Penn State’s eLion has gotten a major redesign this year. With a sleek new layout and a couple new features, eLion is now far more user friendly than it was when most current students started using it. The new eLion is clean, organized, and easy to use. When it comes to functionality though; not all features are created equal.

If you’re new to eLion, or are still getting used to the redesign, here are the most useful features that eLion offers:

1. The Degree Audit. This is essential to any students’ success. You should check this any time you go to schedule or whenever you change majors or add a minor. This is the road map to your college career and will guide you throughout your time at Penn State. It is possible to never meet with your adviser if you use the audit as much as I do. This can be found under the “Advising” tab on the left of the screen.

2. Registration. The main thing that students flock to eLion every semester for is registering for the next semester. Hell, we usually end up breaking it once or twice. Get those course numbers from the course schedule and you’re set. Unless you’re a freshman and you’re trying to take ballroom and snowboarding. That’s not happening. Both registration and the link to the course schedule can be found under “Schedule” on the left column.

3. The Course Watch List. My nemesis. The thing that has me tearing my hair out every few months. If you are a freshman and you’re trying to take ballroom and snowboarding, (see what I did there?) you are going to end up here. The watch list will send you a text or email, based on your preference, every time a seat opens up in a class that you are “watching.” You can only add courses to this list after your scheduling date, and only full courses can be added. You have to be quick to get a course from here. Typically, I just end up getting lucky and being on eLion when I get a text from the watch list. The course watch list is found under the “Schedule” tab on the left.

4. Bursar Tuition Bills. Everyone’s favorite part of college. Paying for tuition, on campus housing, fitness memberships, printing, and UHS visits is done through here. It’s a good idea to keep up to date on this since you won’t be able to schedule for the next semester if you’re behind on payments, which is something I found out an hour before my schedule time this semester. Awkward. This can be found in the “Financial” section of the page.

5. Student Schedule. This is where you can see your current and future semester’s schedules, as well as the course times, days, and locations. You can also purchase your books from the Penn State bookstore with a few clicks of your mouse (and a lot of money from your pocket). This is one of my favorite parts of the redesign. You no longer have to click through multiple options to get to your current schedule. When you click this tab, the current semester pops up in the view panel. You can change to a different semester or view from there but the default is much appreciated compared to the old eLion. Student Schedule is found under the “Schedule” tab.