Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Scranton—one of the campuses in the Penn State system, located in Dunmore, Pennsylvania—is exactly the kind of college where that risk exists: it’s easy to get in, and for that very reason, it’s easy not to ask the questions that really matter. Here, I’m going to put those questions in front of you, along with the official numbers, so that when your family sits down to decide, it does so with the complete picture, not just the excitement of the acceptance letter.
Where this school stands and exactly what it is
Penn State Scranton is in Dunmore, within Lackawanna County, in the Scranton–Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area. Its census code places it in a suburb: within the urbanized area but outside the city center. What that feels like—the traffic, student life, how close everything is—is something you can only learn by driving there. If your child plans to live at home, I recommend something very specific: drive the route on a weekday at the exact time of their classes. The time shown on the map is almost never the actual travel time.
It is a public institution offering programs of four years or more. IPEDS—the federal system to which all colleges report their data—records a master’s degree as the highest level it reports offering and classifies it as a school that awards primarily bachelor’s degrees or higher-level credentials. That is institutional information, not a program map: it does not tell you whether your child’s specific major is available here or whether it connects to a graduate program. That must be asked program by program.
Something worth clarifying because it causes confusion: in the 2021 Carnegie Classification, which categorizes the nation’s colleges by academic profile, Penn State Scranton appears outside the classified universe. That does not say whether it is good or bad. Carnegie simply did not assign this school a label. Before paying for the first semester, ask admissions what accreditation it has and the exact name of the degree it awards, and verify that name yourself on the Department of Education’s website. No classification label saves you from making that call.
And one distinction that is also worth understanding clearly: Penn State Scranton does not appear with any of three special designations—it is not a historically Black college or university, a tribal college or university, or a land-grant institution. Of the 3,012 colleges in this federal directory, 138 do carry at least one of those three labels. Not having one does not tell you which students it serves or how your child will feel there. Ask directly: what cultural centers currently exist, what student organizations are available, and, if possible, whether you can speak with someone already studying there.
A small community, and what that really means
Here we need to talk in specific numbers, because this school’s scale is one of the most important things you need to understand before reading any other figure.
In the reported fall term, Penn State Scranton had 838 students enrolled in total. Of that total, 837 are undergraduates and just 1 is a graduate student: above all, this is an undergraduate school. Compared with the 519 selective-admission, four-year public schools in this same census that report enrollment, it is among the smallest: at least nine out of ten have more students.
What does that mean for your child? Being small does not make it better or worse. But there is one specific question you should ask during your visit: are the courses for your child’s major offered every semester, or only once a year? At a small school, that answer determines how long it actually takes to graduate.
As for who studies there: among undergraduates, 12 out of every 100 are Hispanic or Latino. It is a small minority, although compared with those same 519 similar schools, it ranks above the midpoint of the group without reaching the highest quartile. Students ages 25 to 64 are also a minority: 8 out of every 100. The campus is almost evenly split between men and women, with 45 out of every 100 being women. As for where entering students came from—how far they were from home—IPEDS does not provide that information for this school in the reported cycle. It is not available, and it should not be invented.
If your family is Latino, there are relatively few Latino students here: 12 out of every 100. That does not automatically remove the school from your list, but it is something worth asking about during your visit: what resources exist for Latino students, whether there is a student group or cultural center, or whether anyone in the office speaks Spanish. And keep in mind that this comparison with other schools does not account for where in the country each one is located, which matters. It also does not reach the major level: all these percentages describe the entire school, not a particular program.
How the academic year is structured and how broad the offerings are
Penn State Scranton organizes its year by semesters: two long terms of about 15 weeks each. It is the standard calendar most families already know, with consistent dates for everyone.
One useful point: the school reported accepting credit from AP exams, as well as what IPEDS calls “credit for life experience”—learning acquired through independent study, adult courses, work experience, portfolios, prior licenses or certifications, or military or professional opportunities. It also reports accepting credit for military training and enrolls high school students in college courses for credit through a formal dual-enrollment program.
