S registered this AM for classes. Athletes and Scholars get priority registration. When he checked # of spots open in class he wanted/needs for both majors he’s intending just prior to registration, there were only like 2 or 3 spots left in all the sections. Of course he didn’t get the class, or any that he wanted. But, at least he got 4 classes. Quite a few kids in his group chat couldn’t find any open classes. Can someone familiar with Richmond please explain how regular students get the classes they need? It appears the first Leadership classes, in particular, will always be filled since they are required and lots of kids double major in business and leadership. In S’s case, he’s interested in double majoring in leadership and PPEL. I can see the same thing happening with the PPEL seminars. Thank you!
My daughter registered this AM as well. She got 2 of the 4 she wanted (she was already enrolled in her Endeavor class, and she got the seminar class she wanted) but she was waitlisted in Calculus 2 and something else. She’ll be trying for this next semester. She seemed a little peeved that as a Freshman she picked classes last…I reminded her she’s not a HS Senior anymore!
My eldest found freshmen year the trickiest but pretty easy after that. Current freshman got all but one class he wanted this morning. He picked a placeholder if he doesn’t get off the waitlist. Lower on the want list but will cover a GE.
I believe there are 2 leadership classes they need to take the first 2 years and they will be easier to get next year with a little higher priority. If it doesn’t happen this year, they shouldn’t give up.
Yeah. I guess he could just take it as an opportunity to explore interests, fill gen eds, get accustomed to school, and try to develop a social scene without too much stress. Freshmen obviously get last pick on classes since they have the most time left in college to get all the classes they need. I don’t think this will be a persisting issue as your S progresses and gets higher priority. There are departmental overrides that I’ve seen students take advantage of, but it’s not something to be abusing and requires special approval. I wouldn’t stress it too much and honestly wouldn’t recommend it for now. I’d recommend just going with the flow and seeing this as an opportunity (while still being sure to remain on the waitlist because who knows).
The concern with freshmen not getting classes could be problematic for students who are on a track, such as pre-med. How does the school handle this? For example, if one can’t get the first bio or chem class, then the second semester is affected as one can’t take the next class in the progression. And of course, all pre-med requirements must be taken by end of junior year to take the MCAT. @MON824 Do you have any insight to this type of situation?
The staff is highly accessible. There were only two classes my daughter wanted prior to graduation and struggled to get. In both cases, she approached the professors. One just added her on the spot. The other couldn’t enlarge class due to equipment dependency but they personally made sure my daughter got in when offered the next year. Each student also gets an academic advisor and they can help out too. (General adviser at first and then one in their major after they declare.)
The school doesn’t have a reputation for students not getting classes they need. My D was not pre-med but several of her friends were. They all got through and are in good med schools now.
First semester is the hardest, and it gets easier after that. They sometimes open more spots in classes after freshman scholars registration, or after all the registration times have passed. There are certain departments that have difficulties with upper-level classes filling, but they’ve been hiring more professors (which is a long process) in order to fix this.
I’ve only had one course in my entire 4 years that I didn’t get into due to capacity issues, and that was a first-year seminar I really wanted to take (Wrongful Conviction). I did have to get many overrides (or get in off the waitlist) over the years, particularly because I came in ahead in both math and CS and was taking classes with students 1-2 years ahead of me in those subjects. The department worked with me really well, though, in order to make sure I could take everything I needed, when I needed to (which was important, because I ended up double majoring, double minoring).
FWIW, I have not heard of issues getting through the pre-med sequence at all.