Hey aska, so I’m trying to get into a third year class, but I’m 18th on the wait list. Is it logical to assume I have a shot at getting in? And if not, do you think I could convince the prof to let me in if someone drops after the deadline?

Hey Aska! I go to UTM and am trying to get into Animal Behaviour – I’m 18th on a waitlist of 32, and the class has 48 people. It dropped by 7 people since the first day of classes, and I’m kind of hoping it drops even further by Friday.. but am I hoping for too much? Someone told me I should try to convince the prof to just take me in after the waitlist end date, but is that even a thing?

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hey there,

it depends on how big the class is. if your spot on the waitlist is within 10% of the total class size (so, if the class size was 180, you’d be right at 10%), then you’ve got a pretty good shot at getting in. after that, it’s a lot less certain.

if you’re 18th in a class of 48, the chances are really poor, to be honest.

if you need the class for a subject POSt or graduate school or have some other reason you ABSOLUTELY MUST take this course, you can talk to the department about potentially putting you in.

make sure you talk to the department first, though, not the prof, ’cause they’re the ones who have the power to pluck people out of and stick people into classes.

a quick note: i’m not sure if both these questions are from the same person (i mean, they probably are, but i want to give you the benefit of the doubt). either way, it bears repeating for everyone:

sending your question multiple times WILL NOT make me answer faster. aska answers everything chronologically. if anything, spamming my inboxes will just annoy me. i’m already constantly on the brink of caffeine withdrawal-induced rage, so please don’t do it. thanks for understanding, amigos.

best of luck, hope you get into that class.

aska

aska,
You mentioned something about the 10% rule for the waitlist. Is it if your position is in the top 10% out of the spaces available or the people in the waitlist?

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hey there,

i looked back at the waitlist questions i’ve been answering and i see how you might’ve gotten confused. i wasn’t entirely clear and i’m sorry about that. i guess even folks as beautiful as aska can make mistakes sometimes.

the rule (which is really more a rule of thumb than a hard-and-fast rule, just so you know) is that if you’re within the top 10% of the people in the course, you’ve got a pretty fair chance at getting in.

cheers,

aska

Dear aska,

I was wondering if I could get in the course that I’m waitlisted in for ECO100Y1, meaning if enough people drop the course. Last time I checked, I was around 20th out of the 400 seats (in LEC0401) because I applied late on ROSI. I really need to get into this course for my Economics degree and I was also wondering if I could talk to the professor or the department about my dilemma instead of waiting for a spot on ROSI.

Much thanks.

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hey there,

no! you may not. actually, you could, but you really shouldn’t. i’ll tell ya right now that the prof/undergrad coordinator is gonna have a tough time getting back to you promptly at this time of year (even aska’s inbox is flooded at the moment, and i’m not even a real, serious uoft adult).

more importantly, it’s not the departments’ job to help students in this situation.

if you’re within the top 10% of the waitlist, you have a reasonably good shot of getting in (and ECO100 is a big course with, likely, a big waitlist). according to the school, “ROSI does not enrol students from the waiting lists into courses in real-time; instead, the enrolments are done in batches.” i’d say there’s a good chance you’ll be in the next batch, though it’s not a certain thing.

so sit down and wait, why doncha, instead of angering the prof about it for no good reason. you’ll regret that when assignment #1 comes around.

cheers,

aska

P.S. if you don’t get into the course after the waitlist ends and you ABSOLUTELY need it for your program, speak to your registrar’s office, and they may be able to help.

Hey, I’m on a waitlist for 2 courses that I reeeeeaaallllyyyy want to do. If I have a relatively low number of people in the waitlist in front of me, what are the chances that I can get into the course?

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hey there,

the general (GENERAL) rule of thumb is that if you are within the first 10% of the course size (e.g. spots 1-10 in a course of 100 – you’ll notice i keep using this example because my math competency is at a grade 4 level), you have a pretty good chance of getting in.

past that, it’s all a matter of degree. and luck. no matter how many e’s you stick in the middle of that ‘really.’

you’ve just gotta keep checking until the deadline, and hope for the best.

good luck,

aska

hi,

i’m on the waitlist for a couple courses right now but rosi won’t let me see my rank, is there like a maintenance week scheduled right before school starts, is it because i’m going into first year, is uoft just trying to mentally destroy me in an attempt to weed me out? before, i could click on manage course and be able i was 6 on a waitlist of 89 but now it just says?! 6709 : you may not make any changes to this course at the current time.

i’m not trying to make changes i just want to see my bloody rank and the box that used to tell me has disappeared.

thanks.

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Whooooa.

Okay.

You need to relax.

So breathe.

Breathe again.

Now unfortunately, this is what happened, according to my super secret source: ROSI was supposed to be unavailable for September 6 because… I dunno. ROSI needs sleep too. But whatever silly goose puts ROSI to sleep totally forgot to wake ROSI the frack up on Saturday! That being said, ROSI was essentially dead all weekend. There ya go.

But managing your courses is managing your courses so whether or not you want to see your rank or drop a course, it wasn’t going to happen.

Congratulations though — you just survived your first of many situations in which UofT tries to see how quickly it can make you have an anxiety attack.

Cheers!

aska

I am number 5 on a wait list of 365? WHAT DOES THIS MEAN???

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Naturally, the possible meanings for this situation is endless.

A few off the top of my head:

• You are Person the Fifth on the waitlist.
• There are four people ahead of you on the waitlist.
• You need to off a total of five students in the class to get a spot in it.
• I suppose you have a decent place on the waitlist. Dunno that depends.

Cheers!

aska

Hello,

Let us place ourselves in a hypothetical situation in which a student? finds his or herself #58 on a wait list for a course of 150 spaces. Realistically, is it just wishful thinking to assume many students will drop out of the wait list? within a few weeks, creating a space for said student? And, is there a date when those who are wait listed to be dropped from the wait list?

Thank you.

-ak

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Hey there AK,

Let us place ourselves in a hypothetical situation that’s actually surprisingly realistic but still completely hypothetical in which a student is answering a question about the oh so troublesome waitlists. If the hypothetical student from this hypothetical situation was #58 on the waitlist in an F or Y section course, then right now, no, there is no chance of getting into the course. Unfortunately, the waitlists for F or Y courses ended on September 16, 2012, and the last day to have added the courses was September 23, 2012.

However, if this course happens to be during the second semester, the hypothetical student should stay on the waitlist and, naturally, wait. He or she has a little over three months until the waitlists for S section courses close and sometimes a ridiculous number of students simply drop it, so he or she should just wait it out for now.

Cheers!

aska