Here is the unvarnished truth: reporting these pathways does not mean the school will automatically award your child credit. It does not say what AP scores are required, how many credits are awarded, or whether those credits count toward your child’s specific major. Request the equivalency evaluation in writing before enrolling. Do not include the savings in your budget until you have it in hand.
As for degrees: in the reported year, Penn State Scranton awarded 155 bachelor’s degrees across 11 academic families (CIP). Business and management was the family with the most graduates, accounting for 29 out of every 100 degrees that year—no other family exceeded it, but it did not account for a majority either. Compared with 514 similar schools, it falls within the quartile with the fewest academic families represented in its bachelor’s-degree offerings. With graduation counts this small, the total can shift substantially from one year to another: ask for the past three years of data for the exact program your child is interested in instead of relying on a snapshot of a single year.
For class size, there is one figure that helps but must also be read carefully: the official ratio is 11 students per full-time-equivalent instructional staff member. Compared with similar schools, it is in the lowest quartile—that is, a lower ratio than three out of every four similar schools. But be careful: this aggregate ratio alone does not demonstrate that more staff are available to each student, nor does it tell you the actual size of first-year classes. IPEDS does not report the exact method used to calculate it.
The institution also reports two structured academic opportunities: study abroad and cocurricular undergraduate research.
The entrance door: easy to open, with some required pieces
Here we come to one of the most important facts in this entire article, so I want you to read it carefully.
Penn State Scranton does not have open admissions: it reviews certain materials before saying yes. Of nine possible admissions considerations, it lists three as required: the high school transcript, the high school GPA, and an English proficiency exam for applicants to whom it applies. Other components are not required but are considered if submitted: completion of the college-preparatory curriculum the university requests and the personal essay. The undergraduate application fee is $65.
If your child studied outside the United States or attended high school in Spanish, ask today whether the English proficiency exam applies and what would qualify your child for an exemption. This university lists it as required when applicable, and it is one of those things families discover late, when there is no longer time to handle it calmly.
And now the figure that really matters: in the reported year, Penn State Scranton received 2,240 first-year applications and offered admission to 2,125 applicants. That is 95 out of every 100. Compared with 519 selective public schools in this census, it ranks on the high side: seven out of ten of those schools, or more, admit an equal or smaller percentage.
Put plainly: this school almost always admits applicants. Of every 100 students who apply, 95 receive a yes. Your child’s energy is better spent meeting the deadline and completing the application carefully than fighting for a place that, statistically, is already nearly secured.
But—and this is important—being easy to enter says nothing about the price or how many students finish. Before deciding, two calculations matter more than admission: the net price and the graduation rate. We will examine both later, and neither is as favorable as this one.
One figure contrasts sharply with the ease of admission: out of every 100 students admitted, only 11 ultimately enrolled here. It is among the lowest rates at its comparable schools—nine out of ten rank above it. Put another way: of every nine students who receive a yes from this school, roughly one decides to attend. The others had a place here and did not take it.
Do not read that as a stain on the school. The federal record does not say why each person made that decision. What it does tell you is something useful for your own decision: what others did does not predict what the school will offer you. Wait for your letter with the net price—what the year will actually cost you—and, with that number in hand, decide whether this school stays on your list.
As for standardized tests: the SAT and ACT are not required here. If your child submits them, they are considered; if not, the application proceeds just the same. Among the students who enrolled, 24 out of every 100 submitted SAT scores, and the middle half of those students scored between 540 and 640 in reading and writing and between 530 and 640 in mathematics. These figures describe students who were already enrolled, not everyone who applied, and they do not confirm whether the scores were actually used in the admissions decision. That 540 is not a minimum, and that 640 does not guarantee anything.
Regarding transfers, there is something almost no family anticipates: among the cohort that entered in 2017 seeking a bachelor’s degree, 26 out of every 100 transferred to another school without completing their degree here. That is a large share, and the report does not explain why any of them transferred. Separately, in the most recent reported year, 42 students arrived from another institution. Keep this point in mind, because you will need it when we reach the graduation rates: a student who changes schools is not counted as a graduate here, even if that student completes the degree elsewhere. The fact that many transfer does not mean they did poorly. The report records the transfer, not the outcome.
