Course & Registration >> Registration >> First Semester

First Semester Advance Registration

Prior to Advance Registration, incoming freshmen must have a discussion with their pre-major advisor about their academic interests and goals, and to plan a roster for their first semester. Read more >>

After being removed from registration hold by their advisor, students may advance register for courses using Penn InTouch. Penn InTouch requires a student to log on using their PennKey and password. Students who have difficulty using Penn InTouch should call the College Office, 215.898.6341.

The Course Search and Mock Schedules screens on Penn InTouch allow students to create mock schedules or place courses in a “course cart.” These courses will automatically appear in the registration screen during Advance Registration. It is also possible to enter course requests directly through the registration screen, without using the Course Search and Mock Schedule function.

Registration Tutorial

To view help documents with images of course selection and registration screens, click here.

Requesting Multi-Activity Courses

When requesting a multi-activity course, the credit-bearing portion should be entered first. After entering the first portion of a multi-activity course, the student will be prompted to register for the remaining portions. All portions of a course (lecture, recitation and lab) must be entered. If all portions are not entered, the system will not consider the course for Advance Registration and the student will not be enrolled.

Listing “Alternates”

Though not required, students may use the alternate option for any course or course activity. For example, students may wish to request an alternate course when requesting small seminars, since this provides a greater chance of being enrolled in one of the listed courses.

Note: As mentioned above, multi-activity courses include two or more activities: a lecture, a recitation and/or a lab. Only one of these sections will be credit-bearing. An alternate request must be the same activity type (lecture, recitation or lab) and carry the same credit-bearing status as the primary request. For example, if a credit-bearing lecture is the primary request, only another credit-bearing lecture may be listed as the alternate. Likewise, if a non-credit-bearing recitation (or lab) is the primary request, only another noncredit-bearing recitation (or lab) may be listed as the alternate. Students with questions about this process should talk with their peer or pre-major advisor.

Time Conflicts

The system will not allow a student to enroll in two courses that are in time conflict. If there is a time conflict, the system will enroll the student in the first course requested, if it is available, and the second, conflicting course will be automatically dropped. If the first course is unavailable and the second course is available, the student will be enrolled in the second course.

Revising Requests

Course requests can be changed and new requests entered on Penn InTouch up until the end of the Advance Registration period. The order of priority given to course requests can also be changed.

Checking the Roster

It is the student’s responsibility to insure that he or she is correctly registered for all elements of a course. Freshmen are advised to check their rosters on Penn InTouch at the beginning of the Course Selection Period in early August.