student selection

Student Application and Admission Requirements

Students may open one application in the Terra Dotta (formerly known as StudioAbroad) system per academic term; therefore, they must think carefully about which program will be the best opportunity for them. Faculty leaders will be added to the system as ‘reviewers’ and will have access to read the student applications for their program. A detailed guide on how to review applications for your program in the Terra Dotta system can be found in Appendix II.

Please note that there are minimum admission qualifications and requirements that the Education Abroad staff will check to determine applicant eligibility. If there are any applicants for your program that do not meet these qualifications, their applications will not be accepted. Please review the qualifications listed below.

• Age: Students must be at least age 18 at the start of the program.

• GPA: Students must have at least a cumulative 2.5 GPA at the time of application review. Leaders may consider students with cumulative GPAs from 2.3 - 2.5 on a limited, case-by-case basis.

• Class Standing: Students must have completed 24 credits prior to the start of the program. These credits could be a combination of transfer and advanced placement credits from high school and some credits completed as an enrolled Penn State student. Students are also expected to have completed at least one semester as a full-time Penn State student prior to departure, but students who have been enrolled on a part-time basis will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. Faculty leaders and/or the student can reach out to the Education Abroad Office for more information regarding a particular student’s enrollment history and program eligibility.

• Academic Recommendation: Students must obtain an academic recommendation from a Penn State faculty member or academic adviser other than the program leader(s). Recommendations from TAs will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

• Conduct Review: All students are subject to two conduct reviews - one before they are accepted into the program and another in the weeks before the program departs.

Faculty leaders are welcome to set increased or additional eligibility requirements if they wish (i.e., 3.0 GPA requirement, specific language requirements), but any such requirement must be listed on the program information page maintained by Education Abroad. Please contact Education Abroad if you would like to add additional requirements for admission consideration to your program.

Student Application Review Timeline

Traditionally, the deadline for summer student applications is February 1, though some highly competitive programs may utilize an earlier priority deadline. For a full listing of the deadlines visit the Education Abroad website. Please contact EA staff if you would like more information about that option. Faculty admission decisions (approve/reject) must be made by early February (EA staff will let you know the exact date each year). Faculty may access applications and enter the decision at any time before the designated review date. Students are not notified of acceptance until the decision has been confirmed, in the system, by EA staff. Students receive notification of acceptance on or about February 15 and must commit to the program by (approximately) February 22, depending on the semester calendar that year.

Education Abroad will initiate several review procedures on your program’s behalf. For example, if a student has an incomplete application in the pre-decision stage, staff in the EA office will reach out to the student and encourage them to complete it. If the applicant is unresponsive, the application will be withdrawn. Likewise, if a student does not commit in the post-review stage, staff will reach out to the student (and ask for your assistance in reaching out as well) to encourage them to commit. If the student remains unresponsive, then the application will be withdrawn. Education Abroad will also facilitate a review of all students by the Office of Student Conduct before final acceptance. Students with severe disciplinary records will not be accepted, even if the faculty leader has recommended approval of the student’s application.

Program leaders are reminded that they are principally responsible for recruiting a viable number of students. Low enrollment/application numbers as the deadline approaches may prompt the customized team to urge the leader to make a final effort to recruit more participants. It is best to approach the deadline with far more applications than the program can accommodate due to the student attrition rate which encompasses incomplete applications, students who withdraw their application, and students who decline their admission to the program. On average, 43% of applications that are started in our system do not result in the student actually participating in the program. To illustrate, if your program needs 12 students in order for the program to be financially viable, and the program has a maximum capacity of 15 due to logistical issues (i.e., limited housing, number of students allowed on certain site visits, etc.), then it is a good goal to aim for 18-22 completed applications in the system, knowing that some students won’t end up committing to participate. Of course, certain programs will have a much higher application yield, but this is general guidance that suits the majority of programs.