Maddie Kalish

Career Development - Period 1

College Research Project

Penn State University

General Information

1. Where is this school located? How long would it take you to get there from Garnet
Valley? How do you feel about this distance?
Penn State University is located in University Park, Pennsylvania, also known as Happy
Valley. It takes about three and a half hours to get there, but it is a very easy drive. It is pretty
much sixty miles on one road, eighty on another and then you are on campus. I feel comfortable
with this distance because it is an easy drive that I have done several times since my older sister
is currently a student at PSU.

2. How many undergraduate students attend this school? How many graduate students?
There are about 40,000 undergraduate students at Penn State Main Campus with about
6,000 graduate students. I feel comfortable with this number because I tend to like bigger schools
since I am very social and don’t get overwhelmed by big crowds.

3. List three sports, clubs, and/or organizations that the school offers that interest you.
Consider Greek life (fraternities/ sororities), campus ministry, study abroad opportunities,
community service organizations, etc.
Penn State has lots of sports teams that are really competitive and fun to watch, especially
football. They offer club sports, which travel much like the real team and compete in games,
tournaments, etc. Thon is a big activity at Penn State that is very fun and would be great to
experience. Additionally, there are tons of fraternities/sororities at this school. Another club that
sounds interesting to me is called LifeLink, and it is when you work with the students with
special needs. I know about most of these clubs from my older sister because she is very
involved in everything that Penn State has to offer. She is currently in 9 clubs! There are also
several study abroad opportunities that sound interesting. Penn State has countless amounts of
clubs to offer.

4. What kind of internships are available to students of this school?

Try to find the answer to this question for your prospective major.
The main internship that PSU offers for education majors is student teaching during your
senior year. They student teach part time for one semester while still taking other classes and
then full time in the spring semester without taking additional classes. There are several schools
available for Penn State students to student teach at. My sister is currently involved in this
program and is student teaching in a third grade classroom.

5. What is the campus setting (urban, suburban, rural, etc.)? What kinds of off-campus
experiences are available to students at this school?
Penn State is kind of in the middle of nowhere, but in a little town. There is downtown
state college which is kind of like a little city but also pretty suburban. The area around state
college is kind of rural though, much like countless other PA schools.

6. What are three majors that this school offers that you would like to consider?
I am interested in elementary education, communication sciences and disorders (speech
pathology), and physical therapy. In all three of these career paths I am given the opportunity to
work with other people, especially children. I want to pursue a career where I get to work with
other people and I have always loved working with kids. I am involved in many things where I
work closely with kids, like preschool lab, peer counselors, TOPSoccer, and coaching.

7. What is this school’s job placement rate for graduating students?

Penn State University has an 83% job placement rate for graduating students. This is
pretty high, but seems accurate for such a big college like PSU. Since this school is so large and
well known, there are lots of connections that can help you find a job. So in addition to the fact
that the students are well educated, they use connections to get a job.

Application Information
8. When is the application deadline?
The application deadline for early action is August 1st and the normal deadline is
November 1st.

9. Does this school accept the common application?!

Yes, Penn State accepts the common application.

10. What are the SAT/ACT requirements for this school?

The SAT score is between 1250-1430 for main campus and between 1070-1290 for the
branch campuses. This is about what I was expecting. It is not out of reach, but definitely will
take some work to achieve.

11. What are the GPA/Class Rank requirements for this school?
For main campus, the GPA requirement is between 3.55-3.97 and for branch campuses, it
is between 3.07-3.60.

12. What other admissions requirements are there? SAT 2, letters of recommendation,
personal statement, interview, audition, etc.?
For admission to PSU, you need an essay but no recommendations are required.

13. Is this school “Safety” “Reach” or “Middle of the Road” for you?
I think this school isn’t necessarily a reach, but it will definitely take some work to get
there. I know this because my older sister’s grades in high school were very similar to mine and
she is currently a senior at Penn State. I know what I have to do to get there, I just have to do it.
Campus Life/Services on Campus
14. Where is the Health Center and/or Counseling Center located and what are the hours?
How do you make an appointment at the Counseling Center?
Both of these centers are located on campus near the Hub, which is the main building that
all students walk through at some point. It is about in the middle of campus. The Health Center is
open 8-5 on Monday-Friday. The Counseling Center is open at the same time. You can make an
appointment by either calling or online.

