Pennsylvania State University, or Penn State, is a public university located in University Park, also known as Happy Valley. Founded in 1855, the school was originally a land-grant institution, meaning that the school was offered money by the state in exchange for offering agricultural courses and research. Today, the school, situated in an urban setting on about 8,000 acres, is well known for its full range of undergraduate and graduate programs. (Especially through the College of Education and the College of Engineering.) Penn State has one of the country’s largest graduate schools, with about 6,500 post-grad students. Penn State offers more than 150 online degree and professional programs to about thousands more students through its World Campus program. The school also places a large importance on research. Over $2 million in research activity takes place every single day at Penn State.
Penn State’s undergraduate program serves nearly 41,000 students. The student to faculty ratio is around 14 to 1, with about 31% of classes with fewer than 20 students. The school’s most popular majors include business/marketing; engineering; communications/journalism; social sciences; and biological/life sciences. There are also many opportunities for students to join extracurricular activities. Penn State currently offers more than 950 organizations and clubs, including Thespians, Blue Band, and Glee Club. The Greek scene thrives and Penn State has one of the largest Greek systems in the country. There are more than 90 sororities and fraternities. About 17% of men are affiliated with a fraternity and 20% of women with a sorority.
Many students at Penn State become involved in community service. The school holds THON, which is the largest student-run philanthropy organization in the world. About 15,000 students volunteer every year to help raise money for pediatric cancer research and awareness. Students can also work for the newspaper, “The Daily Collegian” or the online edition, “The Digital Collegian.” Penn State students also have a blog called “Onward State.”
One of the school’s biggest draws is football. The school mascot is the Nittany Lion, named after the lions that used to roam the area. The football team competes in the Division I B1G. Their home games are played at Beaver Stadium, one of the largest stadiums in the country which seats over 107,000. Other sports teams compete in the NCAA Division I-A, Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA) for men’s volleyball, Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) for men’s lacrosse, and American Collegiate Hockey Association. Students interested in a large student population and many extracurricular activities should look into Penn State’s programs.
Acceptance Rate
Academic Qualifications
SAT Range (25 to 75 Percentile)
ACT Range (25 to 75 Percentile)
Admissions Information
Freshmen Admissions
Number of 2018 (Class of 2022) applicants: 52,742
Enrolled: 8,075
Yield: 27.1%
Acceptance rate: 56.5%
Transfer Admissions
Number of 2018 (Class of 2022) transfer applicants: 1,973
Admitted: 913
Transfer acceptance rate: 46.3%
Waitlist Admissions Statistics
Number of 2018 (Class of 2022) waitlisted applicants: 105
Admitted: 76
Waitlist acceptance rate: 72.4%
Academic Qualifications
Average GPA: N/A
Top 10% of High School: 42.81%
Middle SAT Range (25 to 75 Percentile)
SAT Critical Reading: 580-660
SAT Math: 580-700
Middle ACT Range (25 to 75 Percentile)
ACT Composite: 25-30
ACT English: 25-33
ACT Math: 25-30
Standardized Test Requirements
SAT/ACT required
Writing portion not required
SAT Subject Tests not required
Graduation Rates
Loan Defaults and Rhodes Scholars
Salary After Attending
R&D Expenditures
Campus Safety
Score Card Information
Graduation Rates
4 years: 66.4%
5 years: 82.8%
6 years: 85.0%
Loan default rate: 5.2%
Total Rhodes Scholars: 2
Salary after attending: $50,100
R&D Expenditures: $854.8 million
Campus Safety
Sex offenses: 51
Robberies: 5
Aggravated assaults: 15
Burglaries: 65
Car thefts: 0
Arsons: 7
Net Cost and Total Expected Cost of Attendance
Average In State Net Price By Income
Student Debt
Additional Information
In-state tuition, room and board (2018-2019): $29,716
Total Estimated Cost of Attendance (2018-2019)
In-state: $33,167
Out-of-state: $48,395
Net Cost (in-state)
Average: $25,346
By income
$0 to $30,000: $21,514
$30,001 to $48,000: $22,101
$48,001 to $75,000: $26,602
$75,001 to $110,000: $32,131
$110,001 and more: $34,177
Graduates with student debt: 53%
Average student debt at graduation: $38,695
Student Residence
Undergraduate Class Sizes
Student to Faculty Ratio
Student Population
Additional Information
Student to Faculty Ratio: 14.3 to 1
Women: 46%
Undergraduate Class Sizes
Under 20: 31%
20 to 39: 40%
40 to 99: 21%
100+: 8%
Student Population
Total: 47,119
Undergraduate: 40,835
Student Residence
In State: 53%
Out of State: 36%
International: 10%
Unknown: 1%
