Advice from Penn upperclassmen about advance course registration

The Daily Pennsylvanian spoke to upperclassmen about advice they would give to students choosing classes during Advance Registration, which opens Oct. 30 and closes Nov. 13. Here’s what they had to say.

1. Keep track of the classes you need to take

In order to keep track of the credits she has already taken and the credits she still needs to fulfill, Wharton junior Christina Nguyen uses the degree audit function on Path@Penn.

“If there’s a general credit I need to fill, then I’ll filter by course attribute so it generates the list of courses that fill that credit and are available for the semester,” Nguyen said.

Wharton sophomore Bruno Basner recommended making a spreadsheet with a rough outline of required and desired classes, as it can be “very overwhelming” not knowing which classes to take or which are required. As a Wharton student, he found the Wharton Course Guide to be helpful for him. 

Penn Career Services’ website provides recommended course lists for students who are on a pre-professional track, such as pre-med or pre-dental. Some departmental websites also include recommended courses for students interested in their departments’ majors.

2. Use Path@Penn’s ranking system

Nguyen suggested using the ranking system and alternative classes functions when adding classes on Path@Penn.

“Rank your classes in order of class size and what you think is the most popular,” Nguyen said.

Nguyen also recommended putting down an alternative choice for each class. “When you can’t get slotted into one class, Path@Penn will automatically put the second choice in if it’s open,” Nguyen said.

3. Don’t overload yourself

Nursing sophomore Grace DiDomenico recommended that students think about making time for studying, free time, hanging out with friends, and prioritizing mental health when planning their schedule for the upcoming semester.

“It's really easy to look at a class on the schedule and think that it won't take up a whole lot of time, but you have to think about the fact that you have homework and readings for all of your classes,” DiDomenico said.

DiDomenico added that students should also think about making time for leadership positions in extracurricular activities.

“When you're involved in something and you care a lot about it, you want to have a leadership position doing that,” DiDomenico said. “So making sure that you have enough time to be able to do the things you're passionate about and not just your classes is important.”

Basner recommended looking at Penn Course Review and paying special attention to a class’s difficulty. However, while Penn Course Review is a good starting point, the ratings can be inaccurate, Basner said, so he recommended talking to upperclassmen friends to learn more about a class.

Ahead of Advance Registration for the upcoming spring semester, the DP has compiled a list of courses that can be double-counted.

Staff Reporters Jessica Wu and Vidya Pandiaraju contributed reporting.