First-Year Experience (FYE) - Penn New Student Orientation and Academic Initiatives

New Student Orientation is an exciting and informative opportunity for all new students! Through the plethora of activities and lessons that are crammed into six days, and between presentations and preceptorials, it’s easy for students to forget some of the things that they learn. Because of this, our office has started the First-Year Experience (FYE) program.

The First-Year Experience (FYE) program consists of events throughout the school year run by Penn students and administration that are designed to assist personal success in college. These events aid in creating a welcoming community for students in their transition to campus by engaging them in programs related to:

Personal growth
Academic support
Navigating campus resources
Academic support
Financial literacy
Social and cultural awareness

Thank you for your interest in the FYE & SYE Grant program. We would like to share that all available funds for the Fall 2025 semester have already been allocated. You are still welcome to submit an application for Spring 2026 to support any events planned for that semester.

The deadline for 2025 Fall and 2026 Spring application is

Spring Events – Friday, February 6, 2026 at 11:59 pm EST
Fall Events – Friday, November 7, 2025 at 11:59 pm EST

Our office can assist with marketing for your event and/or provide grants up to $250. Itemized budgets are required, and preference for these competitive grants will be given to requests that use funds for programming beyond food, drink, & refreshments.

In order to be eligible for a grant, your group needs to have a 26-digit budget code with the University of Pennsylvania or work with a department that does and can journal the funds to you. Please fill out the application form, and our office will reach out to you via email.

Please note that one organization is only allowed to receive one grant during one academic year. All grants will be considered if submitted at least 1 week in advance of the event. If you have any questions, please email provost-nso-ai@pobox.upenn.edu.

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