Academics
Here are some academic related links and resources for you to become acquainted with before arriving at Penn.
Penn Course Plan & Penn Course Review
COURSE INFORMATION
Students at other universities rely on Rate My Professor to find out if a class will melt their face off; Penn students use a site called Penn Course Review. It's made by Penn students and uses data from course evaluations to provide course ratings on difficulty, instructor quality, and course quality. Penn Course Plan shows some of these ratings and also allows you to select courses and make mock schedules. These are extremely helpful resources, and many find Penn Course Plan easier to navigate than Penn's official course registration site, Penn InTouch.
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Course Information
Advising
At Penn, you have both an academic advisor and a major advisor, provided that you've declared a major. Academic advisors are better for questions regarding general education requirements and more general questions, while the major advisor, predictably, makes sure you're taking the right major courses. Both advisors are listed on your Penn In Touch.
Penn Curriculum Requirements
The College of Arts and Sciences may use a different system than you're used to for general education. Follow the link below to take a look at Penn's system. There's not much you can do until your courses are evaluated on XCAT and interpreted by your advisor over the summer, but it can still be useful to speculate about what you may get credit for and browse classes for sectors or foundational approach sections you know you haven't covered yet.
Classes Outside of Your College
Most students in the College of Arts and Sciences can take up to four classes in other Penn colleges under the "One University Policy". So, for example, a student could take up to four classes in the Graduate School of Education, Wharton, or any of the other colleges they wanted to. However, majors that require more than 16 credits for graduation allow for less classes outside the College of Arts and Sciences. For example, the Biological Basis of Behavior major requires 18.5 units and would then only allow for 1.5 classes outside the College.
Course Registration
Penn's advance registration process is admittedly a bit confusing. Rather than attempting to explain it here, watch this video created by the incomparable Molly McGlone, a Penn academic advisor.
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Learning Resources
Weingarten Learning Resources Center
Visit the Weingarten Learning Resources Center if you're interested in learning to study more effectively, receiving tutoring, or working on time-management skills. Students can meet individually with learning instructors to develop reading, writing, time management and study strategies appropriate for particular assignments, courses, or fields of study. It's a great service for students that may feel slightly overwhelmed upon arriving on campus.
Marks Family Writing Center
The Marks Family Writing Center provides individual writing guidance and feedback to students, presents writing workshops across campus, assists students with designing and responding to writing assignments, and engages in community outreach.
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The Tutoring Center
The Tutoring Center staff can teach you how to stay two steps ahead of your classmates through peer tutoring services supplementing support provided by Penn faculty, teaching assistants, and learning instructors.
Office of Student Disabilities Services
Student Disabilities Services provides consultation and accommodations for students with physical and/or learning disabilities. All services are free and confidential.
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