Penn State Admissions

[Travisscott]

Hey,

Currently a junior and getting close to the time where I’ll apply for college. Right now, penn state is my number one as I love the campus and the Criminal Justice program looks strong. My weighted gpa is a 4.41 on a 5 scale and I scored a 1400 on most recent sat. Only thing is I’m only involved with one club and I play on the football team. I worry if my limited involvement will hold me back and how hard is penn state to get into?

 

[deadlyapp]

Give up and become a plumber.

 

[Travisscott]

I’ll keep that in mind

 

[FerrelGeek]

Give up and become a plumber.

Agreed. I have a son that went to a good school to study CJ, got a good GPA along with some other very relevant experience, and he can't get a job in law enforcement to save his life. He got a very good academic scholarship and still owes a sh*t-ton in school loans. If you want to go into something like criminology or forensics, that's a different matter. If you do go the CJ route, be prepared for a lot of sociology / social justice type classes.

The trades are a very honorable profession and yes, you can make a GOOD living as a plumber, electrician, etc. I'm glad I have some decent plumbing and electrical skills; it's saved me a small fortune over the years.

So OP, find a good apprenticeship program in your area. If you really want to be a cop, go to your local community college and get an associates in CJ, then go sign up to attend a local police academy when you turn 21.

 

[slayer202]

penn state

criminal justice


see what i did there

 

[IronWing]

penn state

criminal justice

Three of the four words go together.

 

[Zeze]

lol he wants to go to Penn State and created a thread and you assholes want him to be a plumber.

 

[IronWing]

There's an opening for a pipe layer at Penn State and they're always looking for fresh talent.

 

[IronWing]

Anyway, if you want to go to Penn State, apply to Penn State. It will cost you $65 plus transcript and test results fees to apply. Apply elsewhere as well. Always have a backup plan.

 

[ponyo]

lol he wants to go to Penn State and created a thread and you assholes want him to be a plumber.

Because we're wise. I wish I would've skipped college and became a plumber.

 

[tynopik]

what are you wanting to do with your criminal justice degree?

 

[momeNt]

Jerry Sandusky was a plumber, of sorts, i suppose.

 

[FerrelGeek]

A plumber will charge you $100 or more just to walk in your door; similar for electricians. He's looking to incur a mortgage payment to graduate to a job that won't pay nearly as much as an engineer would make. Some of us on here aren't snobs and realize that there are good jobs that don't require one to potentially waste 4 years of ones life only to come away with house payment without the benefit of living in said house.

lol he wants to go to Penn State and created a thread and you assholes want him to be a plumber.

 

[Travisscott]

Ultimately I am aiming to get my bachelors in CJ while being involved with the prelate program as I want to become a defense attorney.

 

[ponyo]

I don't think Penn State is all that selective. Quick googling shows 51% acceptance rate so you have a pulse and can sign your name, you'll get in.

 

[tynopik]

http://www.universityreview.org/penn-state-university/

SAT scores for Penn State University admission requirements (25th-75th percentile) are Math 560 – 670, Reading 530 – 630, and writing 530 – 640. The total composite SAT Score range for accepted applicants is 1090 to 1300.

https://admissions.psu.edu/apply/statistics/

50% were 3.55-3.97 GPA
50% were 1230-1410 SAT

The high school record, particularly your grade-point average (GPA) and class rank (if applicable), accounts for approximately two-thirds of the decision.

should be fine

what AP courses are you doing/have you done? gotten any scores on those back?

 

[ElFenix]

Hey,

Currently a junior and getting close to the time where I’ll apply for college. Right now, penn state is my number one as I love the campus and the Criminal Justice program looks strong. My weighted gpa is a 4.41 on a 5 scale and I scored a 1400 on most recent sat. Only thing is I’m only involved with one club and I play on the football team. I worry if my limited involvement will hold me back and how hard is penn state to get into?

oh the irony


edit: i see @slayer202 and @IronWing covered this

 

[turtile]

Hey,

Currently a junior and getting close to the time where I’ll apply for college. Right now, penn state is my number one as I love the campus and the Criminal Justice program looks strong. My weighted gpa is a 4.41 on a 5 scale and I scored a 1400 on most recent sat. Only thing is I’m only involved with one club and I play on the football team. I worry if my limited involvement will hold me back and how hard is penn state to get into?

