Pennsylvania State University (2024)

FAQs

What GPA do you need to get into Penn State? ›

With a GPA of 3.68, Penn State requires you to be above average in your high school class. You'll need at least a mix of A's and B's, with more A's than B's.

Penn State is not an Ivy League school. The Ivy League is a group of eight schools: Brown University, Columbia University, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, Harvard University, Princeton University, the University of Pennsylvania, and Yale University.

Use Penn State (two words) in all communicative publications. The formal name, The Pennsylvania State University, is reserved for formal documents. Do not use PSU.

U.S. News & World Report “Best Colleges” (Undergraduate) 2024. Penn State ranks 28th among national public universities and 60th overall out of 435 national universities listed in U.S. News World Report's “Best Colleges” ranking for 2024.

The unweighted GPA requirements for Penn State are between 3.59 - 3.93 and 3.12 - 3.78 for University Park and Commonwealth Campus, respectively. Regardless of the campus you apply to, you will need a moderately high GPA and will likely be graduating at the top quarter of your class in order to get into Penn State.

Average GPA: 3.68

This makes Penn State Strongly Competitive for GPAs. (Most schools use a weighted GPA out of 4.0, though some report an unweighted GPA. With a GPA of 3.68, Penn State requires you to be above average in your high school class. You'll need a mix of A's and B's, with a leaning toward A's.

Why is Penn State so popular? Penn State offers a high-quality education and a variety of highly regarded academic programs. Penn State is also known for its sports teams, extracurricular activities, and clubs.

In-state tuition for the 2022-23 school year at Penn State was $19,286. That's more than the average for public four-year universities at $10,940 per year. Many students take out student loans to help with Penn State tuition.

The Penn State acceptance rate for University Park, the school's most competitive campus, was 54%. Early Action applicants saw a higher acceptance rate of 68%. The Penn State acceptance rate is competitive for a public university. Of every 100 applicants, 46 will receive a rejection.

Penn State is generally regarded as a reputable and respected institution. While it may not hold the same level of prestige as Ivy League schools or some top-tier private institutions, it is still a well-regarded public university with a strong academic reputation, especially in certain fields.

Which is a better school, UPenn or Penn State? ›

UPenn has a higher tuition cost and a more selective admissions process. It has an acceptance of 6.5%. That number is even lower for international students – at 3.1%. Penn State, on the other hand, is lower in tuition costs and has a higher acceptance rate, of about 55%.

In central Pennsylvania close to University Park, Penn State Altoona offers the appeal of a small college with the prestige of a major research university.

1. University of Pennsylvania. The University of Pennsylvania (Penn, or UPenn) is a private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia.

The Pennsylvania State University—University Park's ranking in the 2024 edition of Best Colleges is National Universities, #60.

The most popular majors at The Pennsylvania State University--University Park include: Engineering; Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services; Computer and Information Sciences and Support Services; Communication, Journalism, and Related Programs; Social Sciences; Biological and Biomedical Sciences; ...