<p>I'm a Spring transfer admit who'll be attending CalSO on Friday. Based on the courses I already have (some from another four-year), I really only need upper division courses for my major (political science). The trouble is, they're all already full.</p>
<p>When I was at community college, it was common for dedicated students to attend "full" courses for weeks, waiting for someone to drop. Professors generally didn't mind, so long as a waiting student wasn't taking up a seat that an enrolled student would otherwise have.</p>
<p>How does it work at Cal? Do students sit on the floor in the back for weeks and eventually get in, or do professors usually force all students who aren't in the class to leave?</p>
<p>I’m a 1st-year, and I remember that in all of my classes, the professors addressed it this way: They acknowledged that the class was packed (a lot were sitting on the floor) because of the waitlist. Since the classes were so big, it was hard to tell/inquire if someone was on the waitlist or not. If you go there early and grabbed a seat, then it’s yours. No professor made anyone get up because they weren’t enrolled xD
They also said that, because of the list, they’d somehow take roll, and if people didn’t show up for the first 2 or 3 lectures, they’d be immediately dropped from the class to make room for more dedicated waitlisted students. They said, though, that there was no guarantee that the waitlist would get smaller.</p>
<p>EDIT: One of my GSIs gave me the name of a counselor though, and she bumped be almost 20 seats up from the waitlist just because I went to talk to her, lol</p>
<p>Good to know, thanks. Of the classes you tried to get into, in how many we’re you successful?</p>
<p>I’m really hoping this doesn’t end up being a dead semester for me, full of DeCals and courses I have no interest in and don’t need. Since I need only 8 PS classes, plus PS 3, it would be theoretically possible for me to finish in 2 semesters, and I was anticipating doing 3. It’s now looking like it might be 4 semesters, just to get 36 units.</p>
<p>On the bright side, it shouldn’t be too hard to get to 50 units over 4 semesters, which would make me eligible for graduation with [high/highest] distinction (Cal’s version of [magna/summa] cum laude).</p>
<p>Of the 4 classes I’m in right now, I was only waitlisted for one, but I was really low on the waitlist (I started out as #77 just a few weeks before school). I ended up getting in, and it was really cool that I got to talk to the counselor about bumping me up
It was a lower div course, though, so I dunno how different it is with upper div. It really helps that some profs are strict about dropping people who just aren’t willing to come to class and turn in homework, though, to put in waitlisted people who actually care</p>
<p>I’m also a poli sci major. Traditionally, I’ve only been able to get into 2 upper div courses each semester. Maybe if you’re lucky you can get 3. PS3 is always easy to get into since so many people drop. So you can definitely finish in 3 semesters if you choose easy to get in classes. I know that PS149E, PS106a, PSc135 you can get into during phase II. </p>
<p>PS106a is easy to get into? I’ve heard its one of the more popular courses.</p>
<p>As an aside, I met with the class’s professor a few weeks ago in a professional capacity. Great guy–I hope he teaches 106 again next Spring (he’s not this year).</p>
<p>106a is full by phase I first day. Usually, all the athletes/special cases get the spots, so what I mean is you don’t have to phase I it since it doesn’t really matter. It’s easy to get into as he doesn’t care who is on the waitlist or just wants to get into the class. Instead, on the first day, he hands out and application and you write why you want to take the class etc. Usually, if you have a good reason (you wanna work on campaigns or something), and you are a graduating senior, he’ll let you in.</p>
<p>Also, talking to PS advisers doesn’t help waitlists, not even if you’re a graduating senior who can’t graduate without xxx class.</p>
<p>From my professor today: “When class starts, just annoy them until they can’t wait to get rid of you. You have no idea how annoying you can get. They’ll just give up - and you can get into any class you want.” </p>
<p>haha not sure if this works, probably not, but worth a shot?</p>
