CS is happening

Registration for the two CS classes finally opened today. The schedule document only said that the restrictions would be lifted sometime between 9 AM and 5 PM, so at 9 I started attempting every few minutes to add the courses from my planned schedule. I noticed that a handful of seats had become free in CS 225, the one that was previously completely packed. (The department had previously announced it was going to crack down on people who had already taken the class and were holding seats for their friends, so maybe that happened.)  I also noticed that the discussion section - not the lecture - of that class that I was hoping for was completely full, so I changed my plan to a free one, which meets at 7 PM. Suboptimal, but far better than nothing,

Around 11:30, my registration attempt succeeded, and to my shock I added both classes! Therefore, I dropped organic chemistry from my fall schedule and will take it over the summer. For fall, I'm currently registered for 14 credit hours and will probably add 2 of research. My day consistently starts at 11 AM (a huge improvement over this semester's 8 or 9 AM) and ends at a variety of times from 2 to 9 PM.

Only finals remain

Tonight I took my last midterm of the semester. It seemed to go really well; results should be out sometime next week. Now all that remains are four more days of classes and then finals. Some classes are already over - today was the last chemistry lab, and biology discussion doesn't meet on the last week of the semester.

One more full week

Next week is the last full week of normal class days for the spring semester. I have two midterms of the third round: differential equations on Wednesday and chemistry on Thursday. Today I did a lot of practice problems for chemistry, without much trouble. This weekend I should focus on math. Yesterday and today I finished off two groups projects and started the last one.

I started filling out the paperwork for remaining in the research lab next semester. It looks like everything is in order - I just need to figure out how many credits to register for, which I can do after working out the rest of my schedule on the 30th.

Probably not going to get both CS classes

I just checked the registration system again to see how many seats are left in the CS classes I'm hoping to take in the fall. The almost-empty one is still almost empty, with only eight seats taken in the lecture I plan to join. The other, however, is 100% full in both the lecture and discussion I was hoping for, with only thirteen seats left in the other lecture (that conflicts with my planned schedule). It's therefore very unlikely that I'll get into both, but that's alright - I'll take organic chemistry in the fall, which gives me a full schedule of helpful classes.

Week of group projects

I don't have any exams this week, so as originally scheduled it was going to be pretty clear. It turns out, though, that three out of my four classes have group projects that will be starting or finishing this week. For MCB, we need to finish recording our "tips for success" video that will give advice to the students in the course next semester. For chemistry, we need to make a small correction to the poster we've been working on and submit it for printing. The CS final project is done in pairs, which will be determined this week in lab. I'd like to get started on that as soon as possible since next week (the last full week of classes!) will be busy.

Need to wait longer for the CS class

I happened to check the CS department's registration restriction schedule again recently and noticed that it had been updated. Instead of one class opening on the 23rd and the other on the 30th, both the ones I want open to all of campus on the 30th. Especially with the entire College of Engineering having an extra week to register before me, it seems unlikely that I'll get into the changed one. That's alright; I'll just take organic chemistry in the fall and leave the summer clear.

On the plus side, the MCB exam answer key came out yesterday, so I used it to compute my unofficial score. I only missed one question, for a 98%.

Kicking off the third round of midterms

Tonight was the third MCB exam. It covered a wider variety of material than the previous two and required more memorization (as opposed to thinking/application) than I expected. At first I felt uncertain about several of my answers, but looking over the exam before submitting, I'm satisfied with my choices and feel pretty good. The answer key will be released sometime tomorrow, and I will score my responses then.

I now have a week of relative calm before the last two midterms, and then there's only half a week of instruction left.

Chances are good for one CS class

Looking at the section availability, one of the CS classes I hope to take in the fall is almost empty: a grand total of three people have registered for my intended lecture section. That makes sense, since I'd be taking it half a year shifted from most CS majors. It looks like I'm probably going to get a seat there, even though one non-CS major's students will become eligible a week before me.

The other class could be more of a problem. The discussion section I plan on joining is already almost half full, and the entire College of Engineering gets a week's jump on me. There is some hope in that most discussions are not that full and I would be willing to rearrange my schedule to fit this class. Even if I can't get in, I can have a normal amount of credits if I take organic chemistry in the fall instead of summer.

In other news, there's only one more month left in this semester.

Now we wait

Just in case, today I retried pushing the button to register for the two fall CS classes. As expected, I still can't get in, but I can see the seats available for the sections. The majority are still open, especially in the discussions I'm planning to add.

From the CS department's registration eligibility chart, it looks like CS majors' entrance to these particular courses isn't staggered by year, so hopefully there won't be too many more waves of registrations. At least in my current college (LAS), priority registration happened Monday and Tuesday for students with honors status, and I am under the impression that almost all CS students are honor students, so I am unsure but hopeful about there being so many seats remaining. For one of the classes, a CS-adjacent major's students will get a week's jump on me, but most people on the CS track will be taking that course right now - I'm shifted from most CS majors by half a year - and won't register for it in the fall, hopefully leaving many spots.

All I can do is wait.

Partially registered for next semester

Priority registration opened yesterday afternoon, so as soon as I could, I logged into the course registration system and pushed the buttons to officially add all the classes in my previously created plan. As expected, they all went through except the two CS classes, which are currently restricted by major. I will have to wait until the 23rd and 30th for those two, hoping that they don't fill up by then. If I can't get into those classes, I will take the first organic chemistry class in the fall instead of summer, so I registered for it in both terms to make sure I have the seat.

I am still trying to find a time to meet with an adviser to possibly expedite the CS admission process, but other than that, all I can do is wait.