Penn State Again Receives Most Sat Scores From Seniors
9-19-96
University Park, Pa. -- Penn State once again leads all colleges and universities nationally in receiving Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) scores from college-bound high school seniors, according to the College Board.
Figures for 1995-96 show that a total of 53,238 students that expected to enter college this fall sent their SAT scores to Penn State compared to 51,042 for the next most popular institution, the University of California at Los Angeles. Other leading university recipients of scores include the University of California at Berkeley (43,963), Boston University (41,147), and the University of Texas at Austin (40,686).
Last year, the College Board regional office in Philadelphia reported Penn State in front after receiving 46,746 scores.
The SAT, taken by 1.15 million students in the last year, is one of two tests widely used as an indicator of a student's preparedness for higher education. The College Board, which administers the SAT process, will send the test results to institutions of each student's choice.
"This ranking is another indicator that Penn State is considered one of the most attractive institutions in higher education," says University President Graham B. Spanier. " Other good signs include the facts that the number of SAT score submissions to us increased by nearly 6,500 in one year, we have the largest dues-paying alumni association in the nation, we just finished another record-breaking private fund-raising year, and we rank second nationally in industry-sponsored research."
According to a state-specific 1996 profile from the College Board's New York headquarters, 30,398 college-bound Pennsylvania seniors, or 43.4 percent of those that sent scores to universities, chose Penn State as a recipient. The next most popular destination in the Commonwealth was Indiana University of Pennsylvania, which received 9,533 scores, while the University of Pittsburgh received 9,059, Temple University received 8,728, and Slippery Rock University received 6,456.
Although not all students who submit their SAT scores will be offered entrance to Penn State, seeing the scores gives admissions officers an excellent opportunity to send further information to promising seniors that are already interested in the University.
Contact: Christy Rambeau (814) 865-7517, cmr7@psu.edu
Gary W. Cramer (814) 863-4512, gwc104@psu.edu