Selecting first-semester courses is an exciting process. It is the beginning of your academic career at Penn. But it can also be overwhelming with a myriad of courses and academic opportunities from which to choose.

Take a deep breath. Your pre-major and peer advisors are available during the summer to discuss your ideas before your register for fall classes.

Preparing for First-Semester Course Selection

In preparation for this conversation, incoming first-years will need to engage with Compass, the primary guide for incoming first-years throughout the summer. In Compass, students will be prompted to:

• Complete the Advising Questionnaire within Compass
• Review Registration Tips
• Browse the list of of entry courses to majors
• Use Path@Penn to search and register for classes
• Identify and confirm any advanced placement credit
• Take any appropriate departmental placement tests during New Student Orientation.

Advance Registration

Prior to Advance Registration, you must have a discussion with your pre-major advisor about your academic interests and goals and your plan for first semester courses.

Your pre-major advisor will then remove your registration hold, and you can enter Advance Registration course requests using Path@Penn. Logging into Path@Penn requires a PennKey and password. If you have difficulty using Path@Penn, you should call the College Office, 215.898.6341.

The Course Search, Cart and Registration functions on Path@Penn allow you to browse courses of interest, plan your schedule for the following semester, and request courses for the fall.

Registration Tips includes notes on how the system works and how to improve your results.