It’s that time again. The semester has started and for some of us, we have to go through the hell of picking and choosing which course to drop or take, weighing options, opinions and feelings about a certain course. There are some courses that are just absolutely fabulous and you know it – partly because of the long waitlist that you’re in. However, as a 4th year, I can tell you now, don’t despair! Even if this article does come a little late, hopefully this will be helpful to you next year or the year after.
First of all, being waitlisted doesn’t mean it’s the end of the world. Here are a few things you can try:
- PLAN, PLAN, PLAN. Before you even start the semester, make up a schedule and make sure to have a few backups. Unless there is some sort of reason why you can’t, try adding 6 courses and drop 1 of them after the first week.
- When you’re on ROSI registering for your courses, enumerate your courses by how important they are to you. If you absolutely NEED a course, make sure to sign up for that first.
- Go to the first class. Maybe the course wasn’t what you expected it to be and maybe you might be happy that you didn’t take it. If you still want to take the course, talk to the professor after class. Your dedication to the course will likely make he or she inclined to give you a spot in the class. There might be some paperwork involved depending on the department, but if you want to get in, it’s worth it! The chances of getting into a class this way gets higher as you reach higher level courses.
- If option 3 doesn’t work, stalk ROSI like a stealthy panther when the waitlists turn off. Or here’s a strategy: find someone who wants to drop the course, sit side by side sometime when the waitlists turn off, have the person drop the course and immediately after he/she drops it, attack and register!
- If you need a certain course to graduate but you can’t for any reason, you can use the Dean’s Promise. If you find yourself in this situation, you should go see your registrar by the first week o f classes in September.
Finally, here are a few important dates for this semester. Good luck on all of your scheduling endeavours!
I’m on 2 waitlists. On the one I’m desperate to get into I’m 8th on the list for a class if 250 . On the other that matters less I’m 27 for 350. This means I’m short 1.5 classes. How long do I stay on these lists before writing these courses off. I’ve emailed the prof but he wasn’t willingto say he could add to the class. My schedule is very tight because of other commitments and I don’t know the waitlists strategy
The “drop dead” date should be listed in the calendar and is about a week and a half or two weeks into the term. However, I don’t think you should worry too much. You will probably get into the class where you’re #8 on the waitlist and it seems likely that you’ll get into the class where you’re #27 as well. In my experience, a lot of people drop out of classes once:
1. P or E (one of those… or it could be both) indicators are turned off for certain courses, which is a week or two after course selection
2. Right before the term starts
3. After the first or second class. (For courses with 100+ students, at least 20 will drop.)
I enrolled in this first-year seminar that I am really interested in but I am waitlisted. It says “Your rank is 28 for 24 total spaces in the meeting section. “, does that mean my chance is really low?