Answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs) relating to the Accepted Student process for Penn State undergraduate applicants.
Students may decline a waitlist invitation through their MyPennState portal. If a waitlist space was already confirmed, please email admissions@psu.edu with your request and an offer of admission to your alternate choice campus will be processed.
Communications occur via email to the account listed on the student's application. If this is a high school email address, students are encouraged to contact admissions@psu.edu to update to a personal account to avoid issues with firewalls and post high school graduation expirations. Student can review the offer of admission and accepted their offer of admissions by access their MyPennState portal.
An offer of admission will be viewable in the MyPennState portal once available and will include the intended area of study, starting term, and starting campus. after carefully reviewing their admission details, students can accept their offer and pay required deposits through their MyPennState portal. If deciding not to attend Penn State, offers can be declined in the MyPennState portal, which isn't required, but will indicate there's no longer interest in attending Penn State.
Students admitted to the Summer or Fall semester will have until the deadline of May 15th to accept their Penn State offer by accessing their MyPennState portal. Students applying and receiving offers late or those accepted into the Spring semester will see an acceptance deadline listed within their individualized offer letter. After the stated deadline, Penn State offers may be expired.
Accepted students can accept an offer and pay required deposits through their MyPennState portal after carefully reviewing their admission details.Review our accepted student checklist for more information.
May 15 is the desired date for accepting your offer of admission at Penn State. The sooner students accept the offer of admission to Penn State, the sooner they will be able to:
As the start of of the Summer and Fall 2024 semesters approach some programs and campus options may be limited. Admitted students should check their MyPennState profile for an up-to-date application status.
The deadline to accept your offer of admission to Penn State is May 15, but we understand that as an international student, you may require additional time to gather materials and complete paperwork. If you need an extension, please email us at admissions@psu.edu with the subject line: International Student Deadline Extension.
Students accepting their offer of admission to Penn State will be required to submit an official high school transcript after graduation showing the date when the diploma was awarded. To be considered official, transcripts must be sent directly to Penn State from the high school via mail, fax, or electronic delivery. Please review our instructions for submitting a Final High School Transcript under our accepted student pages.
Utilize the Accepted Student Checklist to view resources and next steps to help keep track of everything taking place before arriving on campus, including a list of frequently asked questions, required immunizations, among other important items.
This year, Penn State saw an increase in the number of applications to University Park and, as a result, the competitiveness of credentials also increased. Most spaces for University Park have been committed, but we did identify a group of talented students to remain in consideration for University Park through the waitlist invitation. Students have been invited onto the waitlist based on their academic credentials. We are not able to place you on the waitlist by request. Students should email admissions@psu.edu if they have further waitlist specific questions.
Students invited onto the University Park waitlist can confirm their place through their MyPennState portal. There is no guarantee that remaining on the waitlist will yield an offer of admission to University Park. Should space become available, students will be selected based on the strength of their academic credentials. Students could also decline their place on the waitlist and be offered admission to their alternate choice campus at any time. Please contact admissions@psu.edu to speak further about available Penn State options.
Application change requests can be sent by students to admissions@psu.edu to speak further with an admissions counselor. Students currently on the waitlist updating their application selections will remain on the waitlist until these decisions can be released.
Accepted students can accept an offer and pay required deposits through their MyPennState portal after carefully reviewing their admission details. If deciding not to attend Penn State, offers can be declined in the MyPennStaet portal, which isn't required, but will indicate there's no longer interest in attending Penn State.
University Park housing assignments are typically released in mid-July for the fall semester, and earlier for new students beginning in the summer semester. Please review our Housing Process information for incoming first-year students at the University Park campus. Students living on campus at other locations are best to check with their specific campus' Housing Office.
First-year students attending Penn State University Park, Behrend, and Schuylkill are required to live on campus. An exemption may be provided to those residing with a parent/legal guardian within a certain range of campus, students over the age of 21, and a few other limited situations. Please visit the Housing site to select a specific campus location to learn more.
Please email admissions@psu.edu with any request to defer an offer of admission to learn about potential options.
If admitted to University Park for the summer option, attendance at the 6-week session running late June through mid-August is required. If unable to attend, students can contact the admissions office to instead select a commonwealth campus for a fall semester start. Popular and unique summer programs including the Learning Edge Academic Program (LEAP) and the outdoor orientation program AURORA are available for registration to first-year summer students.
