hey, I just got put in rank 9 in a waitlist of a first year class of a course i need with about 190 people. I was wandering if i should just wait it out or enrol in the a different lecture of the same course.
Thank you 🙂
———————————————
hey there,
i feel for you, buddy. waitlists are truly one of biggest grievances that ACORN has to offer. checking your spot in the waitlist compulsively and having stress dreams about not getting into a course you would sell your left arm for are just some of the EXCITING ADVENTURES you can have while on a waitlist.
it’s not all doom and gloom, however.
the acknowledged wisdom when it comes to waitlists is this: if your spot on the waitlist is less than 10% of the total number of spots in the course, you have a reasonably good chance of getting in. since you’re within spot #19 in a class of 190, yeah, you’ve got a shot.
that being said, the lower the number of total spots in the course, the more iffy this rule becomes. for example, if there are 10 people in a course and you’re #1 on the waitlist, it becomes a lot less certain that one of those ten people is going to drop the course.
a class of 190 people is kind of on the small side*, and so the 10% rule is a little bit shakier in this case. if there is another lecture section you can enrol in, i would do that, just to be safe.
best of luck with it! i hope you get a spot! and i hope that all the rest of you noodles aren’t panicking too much about your course enrolment. just breathe. it’s going to be alright. i’m almost certain.
cheers,
aska
* i recognize the absurdity of a class of nearly 200 people being “small,” and yes, i realize that this is oh-so patently uoft. what can i say? you like small groups of people? leave the downtown core.
