Navigating your way through a class waitlist

Ah, the dreaded orange triangle. Much like its sister, the yield sign, it tells us all that we must wait until others get out of our way before we may proceed. 

A waitlist is exactly what it sounds like. It is a list of people waiting for a spot in a certain class.

When a class you are trying to enroll in is full, sometimes you can enter a waitlist and pray that a spot opens up. Entering is easy. Click on the class you want to join and check the box that says “Waitlist if class is full.” 

If you don’t successfully enroll in that class when you are registering, you will be put on the class’ waitlist, space permitting. 

You will know if you have a position on the waitlist because an orange triangle will appear next to that class on your schedule. If you want to check your spot, check "Show Waitlisted Classes" in your class schedule and it'll show you your waitlist position.

However, be sure to use this checkbox sparingly. UNC only allows students to join waitlists for up to four credit hours. As first-years, this means you can join the waitlists of an LFIT course or a lab and a normal three credit hour course.

All first-years register between July 11 and July 31. During this period, no one will move off of a waitlist into a class because of UNC reserves a number of spots in every class for each registration block. On Aug. 7, waitlists will be reactivated by 10 a.m. 

So for now, you shouldn't worry about moving off the waitlist and into a class. Once they're reactivated, check back every so often to see if you've had any luck getting in – ConnectCarolina won't alert you if your waitlist position changes. 

Honestly, it's really hard to accurately predict your chances of getting into a class from the waitlist. People drop and add classes all the time up until the deadline, which is a couple of weeks into the semester. But sometimes a class stays totally packed, which is unfortunate. 

Different classes have different sizes of their waitlists depending on their seat capacities. An ENGL 105 class may only have five spots available on the waitlist, while Chemistry 101 might have 20 waitlist spots to fill.

That being said, smaller and more specialized classes like English 105i are trickier to join off of their waitlists because of their small size and drop-rates. Bigger and tougher classes like biology and calculus are the opposite. They are typically easier to get into off the waitlist because of their high drop rates and large size. 

If all else fails, there is no shame in begging your professors for a spot in their classroom if their department allows it. They are often much more forgiving than they may seem, and most teachers will fit as many students in their classes as the space can physically hold. 

Do bear in mind that some departments, especially those that offer foreign language courses, have specific policies regarding students joining already-full classes. These can range from emailing the professor to attending the first day of the class. However, others only accept students that get into the class on ConnectCarolina while it's still open — this includes English composition classes (i.e. ENGL 105 and ENGL105i) as well as the romance studies and psychology departments. With these, you are not allowed to sit in on a class in an effort to add it. It's worth perusing the department's website before groveling – professors love a student that does their homework.

But despite all your best efforts, you might not get into the class after all. And that's fine. You will not be pushed off-track for graduation, or for applying to a professional school, or for fulfilling your wildest dreams, if you can't get into a class you need during your first semester of your first year. You've got plenty of time to take whatever it is. We promise.

 Good luck registering!