The price: two numbers that are not the same number
At Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Scranton, among 28 first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal Title IV aid and paid the in-state or in-district rate, and whose EFC records showed family income below $30,000, the average net price was $14,151. Among 22 students from the same population with EFC family income from $48,001 to $75,000, it was $19,270; among 41 students with EFC family income above $110,000, it was $24,596. For dependent students, the band combines their parents’ income and their own.
The difference between the average for the lowest-income band (28 students) and the highest-income band (41 students) is $10,445. Among first-year students who received any grant or scholarship aid, the average was $18,239.
Among the 519 schools of the same type and control included in this census that reported this figure with the same time coverage, this school falls within the most expensive quartile for the lowest-income families. That does not mean you should rule it out. It means you need to request the financial aid letter before deciding.
The income bands in this profile describe first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal Title IV aid; at this public institution, they use the in-state or in-district rate. The overall average for students receiving grant or scholarship aid, when shown, describes first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal, state, local, or institutional grants or scholarships; it also uses that rate. If your family lives outside the state or district, the calculation is different. Ask for it before applying.
Financial aid and loans: where the real burden lies
Of every 100 degree-seeking students here, 78 received some grant or scholarship aid that does not have to be repaid. Among those who received it, the average was $10,184 per year—that average covers only those who received something and is not spread across all students. And 44 out of every 100 received a Pell Grant, the federal aid for low-income students.
Here I want to pause on something that constantly causes confusion: a percentage is not the same as an average, and the two should not be multiplied together. The percentage tells you how many students received aid. The average tells you how much, on average, those who received it got. When your child’s letter arrives, separate it by hand into three piles: what does not have to be repaid, what must be repaid with interest, and what must be earned through work. Many letters mix all three into a single column, and that is where families become confused about how much they will actually pay.
And now the figure I most want you to take away from this section. In the most recent reported academic year, 58 out of every 100 Penn State Scranton undergraduates received a federal student loan. Among those who borrowed, each took out an average of $6,225 that year. Compared with 519 similar schools, Penn State Scranton is among those with the highest shares of students with loans: at least nine out of ten of those schools have a lower proportion.
Financing with debt is common here, not the exception. If your child borrows a similar amount each year for the four years a degree takes, the total comes to about $24,900, not including interest. That number is determined before the first signature, not at the end of the journey.
And there is one distinction you need to understand very clearly: that average covers a single year and only federal loans in the student’s name. It does not include PLUS loans that parents sometimes take out, debt from banks, or credit cards. Nor is it the total debt carried upon graduation—to calculate that, you would need to add all four years, and that specific figure is not in this report.
This percentage describes other families, not yours. What your child would need to borrow depends on their own financial aid letter. Wait for that letter before ruling out the school and also before committing to it.
The institution does report one mechanism to make payment easier: a tuition installment plan.
Campus life: no dorms, with two ROTC branches
Here is something that completely changes how you need to plan your child’s daily life if this school makes the list: Penn State Scranton does not offer its own housing. There are no dormitories or apartments controlled by the institution, either on or off campus. It does not report meal plans either.
This does not mean the school’s official budget ignores the cost of living off campus. IPEDS does collect estimates for housing, food, and other expenses for students living on their own as part of the total cost-of-attendance calculation. What you need to do is request that specific budget directly from the financial aid office, because what daily life looks like—where your child will live, how they will eat, and what that will actually cost—is not included in this data point.
Regarding ROTC: the school does report the opportunity, with two branches listed, Army and Air Force. Navy is not listed. If your child is interested in this path, this is where to start asking questions, although appearing in the report is not the same as being accepted, nor does it tell you whether the program is based on this specific campus or another one. Ask that question by name before building your child’s plan around this option.
