Welcome and congratulations on your acceptance to our summer programs!
Should you decide to join us this summer, the following list will guide you through the necessary steps to prepare for your Penn experience. This information is for students accepted to Summer Academies, Pre-College Programs, and Online Seminars.
To accept our offer of admission, access the Decision Form located within your Penn Application Portal and answer a few short questions. Please enter your US Social Security number into the Decision Form, as this is a necessary field for the creation of your student record. If you are an international student or do not have a Social Security number, please leave the SSN field blank. Once you’ve submitted the Decision Form, you will be contacted by a member of our student records team with a Penn-assigned number.
To secure your place in the program, a non-refundable deposit of $1,500 is required in addition to accepting your offer of admission. Please note that this deposit is non-transferable to any other University of Pennsylvania programs.
To submit your deposit, log back into the application portal. You’ll find the payment link next to the “Enrollment Deposit” item on your checklist.
A PennKey is a username and password combination you create to access a variety of Penn online systems, including the University Wi-Fi, library resources, and transcripts, if applicable. Students who have paid the deposit will receive a setup code to create their PennKey. The setup code is sent via email from noreply@upenn.edu and often ends up in junk or spam folders. A PennKey and password are VERY difficult to retrieve if lost, so please write them down somewhere.
Additional PennKey resources are available on the PennKey Support website.
All Penn summer high school students are required to set up a Penn School of Arts and Sciences (SAS) email address, as this is how instructors/faculty will communicate with you. A PennKey is required to set up an email address. To set up your email address, please visit Getting Started with SAS Student Email.
All students enrolled in the Pre-College Programs or Penn Summer Prep Program will be given instructions once they have accepted, deposited, and completed the enrollment forms with Summer Discovery. Only students who have submitted a deposit are eligible to register for classes or modules. As such, it is imperative students remit their deposit as soon as possible to ensure placement within their desired courses or modules.
- Summer Academy program descriptions and sample syllabi can be found on the Summer Academy program pages
- Pre-College Programs description can be found on the Pre-College program pages
- Courses and registration information for the Pre-College Residential Program
- Courses and registration information for the Pre-College Online Program
- Online Seminars learning experiences can be found on the Online Seminars page
If you will not be enrolling with us this summer, access the decision form within your application portal and decline the offer of admission.
Summer Discovery
Who is Summer Discovery?
The Summer Discovery team provides residential staff for student supervision, hosts evening and weekend trips and activities, and ensures the health and safety of all students throughout your stay on Penn’s campus. Together, we collaborate to provide the most in-depth collegiate experience possible for our summer high school students. Penn maintains full control of all academic content.
Onboard with Summer Discovery
Within the first two weeks of admission, you will receive further enrollment information and instructions from Summer Discovery. Since they provide follow-up communication regarding the on-campus portion of your time here at Penn, it is essential that you register and complete the required paperwork for all residential students via their online system, Playground.
International students
Summer Discovery will be in touch with students with a non-US permanent address and attending a program in the US about their mandatory international registration fee. The non-refundable international registration fee includes health/medical insurance coverage (with a deductible) while attending our program.
Getting ready for class
Technology: Students are required to bring their laptops or tablets for in-class work and must have administrative access to make changes to the computer system and install applications.
Books and materials: For all Summer Academies, no materials need to be purchased prior to the start of the program. All course materials are typically included in the tuition price, but students may choose to bring note-taking supplies or a device to take notes with.
For the Pre-College Programs, instructors indicate the required materials in the syllabi for individual courses. Some course materials are made available to students through Canvas, the University’s online learning platform. In addition, Penn Bookstore offers a range of options for purchasing course materials, including new, used, digital, and rental versions, depending on the textbook. It is recommended that students attend the first class before purchasing any materials. Students may also want note-taking supplies or a device to take notes with. Please note that device policies in the classroom may vary by instructor.
