UNDERGRADUATE ADMISSION

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Penn State’s undergraduate admissions team is here to help you navigate the university’s application process. The Office of Undergraduate Admissions wants to ensure you have the tools and information necessary to decide if Penn State fits you.

Penn State undergraduate admissions

The Penn State University Undergraduate Admission is a public research university in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States. Its main campus is located in University Park, Pennsylvania, about 10 miles (16 km) from downtown State College and 80 miles (130 km) from New York City. The university offers more than 250 majors across its 24 colleges and schools. It has five satellite centres located at other sites throughout central and eastern Pennsylvania: Harrisburg , Lehigh Valley, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Scranton.

The university traced its origins to 1755 when it was known as the Farmers’ High School of Pennsylvania; it was renamed The Agricultural College of Pennsylvania in 1855 before acquiring its current name in 1863.

Transfer students

Transfer admission requirements

You must have earned at least 24 transferable semester hours (or 36 quarter hours) with a GPA of 2.00 or higher in any college-level coursework attempted.
You can apply to Penn State using the common application on this website and at www.commonapp.org. If you are applying from an institution other than Penn State, you must apply for admission via their website first, then complete the University Undergraduate Admissions Application (UAA). Applications received after these dates will be considered on a space-available basis only.* Freshmen admitted to another institution may only apply through this process if they have decided not to attend it.* The recommended application deadline is December 1st; however, early action candidates should submit their applications as soon as possible after October 1st because we begin reviewing them immediately, and some programs reach capacity before other programs do.* We strongly recommend completing all required documents ahead of time so that we may expedite processing once your application has been submitted – incomplete packages will delay processing time significantly!

International students

International students are welcome to apply for undergraduate admission at Penn State. International students must meet the exact admission requirements as domestic students, including submitting an application and test scores by the appropriate deadlines. Additionally, international applicants must provide documentation of English proficiency (see below).

International applicants must submit an international student application and pay a $30 non-refundable fee with their application materials by our published deadline (January 1st). This can be done online through your MyPennState account or via mail with a check made out to “Penn State University.” Please note that all materials sent via mail must include an international student check box on the envelope or letterhead when mailed from outside the United States; otherwise, it could take longer than expected for us to receive them!

We recommend submitting all required materials well in advance of our published deadline dates so that we have ample time to process them before classes begin in August/September each year; however, we will accept late submissions as long as they arrive before registration starts at your campus location(s) — please refer back up top where we list these dates/times specifically per region across North America since some places differ slightly depending upon where they’re located geographically within Canada/U S territory versus others outside those borders.

Adults (post-baccalaureate/non-traditional)

Adults are defined as students who are age 25 or older. All applicants for adult undergraduate programs must submit the following:

A completed application for admission, including all required credentials and supporting documents;
An essay (750 words or less) describing your reasons for applying to Penn State and how your background, experience and goals will enhance Penn State’s academic community

First-year students

To be considered for admission to Penn State, you must be a high school graduate or have the equivalent of a high school diploma. You must also meet the minimum requirements for your chosen major. If you are applying to more than one college within Penn State, you need to submit separate applications and pay an application fee for each college that accepts you as an applicant.

As part of the application process, all first-year students must take either the SAT Reasoning Test or the ACT Assessment test (not both). When making admissions decisions, these tests are combined with other factors, such as GPA and class rank.

The deadline for submitting all materials varies by campus but generally falls between November 1st–January 15th annually; please check individual campus websites for specific dates and deadlines!

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