Information for Transfer Students (students who earned 18 or more college credits after graduating from high school).
Information for First-Year Students (students who earned fewer than 18 credits after graduating from high school).
Transfer Students
If you earned 18 or more college credits after graduating from high school, you are considered a Transfer Student. Otherwise, you are considered a first-year student and should review the information in the First-Year section below.
Transfer students SHOULD NOT schedule an appointment using the links on this page. Please email aldus@psu.edu for directions on how to schedule your advising appointment.
First-Year Students
If you have earned fewer than 18 college credits after graduation from high school, you are considered a first-year student.
Prepare for your advising meeting
This initial advising meeting is an opportunity for you to talk one-on-one with an academic adviser about your academic interests and goals and to outline your initial steps to reach them.
The more prepared you are, the more the advising appointment can focus on you and your individual goals.
- Complete the steps in your NSO Tasklist, including the educational planning survey, ALEKS math placement, transfer credit worksheet, and course planning guide.
- Build a tentative first-semester schedule in your LionPATH Enrollment Shopping Cart prior to your advising appointment.
What to expect during the advising meeting
During the academic advising meeting, you should expect to discuss your academic goals and interests—including how they relate to your academic journey at Penn State in general and your first-semester schedule in particular. This meeting is your final step to enroll in first-semester courses.
We hope that you will continue to engage with academic advisers throughout your academic career and that this will represent the first of many interactions.
Schedule Your Appointment Now!
During your advising appointment you will be scheduling your classes. The sooner you schedule your classes, the more options you will have. Reach out for help if you have trouble finding a time that works.
How to schedule your appointment
Please watch this brief video about how to schedule your advising appointment.
When you click a scheduling button, you will be prompted to log in through Penn State’s sign-in screen if you are not already logged in. If you have not done so already, you will need to Enroll in Multi-Factor Authentication.
You must check your Penn State email for the advising appointment confirmation. This confirmation email will contain the day, time (in EDT), and Zoom URL you will use to meet with your orientation adviser. If any changes are made to your scheduled appointment, new information will be sent to your Penn State email. Please check your Penn State email often, including immediately prior to your orientation advising appointment.
International and Out-of-State students: appointments will be visible in Starfish on the dates and times listed below. All in-state students will see available appointments on your scheduled orientation date.
| If your orientation date is: | then appointments are visible in Starfish on: | and virtual appointments are available on: |
|---|---|---|
| June 30 | June 30 at 5:00 p.m. | July 1, 2 |
| August 12 | August 12 at 5:00 p.m. | August 14, 15, 16 |
Please schedule an orientation advising appointment in your Academic Program (College) using a scheduling link below. Do not schedule more than one appointment.
First, find your current Academic Program (College) from your Admission materials, OR use LionPATH by taking the following steps:
- Click on the “Academic Records” tab on the right side of your LionPATH page;
- Under “Academic Background” and “Program Details” you will see “Acad Program (College)”. It will say something like Agriculture, Arts and Architecture, Bellisario Communications, Division of Undergraduate Studies, etc. That is your current Academic College.
Next, review the following list of Academic Colleges and use its corresponding scheduling link to ensure that you schedule a meeting with an appropriate Orientation advisor.
It is VERY important to schedule an advising meeting with an advisor designated for your college of admission. That person is best to help you plan your course schedule and advise your next steps even if you have changed your academic goals after your admission.
Please note all meetings are in Eastern Time (GMT-5). Please join the Zoom meeting promptly at the start of your appointment time. That is, if your appointment is from 9 a.m. – 10 a.m. (Eastern Time, GMT-5), you need to join the meeting by 9 a.m. (Eastern Time, GMT-5).
This list also includes a web link to help you identify majors that are housed in that College; and similar 4 yr. & 2 yr. degrees that can be completed at the Altoona Campus, if that is your goal.
Please only schedule your appointment based on your current major. Appointments scheduled with advisers outside your current major may be rescheduled. For example, if you enter in the Division of Undergraduate Studies but intend to complete a Smeal Business major, you should still schedule with a DUS adviser.
| Academic College | Scheduling Link |
|---|---|
| Agricultural Sciences majors (also Altoona Environmental Studies, B.A., Environmental Science B.S.) | Schedule your appointment. |
| Arts & Architecture majors (also Altoona Visual Arts) | Schedule your appointment. |
| Smeal Business majors (also Altoona Accounting and 4 yr. & 2 yr. Business) | Schedule your appointment. |
| Bellisario Communications majors (also Altoona Communications) | Schedule your appointment. |
| Division of Undergraduate Studies (DUS): students exploring many majors; still deciding from a few different majors; unsure about how to select a major; or who were referred by Admissions to DUS to qualify for a major that is administratively controlled | Schedule your appointment. |
| Earth & Mineral Sciences majors | Schedule your appointment. |
| Education majors (and Altoona Early Childhood & Elementary Education) | Schedule your appointment. |
| Engineering majors (and Altoona Electro-Mechanical Engineering Technology, Mechanical Engineering, and Rail Transportation Engineering) | Schedule your appointment. |
| Health & Human Development majors (and Altoona 4 yr. & 2 yr. Human Development & Family Studies and Kinesiology) | Schedule your appointment. |
| Information Sciences & Technology majors (and Altoona Security & Risk Analysis, Information Technology, and Cybersecurity) | Schedule your appointment. |
| Liberal Arts majors (and Altoona 4 yr. and 2 yr. Multidisciplinary Studies) | Schedule your appointment. |
| Nursing Altoona BSN | Schedule your appointment. |
| Eberly Science majors (and Altoona Biology) | Schedule your appointment. |
If you have trouble scheduling an advising appointment within the target advising days for your University Welcome session, please email aldus@psu.edu or (814) 949-5084.