Commonwealth University, formed by the merger of Bloomsburg, Lock Haven and Mansfield Universities, has now signed a guaranteed admission agreement with 50 school districts across Pennsylvania, including State College, Bellefonte, Jersey Shore, Penns Valley, Keystone Central, Clearfield, and Dubois.
The university will also provide merit scholarships of up to $28,000 based on student's grade point averages.
The State College Area High School board of directors signed onto a five-year agreement for guaranteed admission earlier this month. Beth Burnham is the lead counselor at State College Area High School. She said this will lessen some students' anxieties about college.
“It benefits them financially, and peace of mind, which is just, I think, a big thing after going through the pandemic," Burnham said. "It’s like people are more stressed out than before and it’s just something less that they have to worry about financially and where they’re going to go.”
Burnham also said this will help the newly formed university get better known.
“From the college’s standpoint, it’s letting everybody know that they exist, like hey, come to us, we have these programs,” Burnham said.
Students in the 50 included school districts who apply to Commonwealth University by December 15th of their senior year will be accepted to one of the three campuses. They will also be guaranteed on-campus housing for up to four years.