<p>Applied for M&T, got into SEAS - planning dual degree in CS/Eng (most likely) and Econ/Business. But this is all based on what I know now, not what happens during the next year or so.<br>
Question: How are advisers assigned and how much help do they provide in explaining options and determining requirements for coursework during this initial year? Open university is a great concept. But you can't sit in on all the classes if you want to get a degree in a reasonable amount of time. This seems especially true for both engineering and business, as very few high school grads understand what these are really about.</p>
<p>I have the same question … how does the advising system work and are they actually helpful?</p>
<p>that makes 2 of us wondering about this - c’mon somebody, we appreciate your experience</p>
<p>I can only talk about the college. Everyone is assigned a general advisor and then further assigned other advisors when one declares majors/minors[to advise those subjects]. My major advisor is actually an assistant dean in the college, so I haven’t had to see the general advisor since I got him.</p>
<p>Not sure how much that helps, but you’ll be notified of everything before you arrive at Penn. My original advisor’s name was in one of the packets that Penn originally [eventually] sent out over the summer.</p>
<p>For SEAS, you’re assigned an advisor based on your major (there’s also an advisor for CD). They’ve always been pretty helpful for me and the people I’ve talked to, though I think advisors are always a little hit or miss.</p>
<p>In SEAS, if you come in curriculum deferred (CD) you get a certain staff member for your adviser. His only job is to help you pick a major, and once that happens you get assigned to a faculty member in that department. Chances are good that that person will suck as an adviser, and I would recommend meeting some faculty in your department, and asking one of them to be your adviser. (If you come in to SEAS with a major already, you get randomly assigned a faculty member in your department. Again, try to find someone better, it’s worth it. For CS, I recommend Max Mintz)</p>
<p>For Wharton (if anyone is curious), you aren’t assigned an adviser. There is a pool of advisers, all of whom can help you at any time, and there’s a good chance you’ll only talk to them maybe once per year. For concentration-specific help, each department has a dedicated member, but you’ll probably never meet them.</p>
<p>^^I have Max Mintz. Great advisor. and a really cool person</p>
<p>I came in to Penn as bioengineering and had a really bad advisor. Funny story: in my penn professor essay to get in to the university, i wrote about this guy. turns out, he was terrible.
i then switched to CS and they assigned Max Mintz. </p>
<p>so advising, at least for SEAS is a hit or a miss. I have spoken with a wharton advisor and i had an OK one. </p>
<p>All in all, advising is really laid back. You can usually find all the information online and you already should know what courses to take.</p>