Hi guys,
I'm looking for some help. I emailed advisors in BSB, Ann Hollingshead (no response), Sarah Robinson (for Life Sci courses) and no one has responded to whom I contact for a Chem 1AA3 prereq waiver (Im taking Chem 1A03 NOW).

This is the gist of what I sent them all, different versions but basically the same:

-----Original Message-----
From: R.J. Prakash [mailto:[email protected] cis.mcmaster.ca]
Sent: Monday, June 14, 2010 3:27 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Need to Get in to Required Courses

Hi Nic,
I came to see you on Thursday (I don't expect you to remember, don't worry), but I'm very upset because I could only register for 6 courses tonight. I figured emailing a specific advisor was better that the general email system, sorry.

I'm going to be in Science II as of September, and I want to shadow the Honours Life Sciences II program, with a MINOR in Psych.

I logged on to SOLAR at 12:00 this morning, because I knew that I needed to get into certain courses really badly, considering that I AM in Science II. I started selecting courses, and the server crashed, kicking me out until 12:11. By the time I got there, all the courses were full. Here's a breakdown of what I was supposed to take:
Life Sci 2C03, 2D03, 2F03
Psych 2AA3, 2AP3, 2B03, 2C03
Sanskrit 3A06 in the summer.

I ended up with Life Sci 2D03 being FULL. I REALLY CAN'T STRESS how much I need it, because I don't have the prerequisites to take any other course from that section of requirements from the undergraduate calendar FOR LIFE SCI II. In addition to this, all the Psych courses were full. How am I supposed to get a psych minor if all the psych courses are full? I was left pulling at my hair and crying, I didn't know what to do, and so I signed up for the following, with which I will surely fail next year - I don't want to take MOST of these, but I just selected them because they were OPEN:
Philos 1A03, GEOG 1HA3, Phys 1L03 (retake, failed), LifeSci 2C03 2F03, and Psych 2E03, which I had no intention of taking but it was the ONLY psych course that was open.


I really need to get in to the H. Life Sci program, and with what I have now there is NO WAY I will have the credits to get in. I actually wanted to go into Psych, but I wouldn't have the credits anyways, but psych is my passion, I LOVE it, and it's what I want to do - which is why I want to MINOR in it - at least I'll have some exposure to it, right?

Is there any way you guys could open up a spot for me in Life Sci 2D03 (which I ABSOLUTELY need to be able to take Life Sci courses next year and even get IN!), as well as the psych courses I wanted to take? If you can't, I have no idea what I'm going to do for my second year, because I won't get anywhere and I won't qualify for anything with what I have now... I WILL monitor SOLAR and everything but really I don't think anything will open up - no one needs to change tutorials or anything because these courses don't have any.

Thank you so much for your time and effort ,
Reshmee Prakash

---------

The advisor directed me to Sarah Robinson, who said that she can't help me because I'm not in LIFE SCIENCE. I want to shadow the program, dammit, and I dont qualify for anything else in that section! My situation has to be bad enough, so I don't get it...

What do I do? Because with 6 courses I won't get in to anything, and I dont even want to take those six :|, like AT ALL, and because of that I'll do really badly and won't make the 6.0 needed to get in... I even considered preparing to transfer to UTM, cancel my lease on my apartment, taking courses there and then tranferring them back for 3rd year.... I'm so desperate I got locked out of SOLAR for too much usage during my 45 mins, until 6:50pm tonight!

HELP PLEASE!

First of all, they need your student number and full name. Second of all, try to be a LOT more professional when addressing any authority on campus. Give them a couple days to respond to you, they're receiving many many e-mails right now.

Originally Posted by feonateresa

First of all, they need your student number and full name. Second of all, try to be a LOT more professional when addressing any authority on campus. Give them a couple days to respond to you, they're receiving many many e-mails right now.

Well i did give it to them, i just removed it from here :| don't really wanna publicize that, right. And thanks for the tip

Also, try to be patient. Course selection is turning out to be a nightmare for most, especially with prereqs and full courses...so I'm sure they are getting tons and tons of emails from many students who are having trouble. They'll reply soon enough...and if they don't you can try calling.

Thank you!


But what if everyone replies that they can't help me because I'm not in their program, and I can't get in to the course by August?

If you can't get in my august I don't think they'd open a spot for you =/. What I would do if I really wanted to stay at mac is to wait until classes start, I think we have a few weeks to drop a course. I would just go to the lectures anyways and hope someone drops it. (Hopefully it's a big class).

I think it'd be worth a try going back in and seeing an academic advisor? it's easier to work through things in person than through email. See if you can set up an appointment.

There's plenty of time until August. Relax. I didn't get into a course last year until mid-October. You don't need Chem 1AA3 until second term, and you'll have completed the prereq by then, so that issue will resolve itself if you can't find someone to fix it for you. As for the psych courses, in all likelihood, they will open up. When I tried to register, Psych 2AP3 (pretty much the only elective I am interested in that fit with my schedule) was full, but within 24hrs they opened up spots. Several other people have posted that they've managed to get into psych courses that were previously full.

