Penn State University is one of only three land-, space-, sun-, and sea-grant universities in the U.S. Ever dreamed of doing your degree underwater, or on the moon? Then you should likely consider an application to Penn State. But what does it take to become a part of this class of students? Let’s dive into the GPA requirements to join the Penn Staters, a.k.a, the Nittany Lions. Roar! 

Penn State University Class of 2029 Data

Penn State has not yet published information about the Class of 2029 in their Common Data Set, which we look out for every year, because it’s the best way to get accurate information about admissions trends. 

However, for the Class of 2028, the acceptance rate was 60.6%, which was quite a bit higher than the Class of 2027’s 54.2% acceptance rate. This means that more applicants have a pretty good shot at gaining admission to Penn State; it doesn’t have one of those single-digit acceptance rates. Still, 40% of students who sought admission to the Class of 2028 ultimately were rejected, which means it’s important to put a good bit of thought and work into that application in order to put yourself in the best possible spot for Penn State admission. 

The breakdown of students who applied for the Class of 2028 is as follows, according to Penn State University’s 2024-2025 Common Data Set: 40,752 men applied and 47,118 women applied, while 527 students of another gender sent in applications and 81 left their gender unknown. You may wonder if because a higher number of women applied, perhaps women have a lower shot at acceptance. However, in reality, about 57.9% of men were accepted, while 62.8% of women were accepted. Students of another gender saw a 65.1% success rate, while students who left their gender a mystery fared the best with a 66.7% acceptance rate. Fascinating! 

Penn State University GPA Requirements

Of course, at Ivy Coach, we’ll say the higher the better for all numerical statistics, but let’s take a look at the high school GPA breakdown of enrolled students based on class rank in the Class of 2028 for more context. 

GPAs of the Pennsylvania State University Class of 2028

According to the 2024-2025 Common Data Set: 

Score Range	Percent of Penn State Class of 2028 (all enrolled students)
Percent who had GPA of 4.0	50.02%
Percent who had GPA between 3.75 and 3.99	24.99%
Percent who had GPA between 3.50 and 3.74	14.58%
Percent who had GPA between 3.25 and 3.49	7.35%
Percent who had GPA between 3.00 and 3.24	1.97%
Percent who had GPA between 2.50 and 2.99	0.83%
Percent who had GPA between 2.0 and 2.49	0.26%
Percent who had GPA between 1.0 and 1.99	0.00%
Percent who had GPA below 1.0	0.00%

The GPAs of Penn State University Class of 2027

According to the 2023-2024 Common Data Set: 

Score Range	Percent of Penn State Class of 2027 (all enrolled students)
Percent who had GPA of 4.0	19.00%
Percent who had GPA between 3.75 and 3.99	27.25%
Percent who had GPA between 3.50 and 3.74	23.16%
Percent who had GPA between 3.25 and 3.49	16.07%
Percent who had GPA between 3.00 and 3.24	7.67%
Percent who had GPA between 2.50 and 2.99	1.94%
Percent who had GPA between 2.0 and 2.49	0.24%
Percent who had GPA between 1.0 and 1.99	0.00%
Percent who had GPA below 1.0	4.67%

The GPAs of Penn State University Class of 2026

According to the 2022-2023 Common Data Set: 

Score Range	Percent of Penn State Class of 2026 (all enrolled students)
Percent who had GPA of 4.0	Not Reported
Percent who had GPA between 3.75 and 3.99	47.91%
Percent who had GPA between 3.50 and 3.74	25.87%
Percent who had GPA between 3.25 and 3.49	16.55%
Percent who had GPA between 3.00 and 3.24	7.41%
Percent who had GPA between 2.50 and 2.99	1.98%
Percent who had GPA between 2.0 and 2.49	0.27%
Percent who had GPA between 1.0 and 1.99	0.01%
Percent who had GPA below 1.0	Not Reported

What is a Good GPA for Penn State University?

Looking at these numbers, we at Ivy Coach feel confident in saying that students should certainly not apply to Penn State University with anything lower than a 3.25 GPA, and even then, about 3% of the Class of 2028 who submitted their GPA landed below the 3.24 range. Even though there were some students who possessed GPAs lower than 2.50 who ultimately enrolled at Penn State, do you really want to be the lowest end of the statistic?

Ivy Coach’s Help with Penn State University Candidacy

If you’re reading all this as a parent and starting to worry because you know your child lacks that compelling, cohesive narrative or you know they’re coming across as super well rounded, don’t panic (yet)! There’s still time for Ivy Coach to fix those mistakes and get your student’s application back on track.

In order to do so, we recommend setting up Ivy Coach’s Strategy Session to get ahead in the admissions process, or to keep from falling behind. We’ll provide a comprehensive overview of what your student can do to best position themself for success at Penn State University, or any other top university across the country. Fill out our complimentary consultation form, and we’ll be in touch.