Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus is a public institution in University Park, PA with an acceptance rate of 58% and 41,862 students. The middle 50% of admitted students score 1220–1400 on the SAT. The average net price after financial aid is $32,598 per year.
About Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus
A public 4-year urban university in University Park, PA.
Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus is a college in University Park, PA. It enrolls roughly 41,862 students. The most recent acceptance rate is 58%. Admitted students typically score between 1220 and 1400 on the SAT.
Your chances at this school
What admitted students look like here. Sign in to see how your own profile compares.
Selective — strong academics get you in the conversation.
What strengthens an application here
- SAT scores of 1220 to 1400The middle half of admitted students scored in this range. A score in the upper part of it strengthens an application.
- Depth in one or two activitiesSustained commitment, a leadership role, or a result in a few activities says more than a long list of memberships.
Your chances estimate is based on your academic profile and activities — it is a guide, not a guarantee of admission. Decisions weigh essays, recommendations, and fit factors that aren't in the data.
Admissions
What it actually takes to get into Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus. Test scores, GPA, application requirements, and deadlines.
Admitted student profile
Range shown is the middle 50%.
This school doesn't require test scores, so these ranges reflect only students who chose to submit — applicants who submit tend to have higher scores. The real admitted range likely runs lower. Don't rule yourself out on scores alone.
Application requirements
- Test-optional
- $65 application fee
Deadlines (2026-27)
- Early Action
- Nov 1, 2026
- Regular Decision
- Rolling
Source: Common App 2026-27 requirements grid (verified Aug 2026). Always confirm on the college's own site.
Cost & financial aid
Published costs can be misleading. Here's what families actually pay at Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus after grants and scholarships.
Net price by family income
Average amount paid out of pocket — tuition, fees, and room & board minus all grant aid.
Net price represents the average cost after grants and scholarships for students receiving federal financial aid.
Academics & majors
Where students at Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus concentrate, and how the classroom experience scales.
Student body
Who attends Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus. Enrollment, diversity, and where students come from.
Race & ethnicity
- White67%
- Asian7%
- Hispanic10%
- Black5%
- International11%
Gender
- Female50%
- Male50%
Outcomes after graduation
What Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus graduates do next — and what they earn.
Is it worth it?
Earnings, debt, and price side by side — context for the cost-vs-payoff question, not a ranking.
- Median earnings
- $63.4k
- Typical debt
- $19.5k
- Avg. net price
- $32.6k/yr
- These numbers reflect who enrolls, not the value the school adds. A college's earnings can look high simply because it admits wealthier, higher-scoring students — not because of what happens there.
- Earnings vary far more by major and career path than by school. A school-wide median blends engineers and artists into one number that may match no real student.
- Federal earnings and debt figures cover only students who received federal aid, so they leave out full-pay students and can skew the picture.
- Net price is an average across aided students and debt is the median for borrowers only — many students borrow nothing. Your actual cost depends on your own aid package.
What this means
$63k is near the national bachelor's-graduate median at the 10-year mark, and a 86% graduation rate puts Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus in the top tier nationally.
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