There must be SOMEONE in charge of your program. Hopefully, someone can direct you to that person. If not, go see an academic advisor in person.

Also, try talking to the prof of the course directly. It seems that Life Sci 2D03 is the most important one, so start there.

You might not get ALL of the courses you want, and you might get stuck taking a couple of courses you don't care for, but that's life. The people actually registered in those programs have to get priority over you. There's no reason to panic, though, especially not now--it's only June! The academic advisors and program advisors are swamped with people higher on the priority list than you, so give them time.

Im in the EXACT same position as you :(

Originally Posted by BluandExile

Im in the EXACT same position as you :(

Oh my god, that actually makes me feel better (sorry!). I'll let you know if/when things get fixed, hopefully it might help? :(

Originally Posted by nerual

There's plenty of time until August. Relax. I didn't get into a course last year until mid-October. You don't need Chem 1AA3 until second term, and you'll have completed the prereq by then, so that issue will resolve itself if you can't find someone to fix it for you. As for the psych courses, in all likelihood, they will open up. When I tried to register, Psych 2AP3 (pretty much the only elective I am interested in that fit with my schedule) was full, but within 24hrs they opened up spots. Several other people have posted that they've managed to get into psych courses that were previously full.

There must be SOMEONE in charge of your program. Hopefully, someone can direct you to that person. If not, go see an academic advisor in person.

Also, try talking to the prof of the course directly. It seems that Life Sci 2D03 is the most important one, so start there.

You might not get ALL of the courses you want, and you might get stuck taking a couple of courses you don't care for, but that's life. The people actually registered in those programs have to get priority over you. There's no reason to panic, though, especially not now--it's only June! The academic advisors and program advisors are swamped with people higher on the priority list than you, so give them time.

Thanks! I know i wont get them all, but just two or 3 for now (and 1 of them i NEED) is all i ask ... do you think that by 6:50pm today there will still be spots open ? :'( I got locked out of SOLAR, you see... I didnt even know that was possible :|

I just logged onto SOLAR to check, and LifeSci 2D03, Psych 2AA3, 2B03 and 2C03 are all still full--so, at least it doesn't matter that you're locked out
(as a side note, I had no idea it could do that either! weird)

Usually, more spots open up in July after SOLAR reopens (July 12, iirc) and in August after the timetables are released and everyone goes on to switch sections and such. Chances are, people are in those courses who only signed up for them because their first choices are full, so when they can get into the courses they want, that will open up more spots in the courses that you want.

Good luck!

Originally Posted by nerual

I just logged onto SOLAR to check, and LifeSci 2D03, Psych 2AA3, 2B03 and 2C03 are all still full--so, at least it doesn't matter that you're locked out
(as a side note, I had no idea it could do that either! weird)

Wow, thank you SO MUCH for checking, you're a lifesaver (and really really nice )!!! I really appreciate it

Hi Reshmee,

I would say relax. Hearing that students are pulling out their hair and crying is brutal, SOLAR is very frustrating for everyone who sees courses that are now full.. especially courses that they need to take.

You're not alone. Look at all the dozens of threads and hundreds of posts from MacInsiders users who are frustrated with SOLAR and MUGSI with full courses. This happens every year, you can search threads from 2008, and 2009 and see the same thing happening.

The solution is not to freak out and stay calm. If you require a course to get your degree you're seeking then 99% of the time exceptions can be made so that you satisfy your course requirements. Just because a course is showing up as full does not mean it's full forever.

Call or meet in person
There are multiple scenarios for how you can get into a required course if it's full, the best way being to talk to someone in the faculty and/or your academic advisor. Note: Right now is a crazy time of year and they are being bombarded with e-mails. I suggest calling their directly or going to your faculty office and setting up an appointment. E-mail is very slow and you will most likely not get the response you're looking for. Instead, try and see someone in person or on the phone.

Have your information ready
To make things a lot easier for the person you're trying to contact to get assistance, have everything neatly laid out and ready for them.. your student number, full name, even a print out of your transcript/grade report, etc. so they can understand your situation faster.

You have until the course add/drop date
If you can't get into a course right now because it's full it isn't the end all be all, courses that show up full right now may become available tomorrow, or even an hour from now. Keep checking SOLAR. Some courses have sections opened up to meet demand, while others get gradually opened as each year is granted access to SOLAR (3rd years, 2nd years, 1st years, etc). Look at when their registration dates are and try to get onto SOLAR to check on those days to see if more 'seats' were opened.

Also remember: when you do start school, you have flexible time within the first two weeks during the 'ADD AND DROP PERIOD' to drop and add courses to your time table. That means that you can take courses you may not be 100% pleased with for now, and hope that someone drops the course that you want to get into that is showing as full right now. You never know, a student may have taken the course... shown up to the first class and really disliked the professor or the course material and dropped it. When that happens, the course opens up again and becomes 'available' until someone takes that person's spot. This happens on and off throughout the drop/add period so keep checking SOLAR for new availabilities.

Those are all the tips I can share for now. Hope it helps!

You are absolutely amazing, Chad! I'm still a little pessimistic about it, but you've erased most of it. Thank you!!!