So I am currently in a very bad situation. I need to complete Organic Chemistry before I transfer because it is a requirement for the major I applied as to all of my schools. The problem is that I am on the waitlist for the course and the professor is not going to add any individuals to the class because of safety concerns. Right now the class is at 24 students and only ones who drop will be replaced. All other courses are full on campus and add authorization have to go through the professor that only want 24 students to a class because she is the department chair. However, Organic Chemistry 2 which uses the same lab room has 26 students which seems unfair. Also, talking to the dean of the science division did not help because they are not allowed to do force professors to add. A petition has been started to open a new class, however the one classroom that is available for Organic Chemistry lab is full for every slot and all school officials are saying it is not going to do anything. All other schools in the area have a full waitlist, are already in the third week of their semester or quarter, or have had the registration dates for the schools pass. I am running out of options and staying another year just for one class is not one. Do you guys know anything else I can try and do? Sorry if my grammar is messed up, I am very stressed.
I’m not totally sure, so don’t take what I say as the truth. I don’t think you can really do anything about it. It was your responsibility to pick up an OChem course and finish it by the time spring ends. If you knew OChem was going to be hard to get into, you should’ve planned accordingly and also registered at other community colleges in the area.
@dannybui9 I couldn’t have taken it before cause I had to take general chemistry and usually organic Chem classes are open and accept 30ish people but now they’re only taking 24. So I did not know it was going to be hard to get into and I’ve been on the waitlist every semester for every class and I never had a problem with it until this time.
@incogneato My registration date is just like that, I am number 1 on the waitlist and no one has dropped since registration begun
If O-Chem is a requirement for your major, all you can really hope for is that some of the UCs you applied to will be lenient and allow you to complete the course during summer as a modification to your conditions of admission (CoA).
Your steps at this point are:
Send an email to admissions (at each individual UC) telling them that you were unable to enroll in the planned O-Chem class ASAP.
Your initial April acceptances are conditional to you passing O-Chem by the end of Spring. Since you will not fulfill that requirement by the end of Spring, your goal is to appeal to admissions and hope allow you to complete the course by the end of Summer. The earlier they know, the better your chances.
Research which CCCs and UCs will offer the required O-Chem course(s) over summer.
Pay attention to the grade posting deadlines as you will need your transcript to be received AND evaluated by your eventual choice UC prior to the official start of the Fall Quarter (September 19th) / Semester (August 17th). Note that even expedited transcripts still require 3-5 days to be mailed and received and evaluations can take up to a week so plan accordingly.
Ensure that your FAFSA, Cal Grant, Pell Grant and other financial aid options are fully completed.
Having your financial aid packages ready earlier will help alleviate any surprises when it comes to paying for your summer and beyond.
Start establishing housing options early.
Note that most UCs handle housing separately from admissions and you need to take care of business for summer early. In the event that a UC requires you take the course at their campus, you might have to decide earlier than most to secure housing and enroll in time for summer.
When you receive your admittance notifications in a couple of months, pay very careful attention to your conditions of admissions. Some of the conditions of admissions will be impossible to fulfill.
Do NOT SIR to any UC that has conditions that cannot be met as you risk forfeiting your other acceptances in the process.
Follow up with your assigned admissions counselors (via the admissions notices) from the schools that did not amend your initial conditions of admissions on your summer plans.
Some of the more selective UCs require a complete re-evaluation through a committee which can only be done after the initial admissions decisions are made. Additionally all UCs will require prior notification for any summer course to count towards your Fall transcripts.
After receiving your updated CoAs, SIR as early as you can to avoid late registration for the fall.
You will have issues matriculating and the earlier you start the process the earlier you can finish. Waiting till near the June deadline to SIR will lead to you likely missing key deadlines and likely having a late class registration date for Fall.
The advice ^^^ sounds pretty good. The only other thing I would add is to see if you could talk to a UC counselor directly.there are a couple of ways to do this.
First, look at the transfer center schedule at your school and those nearby ones. UC reps periodically come to visit in person. Make an appointment.
Some UC schools allow you to set up an online chat or phone call with admissions. Look and see if your schools do.
Lastly, and probably least helpful, you can ask a transfer counselor at your school to check on your behalf. I am a little leery of this last one, because although there are some great transfer counselors out there, if you read these boards long enough you’ll see people are told with a straight face things that are just completely wrong. They don’t come with labels around their neck so you won’t know what the one at your school is.
Part 1 of Organic Chemistry is a third semester chemistry course, so if someone is in that class, they didn’t enroll in it for fun. Ain’t nobody droppin’, sorry.
I believe you could have avoided this by getting into a program on your campus that offers priority registration, and seized from being complacent with late registration dates. Science courses at CC’s, especially the intro leveled ones, fill up quickly, but more people drop in the beginning. As you go higher in science, courses fill up relatively slower compared to intro level courses, but people stay in them because they’re relatively determined students who aren’t going to waste time. They’re going to commit those higher-level courses, which lowers your chances of getting in on the wait list.
Also, second semester of organic chemistry has more room because students taking that class are probably transferring out immediately afterward, so it makes sense for them to have more spots in that sort of class.
It’s going to be tough to find a UC that will be lenient and allow you to complete a course during the summer, while thousands of other students have OChem finished by the end of spring. Good luck with the appeal though.