Do you live in PA? If you live there, you should get in. Otherwise, it might be a little harder. Criminal justice should be easier to get in than other majors.

It doesn't matter if you join a bunch of clubs. You have to achieve something something for it to matter. Does your club have anything to do with criminal justice? They want to see that you have invested some interest in the major rather than just picking one that sounds good.

 

[deustroop]

Its hazy now ,very so, but I do recall back in the day, it was the last day of summer holidays, before first year university.I was driving cement mixers that summer and as I hopped down from the cab, dusting the cement powder and grime off my clothes, one of the old salts said, what you going to college for ? I said, for an air conditioned office and colleagues whose vocabulary extends beyond "lets get laid and drunk, in any order". He said wisely," I'll earn more money before you're through than you will ever earn." He was full time in the best paid driving job in the city. We laughed .
He was right for a while of course. But then the immigrants came in and their numbers working for shit ruined that high paying work for everybody; and my office turned out to be in a law firm. For the first 10 years he was right , for the remaining 20, I won.
You want law as a career, then go to law school.The fact you are interested cj suggests law is not for you. Think of social work. That's where the cj grads congregate to moan, groan and complain about biases in the system .

 

[Travisscott]

Well in order to go to law school, I need a 4 year undergraduate first which is why I’m pursuing criminal justice.

 

[ultimatebob]

I don't think Penn State is all that selective. Quick googling shows 51% acceptance rate so you have a pulse and can sign your name, you'll get in.

Yeah, but most of them get accepted for the branch campuses. Only the really smart kids (or the ones that help with the diversity quota) get to go to the big State College campus.

 

[Thunder 57]

Well in order to go to law school, I need a 4 year undergraduate first which is why I’m pursuing criminal justice.

Do they have Criminology as well as Criminal Justice? It looks like they do. Criminal Justice is sort of looked down upon honestly. You would be way better off with a BS in Criminology (not their BA) if you intend to go to law school, IMHO.

 

[DaveSimmons]

So much snark in this thread. If you want to be a defense attorney and are willing to work at studying a lot harder than you did in high school then you can do it.

Wait to start with the partying until you see how much work it is to get As instead of Cs. Don't blow off the non-major courses, try for an A in everything. Look at the easy As as a safety buffer for when you mess up later.

One secret is that once you're viewed as an "A student" instead of a "C student" you'll get better treatment from the professors and TAs. They like you more than the people who just show up.

 

[Thunder 57]

So much snark in this thread. If you want to be a defense attorney and are willing to work at studying a lot harder than you did in high school then you can do it.

Wait to start with the partying until you see how much work it is to get As instead of Cs. Don't blow off the non-major courses, try for an A in everything. Look at the easy As as a safety buffer for when you mess up later.

One secret is that once you're viewed as an "A student" instead of a "C student" you'll get better treatment from the professors and TAs. They like you more than the people who just show up.

Good advice. Here is some more advice; Show up! even in large classes professors tend to notice who is there and who doesn't give a crap. That can be the difference between an A and a B, or a B and a C+. Secondly, office hours. Use them! If you have more involved questions or are struggling with something, visit your professor or TA. This again makes a great impression. They will like the effort and this too will give you the benefit of the doubt should you be borderline on a grade.

 

[sze5003]

I went to Penn State and when I applied I had a 3.8 gpa and a little over 1400 on the SAT. I got into their summer program and then I aced all those classes so I continued in the fall at main campus.

This was over 10 years ago so I'm not sure how much it has changed now. Just know that they don't give any aid unless you play sports and you are very good. I applied to many scholarships and had mostly A's in highschool. Main campus is expensive. I came back and finished at a satellite campus and still have a ton of school loans.

It is a party school just don't get involved with the wrong crowd. Also, don't take all your major courses in one semester because you won't do well. Classes are usually huge and you have to seek help on your own. I changed to IT and development from pre med after I took all the med school classes in the same semester..ended up with a like a C in chemistry and that would screw me for med school applications so spread out your courses in terms of difficulty.