Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus
University Park, PA
Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus is a public research university in University Park, Pennsylvania, a small city, with 42,284 undergraduates. Engineering and computer science are its signature fields: together they make up 26% of its bachelor's degrees, about twice their share across the colleges we cover. 86% of students finish within six years, and former students who are working earn a median of $63,435 ten years after starting.
Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus admitted 58,952 of 106,547 applicants for the fall 2025 entering class (55.3%).
- Acceptance rate
- 55.3%
- Fall 2025 class
- In-state tuition
- $20,644
- $41,790 out of state
- Paid after aid
- $32,875
- Average, students with aid
- SAT, middle 50%
- 1280–1410
Every figure on this page is published by the college or a federal survey, compiled by GoodGoblin, and carries the source it came from. They describe the fall 2025 entering class, a read on the school, not a prediction about any one applicant.
What Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus is known for
Measured by the 10,770 bachelor's degrees it awarded in 2022–23, and what its graduates went on to earn.
Engineering
14.7%
of its bachelor's degrees: about twice the 6.9% share across the colleges we cover.
Computer science
11.5%
of its bachelor's degrees: about twice the 5.6% share across the colleges we cover.
- Finance and Financial Management Services5775.4% of degrees$96,714+16% vs $83,343 nationally
- Information Science/Studies4894.5% of degrees$91,671+7% vs $85,294 nationally
- Computer and Information Sciences4584.3% of degrees$120,729+31% vs $92,374 nationally
- Psychology4464.1% of degrees$49,543About the $50,706 national median
- Mechanical Engineering3743.5% of degrees$87,997About the $92,135 national median
- Marketing3613.4% of degrees$79,343+14% vs $69,303 nationally
Source: the College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education), field-of-study data. Degrees are bachelor's degrees awarded in 2022–23. Earnings are the median for 2017–18 and 2018–19 graduates, in 2024 dollars, working and not enrolled, four years after graduating. Shares across the colleges we cover count every bachelor's degree at the colleges with a page here.
The place
Where it is, how big it is, and how students live.
Setting
Small city
University Park, PA
Undergraduates
42,284
Fall 2024
Type
Public
Doctoral university, very high research activity
Students per faculty member
16 to 1
Fall 2024
International students
9%
of undergraduates, fall 2024
Source: the College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education), including the Carnegie Classification and the federal locale code it publishes.
What stands out at Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus
Three things Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus published, ranked by how much each could change what you actually do, not by how impressive it looks. Every one describes a class that has already enrolled.
46 admitted from a waitlist of 2,109.
1,153 students accepted a place on that list, and 46 were admitted from it, 4% of the students who waited. A waitlist offer here is not a near-miss anyone can plan around.
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
28.6% of the enrolled class sent an SAT.
The SAT band on this page describes that share of the class, not all of it. Another 5% sent an ACT. Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus files test scores under “considered”.
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
Families paid $32,875 on average after aid.
Averaged across students who received federal aid: the price after grants and scholarships, not the sticker price.
Source: the College Scorecard
Every figure, in full
The same measured fields on every one of these pages. Nothing is filled in where the school published nothing.
Acceptance rate
55.3%
58,952 admitted of 106,547 applicants
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
SAT, middle 50%
1280–1410
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
ACT, middle 50%
28–32
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
Average GPA of admitted students
3.67
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
Enrolled students who sent an SAT
28.6%
Counted per test: a student may send both.
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
Enrolled students who sent an ACT
5%
Counted per test: a student may send both.
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
Where do you actually stand at Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus?
The figures on this page describe a class that already enrolled. GoodGoblin reads them against your own transcript, scores, activities and budget, then builds the balanced list, the essay plan and the deadline calendar around what it finds.
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What Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus costs
The published price first, then what students who received aid actually paid, by family income.
In-state tuition and fees for 2024–25 were $20,644 ($41,790 out of state), and the full in-state cost of attendance, with housing, food and books, was $39,694. After grants and scholarships, students who received financial aid paid $32,875 a year on average.
In-state tuition and fees
$20,644
2024–25 school year
Out-of-state tuition and fees
$41,790
2024–25 school year
Full cost, in state
$39,694
Tuition, fees, housing, food and books
Paid after aid
$32,875
Average, students who received aid
What students paid, by family income
Each bar is that figure as a share of the $39,694 full cost.
- Under $30k$19,845Typical public university: $10,013
- $30k–$48k$20,049Typical public university: $10,847
- $48k–$75k$25,667Typical public university: $13,703
- $75k–$110k$31,834Typical public university: $17,979
- Over $110k$37,831Typical public university: $22,475
Source: the federal College Scorecard. Tuition and cost of attendance are for the 2024–25 school year; colleges usually raise them each year. What students paid is the average net price for first-year students who received federal financial aid. Typical public university: the median across the 338 public universities on GoodGoblin, for in-state students, compiled by GoodGoblin from the same federal data.
Where it leads
Who finishes, who stays, and what they earn and owe afterwards.
Finish within six years
86%
Our colleges' median: 63%
Return for a second year
93%
Our colleges' median: 79%
Earnings after 10 years
$63,435
Our colleges' median: $57,440
Median debt at graduation
$25,000
Our colleges' median: $23,725
Source: the College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education). Six-year completion describes students who started in fall 2018; second-year return describes students who started in fall 2023; earnings describe students who started in 2009–10 and 2010–11, measured in 2020 and 2021, in 2022 dollars; debt describes federal loans of students who graduated in fiscal years 2020 and 2021. Medians are across the 1,034 colleges with a page here.
What Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus says it weighs
The school's own words, from the form it fills in every year. Ranked as it ranks them.
- GPAvery important
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
- Course rigorimportant
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
- Test scoresconsidered
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
Not considered
- Essay
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
- Recommendations
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
- Class rank
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
- Legacy
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
- Interview
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
- Demonstrated interest
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
The waitlist, as the school reported it
Published counts, including the ones schools rarely lead with.
- Offered a waitlist place
- 2,109
- Accepted the place
- 1,153
- Admitted from the waitlist
- 46
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
Published deadlines
Each date is read from the college's own materials and re-checked on a schedule.
Guides for Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus applicants
More colleges on the record
Each of these pages carries the same measured figures and sources.
Other colleges in Pennsylvania
Closest acceptance rates in the same state.
- Moravian University54%
- Allegheny College58.8%
- Saint Vincent College59.1%
- University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus59.4%
Colleges with a similar acceptance rate
Closest acceptance rates anywhere in the country.
The GoodGoblin College Data Report: five findings counted across 1,034 colleges ›
Build the list this school belongs on.
The figures on this page describe a class that already enrolled. GoodGoblin reads them against your own transcript, scores, activities and budget, then builds the balanced list, the essay plan and the deadline calendar around what it finds.
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