Applications have been reviewed and an admissions decision provided for the stated starting campus and term as well as intended major. Updates can be requested by contacting admissions@psu.edu for an additional review and to discuss available options.
An enrollment fee, deposit, as well as a $100 housing deposit (if applicable) are due at the time of accepting an offer of admission. Fees and deposits, totaling up to $330, are collected online. All acceptance fees are non-refundable.
All acceptance fees are non-refundable.
Penn State offers a wide variety of dates through the Spring semester based on the accepted student's offered campus and program of study. Students will receive an email invitation with available Accepted Student Program events and registration options that meet their offer. Students do not need to have accepted their offer of admission to attend. Review our accepted student information for more information on next steps in the enrollment process.
All new first-year students to Penn State must participate in New Student Orientation (NSO). During NSO, you will meet with students, faculty, and staff; begin to develop academic and co-curricular goals; become familiar with campus resources; and schedule courses for your first semester to begin putting your academic plan into action. Students are invited to attend NSO after accepting their offer of admission.
The Honors College usually announces admissions decisions in the spring by the beginning of March. Penn State admissions decisions are announced first and all applicants to the Schreyer Honors College must have an admissions offer to Penn State.
Please review the Schreyer Honors College information for first-year students for more details.
All first-year students must participate in New Student Orientation (NSO) and complete all required tasklist items.
Students will schedule their first semester of Penn State courses with their academic adviser as part of New Student Orientation.
Students often change their minds! Penn State admits the majority of new students into a pre-major status to allow further flexibility. Students are admitted into the Penn State academic college in which they applied, that may or may not hold the new major of interest. Please contact the admissions office at admissions@psu.edu to discuss the available options for a review into a different area of study. Students will have an opportunity to consider academic options with an academic advisor during their New Student Orientation.
New students will meet with an academic adviser within their intended area of study as part of New Student Orientation. Afterwards, an official academic adviser will be assigned to each student dependent on their intended major. Contact information will be viewable in LionPATH once an adviser is assigned.
A variety of events are planned for students with an offer of admission (Accepted Students) to learn more about Penn State, their academic college, and next steps while making their college decision. Typically Accept Student Programs (ASPs) are held weekdays during the Spring semester with limited Saturday availability. Students with an offer of admission to the Summer or Fall semester will receive email communication stating in-person and virtual session options. Registration is required to attend and students are only permitted to register for one in-person session within the academic college and campus location they've been admitted. Review or Accepted Student Program pages to register for available programs.
Popular Accepted Student Program (ASP) dates can fill quickly. Unfortunately due to space capacities additional registrations usually can't be added once an event is full. However, cancellations do occur, so students are encouraged to keep an eye on their academic college's ASP event page. Registration is only available for one on-campus ASP date per admitted student.
Penn State encourages students to submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FASFA) for various merit and need-based aid opportunities. The FASFA is required to receive Financial Aid packages and should be filled out annually.
Visit the Scholarships and Awards page to learn about Penn State's scholarship and award opportunities.
The Office of Student Aid provides an overview of available scholarships and award requirements.
Annual physicals are recommended for all students. Involvement in specific sports, clubs, or activities may have specific requirements. Review the required health information for incoming Penn State students as part of our Accepted Student Checklist. For questions or more information, visit the University Health Services website.
All incoming Penn State students must provide proof of immunization against certain diseases. Immunization requirements and recommendations can be found as part of our Accepted Student Checklist. For questions or more information, visit the University Health Services website.
All incoming Penn State students must provide proof of immunization against measles, mumps and rubella. In accordance with Pennsylvania state law, students living in on-campus housing must also provide proof of the meningococcal conjugate vaccine (Menveo, Menactra, MCV4), which protects against infections caused by serogroups A, C, W and Y.
Immunization requirements are excluded at the World Campus and Great Valley campus. Visit the University Health Services (UHS) website to learn more.
First-year students at the University Park campus aren't permitted to have cars on campus. However, most Penn State Commonwealth Campus locations can provide student permits to newly enrolled students.
Meal Plan options along with a list of Frequently Asked Questions can be viewed on the LiveOn website.
Penn State can award credit to future students for previous college work completed, examinations, and other experience. Enrolled students can provide official transcripts to the Undergraduate Admissions Office to be added to their Penn State record. Learn about courses and grades accepted, the submission process, as well as view the tuition advisory statement on our academic credit page.