Admission to Penn State is competitive.
The Office of Admissions considers the following criteria in granting adult admission. An adult learner may be:
- 24 years of age or older, or
- A veteran of the armed services, or
- Returning to school after four or more years of employment, homemaking, or other activity, or
- A person who assumes multiple adult roles such as parent, spouse/partner, employee, and student
For Adult Learner First - Year Admissions
SAT I, or ACT scores will be waived for adult applicants who have been out of high school five or more years or veterans who have served in the military four years with an honorable discharge. In addition we will review each applicant's high school coursework and/or GED individually as we consider you for admission.
Learn more about first-year admissions »
For Adult Learner Transfer Admissions
An applicant who has not met entrance requirements or achieved a 2.00 grade-point average on a 4.00 scale for graded courses taken at institutions previously attended and who has been absent from the institution(s) for four calendar years may apply to enroll in credit courses as a provisional student.
Learn more about transfer admissions »
For Re-enrollment
If you attended Penn State previously as a degree candidate and want to return, the process that you follow is called re-enrollment.
Learn more about re-enrollment »