Hello again, Bears! I am so happy to be back for another semester and another blog post. Welcome back! I hope you had an excellent Winter Break and some relaxing time off. I thought I would use my post for this week to talk about a topic that I experienced myself this semester. Have you ever been prepared to register for a course that you really want to take only to find out on registration day that it’s full? Many students, myself included, have woken up to this disappointment on their registration date, but if this happens to you, don’t panic! There are a couple of things you can do to increase your chances of getting into a full class. Here are some tips that I have used to successfully enroll in a full class.  

Join the Waitlist

The first thing that you can do to make the likelihood of you being able to join a full class higher is join the waitlist. You can do this through the same portal that you would use to register for a class if the class has a waitlist available. The waitlist is a way for you to, as the word implies, wait for a spot in the class to open up. If a student registered for the class drops the class, you’ll be notified through your Missouri State email address and given 24 hours to register for it. If you don’t register in those 24 hours, the spot will be given to the next student on the waitlist. That’s why it’s important for you to join the waitlist as soon as possible, frequently check the registration portal to see if any students have dropped the course, and check your email often. You can learn more about waitlisting a course on the Missouri State website.  

Contact the Instructor of the Course 

If you’re unable to enroll in a course after joining the waitlist, the next step is to contact the instructor of the course. Typically, students will contact the instructors of the course after being unsuccessful on the waitlist to ask for a registration override. A registration override takes place when the instructor or the department heading the course you’re attempting to join increases the number of seats available in the course and/or enters the registration system and allows you to register for a spot even if the class is full. When contacting professors about registration overrides, it’s important to be kind and understanding. Depending on the department, the instructor may not have control over whether or not a registration override will be permitted to you, and sometimes they cannot increase the course capacity even under special circumstances. In some cases, you may not be able to receive an override for the class. In the same way that it is crucial for you to continuously check your email after joining the waitlist, it’s also necessary for you to consider alternative options for any class you were hoping to take that’s full. If you are unable to join a course through the waitlist and you are not granted a registration override before the change of schedule period ends, you will not be able to take that particular course. 

Takeaways

I hope that these tips will help you in future semesters if you ever encounter a full class. If you’re experiencing this issue currently, remember that the change of schedule period this semester takes place from Tuesday, January 16th to Monday, January 22nd, and you have until then to drop any courses that you’re enrolled in for a full refund or enroll in a different class.

If you have any other questions about joining full classes, you can visit our amazing Peer Mentors and Success Coaches here in the CAST office, or request to meet with one of us through our online request form. This semester, we’re also offering drop-in hours on Tuesdays from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. and Wednesdays from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Come and see us! Otherwise, I hope you have a great second week of the semester, and I will see you soon in a future blog post! 

~Hallie  

(Bio: I am a junior out-of-state student studying Creative Writing and Philosophy.)