15. What are the hours for the Writing Center? Do you need an appointment or can you
just drop in?
The hours for the Writing Center are Sundays from 6-9pm, Monday-Thursday 2-9:30pm
for walk-ins. You can also make an appointment between 10-2pm on Monday-Thursday and
10-3pm on Friday. They also offer extra hours during finals week.

16. What academic supports/curricular accommodations can students with special learning
needs receive?
Students with special learning needs can receive individual services through the office of
student disability resources.

Kutztown University of Pennsylvania

General Information
1. Where is this school located? How long would it take you to get there from Garnet
Valley? How do you feel about this distance?
Kutztown University is located in Kutztown, Pennsylvania, about an hour and a half away from
Garnet Valley. I feel comfortable with this distance because it is far enough away from home
that I feel independent but close enough that it is easy for me to come home if needed. Part of the
reason why I am looking at this school is for the lacrosse program, so Kutztown is close enough
that my family would be able to come to my games if I am on the team.

2. How many undergraduate students attend this school? How many graduate students?
There are about 7,500 undergraduate students at Kutztown with about 800-900 graduate
students. I feel pretty good about this number because it isn’t too small, however, I typically
prefer a larger number.

3. List three sports, clubs, and/or organizations that the school offers that interest you.
Consider Greek life (fraternities/ sororities), campus ministry, study abroad opportunities,
community service organizations, etc.
The lacrosse team at Kutztown is what lead me to begin to look at this school. I have
been talking to that coach and visiting the school a couple times. I know that this school has 21
sports teams, including a football team that is generally pretty good and tends to make it far in
the playoffs. There are a handful of fraternities/sororities as well as several other clubs.

4. What kind of internships are available to students of this school?

Try to find the answer to this question for your prospective major.
There are lots of internships available that vary by major at this school. They can be
found through the Career Services Office. The main one for education majors is student teaching.

5. What is the campus setting (urban, suburban, rural, etc.)? What kinds of off-campus
experiences are available to students at this school?
The area leading up to Kutztown is pretty rural, much like most other Pennsylvania state
schools that are pretty much in the middle of nowhere. However, it does have a little town
attached to it that makes it seem more suburban. There is off-campus housing, but not as many
other experiences besides that since it is surrounded by farms.

6. What are three majors that this school offers that you would like to consider?
Three majors at this school that interest me are elementary education, physical therapy, and
communications (to become a speech pathologist) and a minor that interests me is coaching and
athletic administration.

7. What is this school’s job placement rate for graduating students?

The job placement rate at Kutztown University is 79%, which is about what I was
expecting.

Application Information
8. When is the application deadline?
The application deadline is November 15th.

9. Does this school accept the common application?!

Yes, Kutztown accepts the common application.

10. What are the SAT/ACT requirements for this school?

Kutztown usually accepts people with SAT scores in the 940-1130 range. There are
plenty of students with a higher score though. The ACT scores that match up with that are at
least a 17, but the midpoint is a 20.

11. What are the GPA/Class Rank requirements for this school?
The average student had at a 3.17 GPA to get into Kutztown. However, lots of students
have a GPA that is higher than that. That number is about what I was expecting for a state school
like this.

12. What other admissions requirements are there? SAT 2, letters of recommendation,
personal statement, interview, audition, etc.?
There aren’t any other admission requirements besides the application itself because
Kutztown uses the rolling admission process. There is no interview required for acceptance.
13. Is this school “Safety” “Reach” or “Middle of the Road” for you?
I think this state school would be more of a safety school if I wasn’t looking to play
lacrosse there. I typically like the bigger schools, so I would have applied here as a back up.
However, since I’m looking into the athletic programs at Kutztown, I don’t really view this as a
safety school anymore. I do think I have the grades and extracurriculars I need to get in though.

Campus Life/Services on Campus

14. Where is the Health Center and/or Counseling Center located and what are the hours?
How do you make an appointment at the Counseling Center?
It is located pretty much in the center of the campus. The hours are from 8am to 6pm on
Monday-Friday. They prefer you call first. There is an additional phone number you can call for
after hour emergencies.

15. What are the hours for the Writing Center? Do you need an appointment or can you
just drop in?
The writing center at Kutztown University is open 11am-9pm on Monday-Thursdays,
11am-5pm on Friday, and 2pm-9pm on Sundays. They recommend making an appointment by
emailing, but you can also just drop in.

16. What academic supports/curricular accommodations can students with special learning
needs receive?
There are accommodations available to fit that individual students needs through the
Disability Services Office.