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Penn State University Park Common Data Set 2025-26
PATest policy: Test-optional: SAT/ACT not required for first-year applicants, considered if submittedCompare with other schoolsAP credit policy
Acceptance rate
55.3%
58,952 of 106,547
Early decision rate
No ED
SAT middle 50%
1280–1410
ACT middle 50%
28–32
Who got into Penn State University Park: GPA and SAT of reported applicants
Accepted 255Waitlisted 6Rejected 11Preview
Self-reported by 272 applicants on Reddit, so it leans toward strong applicants and isn't Penn State University Park's official data. 5 with lower scores are off the chart but counted in the table. See your chances
See who got into Penn State University Park
GPA and SAT of 272 reported applicants, accepted vs. rejected.
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| AppliedC1 | 106,547 |
| AdmittedC1 | 58,952 |
| EnrolledC1 | 9,148 |
| YieldC1 | 15.5% |
| Early decisionC21 | Not offered |
| Early actionC22 | Offered, counts not reported |
Waitlist
| Offered a placeC2 | 2,109 |
| Accepted a placeC2 | 1,153 |
| Admitted from waitlistC2 | 46 |
| Odds if you stay on the listC2 | 4% |
Test scores and GPA
| Submitted SATC9 | 28.6% |
| Submitted ACTC9 | 5% |
| SAT Reading & Writing (25th–75th)C9 | 630–710 |
| SAT Math (25th–75th)C9 | 630–720 |
| Average high school GPAC12 | 3.67 |
| GPA of 4.0C11 | 8% |
| GPA 3.75–3.99C11 | 38% |
| GPA 3.50–3.74C11 | 29% |
| GPA below 3.50C11 | 24% |
Cost and financial aid
| Tuition, in-stateG1 | $20,878 |
| Tuition, out-of-stateG1 | $44,574 |
| Required feesG1 | $640 |
| Food and housingG1 | $15,968 |
| Need fully met (first-years)H2 | 43.6% |
| Average % of need metH2 | 68.6% |
| Average need-based packageH2 | $12,659 |
| Average need-based grantH2 | $8,430 |
What admissions looks at
- Rigor of secondary school recordImportant
- Class rankNot considered
- Academic GPAVery important
- Standardized test scoresConsidered
- Application essayNot considered
- Recommendation(s)Not considered
- InterviewNot considered
- Extracurricular activitiesNot considered
- Talent/abilityConsidered
- Character/personal qualitiesNot considered
- First generationNot considered
- Alumni/ae relationNot considered
- Geographical residenceConsidered
- State residencyConsidered
- Religious affiliation/commitmentNot considered
- Volunteer workNot considered
- Work experienceNot considered
- Level of applicant's interestNot considered
From item C7.
Outcomes
| UndergraduatesB1 | 42,822 |
| First-year retentionB22 | 92.3% |
| 4-year graduation rateB | — |
| 6-year graduation rateB | 85% |
Notes on this filing
- C1: applicant, admit and enrolled totals taken from the gender table (sums match the residency table).
- C2: waitlist rows are unlabeled in the PDF; mapped by position as offered 2109, accepted 1153, admitted 46.
- C8A/C8F: C8F clarification is truncated in the PDF ('First-year applicants to Penn State'); the C8A checkbox reads 'Not required for admission, but considered if submitted'. Both sources agree on test-optional.
- C8G: tests used for placement are SAT, ACT, AP and institutional exam.
- C11: pct_below_3_50 is the sum of the 3.25-3.49, 3.00-3.24, 2.50-2.99, 2.0-2.49 and 1.0-1.99 bands (16+6+2+0+0); the below-1.0 band is blank. Bands for the all-enrolled column sum to 99%, consistent with rounding.
- C21/C22: early action applied and admitted counts are not printed; early decision is not offered.
- B4-B21: 4-year graduation rate is not printed; 6-year rate of 85% is from the Fall 2019 cohort (H line). 4-year rate left null.
- B22: retention rate 92.3% is as printed.
- H2: pct_with_need_awarded_aid left null because the filing does not print that percentage; pct_need_fully_met computed as line h 1484 / line d 3407 = 43.6%.
- G1: Penn State has different in-state and out-of-state tuition and no single tuition figure, so tuition is null. Values are first-year column.
- H1 aid is for the 2024-25 final year, not 2025-26; H2 values are first-time full-time first-year students.
Source: Penn State University Park Common Data Set 2025-26 . “—” means the college left the item blank.