Applications, admissions increasing rapidly at Penn State

While the number of students at University Park is swelling with a larger-than-normal freshman class, Penn State says that’s not all.

You should see how many students really wanted to go to school there.

The record number freshman is well known. The university had 8,730 paid acceptances for the class of 2020. That number is up 500 from last year.

But there were, overall, 133,600 applications made to Penn State for the fall 2016 semester. That figure rose 2,650 from 2015.

There were 25,860 applications for graduate programs.

Provost Nick Jones said in a trustees committee meeting Thursday that the large class size has “stressed” the campus’ space considerations, not just for housing students, but for providing classrooms.

In a recent interview, President Eric Barron said the university’s concerns were twofold.

“Step one, do we have enough beds? Step two, do we have enough classrooms?” he said.

According to Jones, the registrar’s office is making sure that the classes are being handled.

One of the solutions to the crowding was offering scholarship packages to students who would do just one year at a Commonwealth Campus rather than starting at University Park as freshmen. That caused an increase in other campuses, but most can accommodate the load.

Two campuses — Abington and Harrisburg — are “near capacity,” however.

This story was originally published September 15, 2016 at 1:09 PM with the headline "Applications, admissions increasing rapidly at Penn State."