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Enrolled Graduate Student Chat - June 19, 2019
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AvatarWill Fenton, Asst Dir
10:00
Good day, all. My name is Will Fenton and I'm the Assistant Director of Graduate Admissions at Penn Engineering. I'm here to answer questions you may have about our Graduate Programs, life as a graduate student at Penn and living in Philadelphia.
Miranda Stewart
10:01
Hi everyone! My name is Miranda Stewart, and I'm the Graduate Assignments Coordinator in the Housing Assignments Office. I'm happy to answer any questions you have about on-campus housing!
AvatarWill Fenton, Asst Dir
10:02
What questions do you have for us today?
10:03
Where do you live?

United States (0% | 0 votes)
 
China (50% | 2 votes)
 
India (50% | 2 votes)
 
Europe (0% | 0 votes)
 
Middle East (0% | 0 votes)
 
Another Region? (0% | 0 votes)
 

Total Votes: 4
H
10:03
Hi Will, can we register for Fall 2019 courses already?
AvatarWill Fenton, Asst Dir
10:04
Hi H. Registration is handled through your program, as each program handles it a little differently, so you'll need to contact them. What program will you be starting?
H
10:05
I'll be starting a PhD in Computer and Information Science
AvatarWill Fenton, Asst Dir
10:05
H, you'll want to contact your Program Coordinator, Britton Carnevali, at brittonc@seas.upenn.edu.
H
10:08
I see. Thanks!
cool 1
AvatarWill Fenton, Asst Dir
10:08
You're welcome, H.
Morgan
10:08
Good morning, dear officer. I am a coming student major in Systems Engineering. I have a small question about the course registration. In the checklist, it is said that if we want to register a course outside of ESE, we have to do some extra work before registering. For example, if I want to register for a CIS course, I have to add my name to the CIS waitlist. However, in our 2019 curriculum requirement, in the Data Science area in Category A, there are two courses offered by CIS, CIS 519 Applied Machine Learning and CIS 520 Machine Learning. So I am wondering whether I have to add my name to the CIS waitlist before registering the course CIS 519 or CIS 520.
AvatarWill Fenton, Asst Dir
10:09
Hi Morgan, this would be a question for your Program Coordinator, as they handle all course registration questions. That is Christina Burton, and you can email her at esegrad@seas.upenn.edu.
Morgan
10:10
Thanks a lot!
cool 1
RHX
10:10
Hi,as a biotech master student,I want to transfer to DATS program, I already know that some core course of DATS should be take in the first semester. Who should I contact to ask for permission to apply for DATS core courses.
AvatarWill Fenton, Asst Dir
10:11
RHX, I'm sorry, but you can't apply to transfer to a different program until you've completed at least one semester in your original program, while maintaining at least a 3.0 gpa. You'll need to contact your Program Coordinator about this course issue; that is Courtney Johnson, and the email is biotech@seas.upenn.edu.
AvatarWill Fenton, Asst Dir
10:12
Have you received decisions from other schools?

Yes (100% | 3 votes)
 
No (0% | 0 votes)
 
I've received some decisions, but not all (0% | 0 votes)
 
I've been waitlisted (0% | 0 votes)
 

Total Votes: 3
BioE PhD student
10:12
Hi Will, when do we start registering for classes for the fall semester? (Bioengineering, PhD)
AvatarWill Fenton, Asst Dir
10:13
Hi BioE PhD student - you'll need to contact your program coordinator, Kathy Venit, at kvenit@seas.upenn.edu. She is the Program Coordinator and handles course questions.
RHX
10:13
thanks a lot
cool 1
AvatarWill Fenton, Asst Dir
10:13
You're welcome!
RHX
10:15
Another question is that can we apply for some on-campus part-time job ,like taught assistant.  If we can, who should I get in touch with?
AvatarWill Fenton, Asst Dir
10:17
RHX, there are limited Teaching Assistant and Research Assistant positions open - you should first contact your program coordinator about positions within the department. You can also take a look at the Campus Employment listings, here: http://www.sfs.upenn.edu/seo/
RHX
10:22
Thank you. In addition, I want to know when should we start to find  a mentor or join a lab, to work for our degree thesis? Since it will take about two semesters , could we start to match with professor more earlier?
AvatarWill Fenton, Asst Dir
10:24
RHX, this is all handled by your program, so you should reach out to Courtney. It may be more difficult for you, as you say you want to transfer to the DATS program, but you must start in the Biotech program. Also, applying to transfer is not an automatic acceptance, especially as the Data Science program is our most selective program.
RHX
10:26
thank you a lot! I will send him a email.
AvatarWill Fenton, Asst Dir
10:26
Yes, please message Ms. Johnson.
10:27
Here are some links that you may find useful:
10:29
Where do you plan to live?

On campus (40% | 2 votes)
 
Off campus, but near UPenn (60% | 3 votes)
 
Off campus in West Philadelphia/University City (0% | 0 votes)
 
Off campus in Center City/Downtown (0% | 0 votes)
 
I have no idea, help! (0% | 0 votes)
 

Total Votes: 5
Han Li
10:37
Hi!I have been admitted to Master program of
I have obtained my bachelor's degree and graduation certificate. Do I need to evaluate my final transcript and my diploma by evaluation agencies like WES before I begin my study in your university?
AvatarWill Fenton, Asst Dir
10:38
Hi Han Li. No, we don't need the documents evaluated. However they do need to be translated into English if they are not in English.
Guest
10:39
Hello Will
AvatarWill Fenton, Asst Dir
10:39
Hi Guest
Guest
10:40
I would like to know if the university provides medical insurance? If so, whom should I be contacting regarding the same and what is the course of action that I should take up.
AvatarWill Fenton, Asst Dir
10:41
Guest, Penn provides health insurance for PhD students as part of their overall award package. It is required for all students and you can find more information about purchasing it here: https://www.vpul.upenn.edu/shs/compliance.php
Han Li
10:41
Thanks a lot!
AvatarWill Fenton, Asst Dir
10:41
You're welcome, Han Li
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