In athletics, the school is affiliated with the USCAA—the United States Collegiate Athletic Association—not the NCAA or the NAIA. The question of whether it actively competes in intercollegiate sports is not marked in the federal record. If sports matter to your child, request the current schedule and contact the coach directly: the membership belongs to the school and does not guarantee that a place on the team is available today.
Regarding distance education: the school does offer it at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, but in the actual fall enrollment count, practically no undergraduate student took their entire course load remotely. And in its specific report on fully online programs, the institution stated that it does not offer a program in which all required courses can be completed remotely. If this is important to your family, confirm it in writing for the exact major your child is interested in.
Finally, the institution reports these services and supports: combined academic and career counseling, employment services for current students, participation in the Yellow Ribbon program, a dedicated point of contact for veterans and military families, and a published webpage for disability services.
The numbers that truly matter in the end: who stays and who graduates
We have reached the most difficult section of this article and also the most important.
Of the cohort that entered in the most recently reported fall term, 75 out of every 100 met the official retention criterion: they were still enrolled here or had already completed their bachelor’s degree one year later. Compared with similar schools, it ranks slightly below the midpoint of the group. This number does not distinguish those who stayed from those who had already graduated, nor does it tell you what happened to the rest.
Now for the graduation figure, which is where I want you to pay the closest attention. Of the 253 full-time students with no previous college experience who entered a bachelor’s-degree program in 2017, 79 were shown as having graduated from this same school six years later. That is 31 out of every 100. Within the shorter four-year period, the figure falls to 21 out of every 100.
Compared with 518 similar selective public schools, Penn State Scranton ranks at the very bottom of that table: nine out of ten, or more, of those schools report a higher proportion graduating within six years.
Here is the complete breakdown of those 253 students, because the number alone does not tell the whole story: 79 completed a bachelor’s degree here. 1 completed a shorter program here. 65 transferred to another institution without completing at this school—remember the transfer figure we saw earlier? It is the same story. 5 were still enrolled without having completed within the time period. And 103 fell into the federal “no longer enrolled” category, which does not report the reason and may include people who completed their degree after the cutoff date.
This percentage covers the entire school, not a particular major. IPEDS does not report graduation program by program, so if your child is pursuing a specific major, you need to request that figure directly from the corresponding department.
There is one final figure that completes the picture and will help you understand the full landscape before deciding. Following a different cohort that entered between 2015 and 2016, at the eight-year cutoff, 37 out of every 100 had earned a degree or certificate from this school, and 63 had not. Among Pell Grant recipients, the figure rises slightly: 40 out of every 100 completed, seven points above the group without Pell Grants. Compared with similar schools, this figure also ranks at the very bottom of the table.
This cutoff does not measure eight continuous years of study, how much each family paid, or how much income each person gave up while studying. It is a snapshot of a specific moment. Before signing any commitment, ask in writing how long it actually takes to complete the program your child is interested in, how its required courses are scheduled, and how the total cost changes if the process takes longer.
What you already know, and what you need to find out yourself
You now know precisely one important piece of the puzzle: what kind of school Penn State Scranton is, how people get in, what it truly costs, how many stay, how many leave, and how many ultimately graduate. These are official data points, measured the same way for everyone, and none of them predicts exactly what will happen to your child.
The university’s role is to admit students, charge what it charges, and offer whatever aid it decides to offer. Your child’s role is their effort, their curiosity, and how they use what the school puts in front of them. Your role is something else, just as important: understanding the family’s finances, reading the aid letter carefully, and asking specific questions—about residency, AP equivalencies, the actual housing budget, and the particular major your child is interested in—before the time comes to sign.
This piece you have just come to understand—what the university truly is and offers—is only one part of the plan. Two more remain: what your child wants and has built, and what your family can and is willing to pay. A real decision comes from those three pieces together, not from just one.
Note on sources: The information in this article comes from official data reported by the institution to the U.S. Department of Education’s IPEDS system, corresponding primarily to the years 2022-23 and 2023-24, depending on the indicator. Best College Aid does not represent Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Scranton or any federal or state government agency.