather than “ease” certain kids into college.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There should be no 'shocked' anymore in regards to anything college admissions related. High stats does not guarantee a thing.

OP - I think I am shocked because there are so many College Confidential posts with Fall acceptances and the stats are well below his. But yes, I agree there should be no “shocked” anymore.

Could it be his app was much later than these you are seeing on CC?

Anonymous wrote:If its completley off the table, why even start a thread on it?

Frustration? Commiseration? People start threads for lots of reasons PP.

Anonymous wrote:If its completley off the table, why even start a thread on it?

Maybe to share their story. Isn’t that the point of this site?

Anonymous wrote:There should be no 'shocked' anymore in regards to anything college admissions related. High stats does not guarantee a thing.

OP - I think I am shocked because there are so many College Confidential posts with Fall acceptances and the stats are well below his. But yes, I agree there should be no “shocked” anymore.

If its completley off the table, why even start a thread on it?

Could he start second semester (Spring of 2024)?

There should be no 'shocked' anymore in regards to anything college admissions related. High stats does not guarantee a thing.

Kid got his PSU decision tonight and is required to do a summer start. We are a bit shocked by this as DS’s GPA is about the highest end for PSU and SAT is above the 50% percentile. He has high rigor - 14 APs. He also has lots of volunteering and leadership activities. PSU was his second choice but now it’s completely out of the running as summer start is not an option given a summer internship that was already accepted.

Anyone else encounter this?