<p>I'm wondering about where people generally draw the line with staying on waitlists for courses. As in, at what point on the waitlist should I give up on getting into a class?</p>
<p>There's a class I need that I was planning on taking in the spring, but I recently figured out that my plan would work out <em>a lot</em> better for the future if I took this course this semester. My issue is that I didn't figure this out until over halfway into the summer, and now the class is full. It's a big class (it has 10 discussion sections, each with 25 people), and I joined the discussion with the shortest waitlist that also doesn't destroy my schedule. I was originally 10th on the waitlist, and I am currently 8th, and classes start next week. </p>
<p>I don't have any experience with class waitlists; do people in my position get into the class? I can't anticipate how many people will drop the class at the beginning of the semester, and I can't decide whether or not I should give up, or if I should wait around for those in front of me to give up first. I am also currently enrolled in a backup class that I plan on dropping if I get in, and I don't want to do the work for both classes if I know that I'll drop one. Also, at what point should I email the professor? I feel like it'd be weird to email him when I'm so far back on the waitlist. </p>
<p>If anybody could give me some advice about this, or share their experiences, that'd be great!</p>