Penn State provides all new students the opportunity to attend a comprehensive orientation program, which is organized by the Office for Student Orientation and Transition Programs (SOTP). SOTP partners with the Division of Undergraduate Studies and other units to offer new students a thorough introduction to life on campus, an overview of General Education requirements, and the opportunity to actively discuss individual academic plans with an academic adviser. In addition to providing students an opportunity to register for appropriate classes, the overall objective of New Student Orientation is to establish the academic expectations and community standards that shape and inform the learning environment at Penn State.
Information for New Students
The Office for Student Orientation and Transition Programs provides first-year students, advanced standing, and change-of-campus students at the University Park campus with comprehensive information regarding the essential academic and student development opportunities of the campus and the University in general beginning with a new student's acceptance to a campus and continuing through completion of their first semester.
Through programs offered in cooperation with the colleges' academic units and various student service operations, new students are introduced to the intellectual and scholarly expectations of the University, to the skills needed for advanced study and lifelong learning, and to the student development opportunities with academic merit. In addition, this office helps inform students of the required procedures for matriculation and offers a perspective on college life, including practical information about important dates, times, and locations (e.g., arrival day, first day of classes, course drop/add).
During Welcome Week each semester, new students receive instruction and advice about their courses of study, including help with registration and class schedule adjustments, and they participate in special activities.