Tools for Success - for transfer students who have accepted their offer of admission to Penn State by sending in their Acceptance Notification and Enrollment Deposit
- Learn about our policies and programs
- Register for your first semester of classes
- Meet other Transfer students
Who should attend? | Why is this required? | How do I register? | Where should I go? | Directions to campus | What topics are covered? | What handouts are available? | What academic information is covered?
Who should attend Orientation?
Students transfer to Penn State from colleges and universities throughout the area, the nation, and the world. Today you are a “transfer student,” but once classes begin, you will be a Penn Stater. Congratulations!
If you have already submitted your Acceptance Notification form and your $100 Enrollment Deposit, then you are invited to register for Penn State Abington’s orientation for transfer students. Our campus is always open to friends and family members who wish to visit, but because of the nature of the Orientation program, space is available only for transfer students.
Friends and family members who also visit campus for Tools for Success can sample a snack in the cafeteria, lounge on a park bench by the Duck Pond, read a magazine in the library, check out the Penn State Abington history exhibits on the ground floor of the library, or take a tour of campus. For tours, please register by calling the Admissions Office, 215-881-7600, to arrange for a student tour-guide.
Why is Orientation required?
To acquaint students with Penn State policies and programs, distribute and explain each student’s degree audit (including the list of transferred and remaining course requirements), and prepare the student to meet advisers to schedule classes. After meeting advisers, students move to the Computer Center, where, with the assistance of a student orientation leader, new students register online for their classes. The Tools for Success program is designed for incoming transfer students to see advisers and to register for classes in one afternoon.
How do I register for the program?
After you have submitted your Enrollment Deposit, you will receive an invitation in the mail to Tools for Success, the transfer student orientation and advising program. It includes instructions about how to sign up for one of several dates for the program. On the date of the program, students should arrive at the Information Desk at the Lares Building for check-in at 12 noon. The program will begin promptly at 12:30 pm and end no later than 4:30 pm.
Where is Orientation held?
Students will first check in at the Lares Building to obtain their Penn State photo ID card, and then they will be directed to the meeting room. Later they will walk to Sutherland Building to register for their courses. For special accommodations, please contact the Admissions Office, 215-881-7600.
Directions to campus
Directions from various parts of the region are available through the Penn State Abington Directions page.
Where will I park?
A special parking permit is made available to students who register for Transfer Advising and Orientation: Tools for Success. It allows them to park in any student parking lot during the program. The student lots are designated on the campus map.
What topics are covered at Orientation?
First, the Penn State Abington Student Handbook is distributed. It contains indispensable information for new students on campus. Then, the Student Affairs staff introduces several handouts.
What handouts are available at Orientation?
- General Information: Photo IDs, Access Accounts, Parking Permits
- Billing Information
- Financial Aid Checklist
- Minor Courses of Study
- Parking and Transportation
- Responsibilities of Advisers and Advisees
- Student Services Available on eLion
- Varsity and Club Sports
What academic information is covered?
- Academic Advising Center (AAC), hours and location
- Academic policies and procedures
- Degree requirements, entrance to major
- Degree requirements, general education
- Degree requirements, university
- Grading system
- Making an appointment with an AAC or faculty adviser
- Obtaining a degree audit on eLion
- Scheduling courses on eLion
- Websites for academic planning
Also:
- ANGEL: online course assignments, homework, and information
- Bookstore: special hours, book-return policies, and Penn State souvenirs
- Campus closures: PSU text messaging service and snow emergencies
- Campus life: how and why get involved with campus organizations
- Career Center: exploratory and required internships; searching for a job or career
- Common Break: a scheduled break for the entire campus
- Computer labs: hours, locations, wireless
- Confidentiality of records: how much can my family know
- eLion: using Penn State’s students’ online academic and financial records
- Faculty office hours
- Health forms: filing immunization records
- Learning Center: free peer and professional tutoring
- Library: online databases and how to get help
- Parking: finding the fastest way to class
- Personal support: where students go when they have problems
- PSU email: read it often! And do not forward to another account
- Research: working with faculty to prepare for careers and grad school
- Safety and security: obtaining the parking pass; finding student lots
- Structure of PSU: what is a college?
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