Nearly 200 take Penn State regional campus deal
Nearly 200 Pennsylvania State University freshmen have accepted the school's offer to forgo enrolling at the main campus in State College and attend a regional campus for their first year at a $10,000 to $20,000 discount.
Nearly 200 Pennsylvania State University freshmen have accepted the school's offer to forgo enrolling at the main campus in State College and attend a regional campus for their first year at a $10,000 to $20,000 discount.
Penn State offered the deal to about 2,800 of its 8,600 freshmen admitted to its main campus, and as of Wednesday's deadline, 190 students had signed on, said Clark Brigger, executive director of undergraduate admissions.
The university on Thursday planned to extend the offer to 5,000 more freshmen, he said. The university hopes to redirect between 400 and 500 students from the main campus.
"If we can get another 200 to 300 out of that group, then we'll be in a really good place," Brigger said.
Students will have two weeks to respond, but the option could close sooner if the university reaches its goal before the deadline, he said.
"It's first come, first served," Brigger said, "kind of like when an airline overbooks."
Penn State offered the deal as it grapples with a record freshman class at University Park, largely fueled by a last-minute surge of students deciding to enroll by the May 1 deadline, Brigger said.
Under the deal, in-state students will get $10,000 off their tuition and out-of-state students $15,000. An additional $5,000 comes off the bill if the students enroll at one of four regional campuses — Beaver, Greater Allegheny, Hazleton, or Mont Alto — and also live there.
For in-state students, the up to $15,000 in savings represents a little more than half the cost of attendance at the main campus.
The other undergraduate campuses that students can attend are Abington, Altoona, Berks, Brandywine, DuBois, Erie, Fayette, Lehigh Valley, New Kensington, Schuylkill, Shenango, Wilkes-Barre, Worthington Scranton, and York.
The savings are the result of scholarships from the university and lower tuition costs at the regional campuses. Students are guaranteed the right to move to the main campus for their sophomore year.
To cope with the swell in students, the university is also converting available space at the main campus into supplemental living areas at a reduced room rate. Other efforts include asking local students if they want to commute and asking upperclassmen scheduled to live on campus if they want to move off.
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