After Applying
After you submit your application and pay the application fee, follow these steps to stay up-to-date with tracking the progress and review of your application.
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Check your status page for updates
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Wait for a program review and decision
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If offered admission, submit required final documents
Check Your Status Page
After submitting your application, visit the status page of your application to:
- Update your references or reference contact information
- Check to see if your references have been received by the Graduate School
- Update your email address
- Upload additional materials if required by your intended program of study
- View deadlines for official transcripts
- Check to see if your official transcripts have been received by the Graduate School
- See if official test scores have been received by the Graduate School
- Accept or decline an offer of admission from your intended program of study
Program Review and Decision
After your application is submitted, your program of study will review application materials and make a decision. Please contact your intended program of study for specifics on timing of a decision. For contact information, search for your program in the Graduate Bulletin.
Communication of Admission Offer
After the program review takes place, you will be emailed about your decision. If you are offered admission, you will need to accept or decline on your status page. That email will also include information specific to your application, such as deadlines, provisions, or assistantships.
Submit Required Documents Upon Acceptance
If you receive an admission offer, congratulations!
If you are enrolled in school now, you will need to have another set of transcripts or official documents sent to Penn State. It is important to wait until after your degree has been conferred to request that these documents be sent, so that they indicate you received a degree. On your status page, you can find deadlines for when the Graduate School needs to receive these documents.
Prior to your semester of admission, you will receive communications about orientation from both the Graduate School and your intended graduate program. If you have questions before then, reach out to your program's coordinator or faculty chair.
“Penn State is a strong institution with a long history and numerous ties with other academic institutions and organizations. In the collaborative environment of Penn State, it was as easy to network across departments as it was to form partnerships with different institutions and companies – paperwork aside. Because the scope of research activity is always growing at Penn State, there is fantastic support for traditional research as well as inter- and transdisciplinary projects. Part of what makes this possible – and fruitful – is the robust sense of community and the connections therein. On nearly every occasion that I reached out to fellow researchers at Penn State, I was met with an enthusiastic interest in working together, brainstorming research questions, and simply experiencing local opportunities.”
— Mason Breitzig
Doctoral candidate in Epidemiology, College of Medicine