Waitlists are for l*sers! Wait, what?
Do good things come to those who wait?
Hey friends,
Things are starting to settle down in the past week, and we are getting used to the rhythm of life in Montreal. We are into the third week of classes now, and things are going great!
Well, as great as virtual classes can be, I suppose.
McGill University is transitioning back to in-person next Monday, and I cannot wait to meet my classmates. I did not fly halfway around the world to attend Zoom lessons from an Airbnb. Hands up if you are sick of online lessons and dying to sit in a classroom, mask-to-mask.
Waitlists are for losers, don’t @ me
I am still going on small adventures in and around the city, and I will write more about those experiences in the time to come. Today, I am thrilled to share that I have successfully registered for all my classes at McGill!
The course registration process here begins at the start of each academic year. In other words, most students were already enrolled in winter classes as early as summer 2021 (July to August 2021). Since I am on exchange during the winter semester, most of the modules I wanted were full, and I had to wait for someone else to drop out.
Fortunately, McGill has a relatively active add/drop process where students swap classes. If you were to think about it, this situation makes sense. The modules you thought would interest you half a year ago may differ now. Students may want to switch up their schedules to accommodate extracurricular commitments they picked up along the way as well.
When classes are full, McGill offers two options to register for each course. Some courses have a waitlist with limited seats. A spot is reserved for the first person on the waitlist whenever a student drops out or if the university adds more seats to the class. The second option is to camp for openings. In other words, students put in the diligent—and maybe painful—work of refreshing the page every few hours to register for the module when a spot becomes available.
Based on the subject header of this email, you can probably tell that I hate waiting around. Waitlists are not my cup of tea. I prefer to actively seek out something I want instead of wait in line for someone to drop out. Classes that I was waitlisted took me over a month to finally secure a spot. In contrast, classes without waitlists only took me a couple of days.
Okay, perhaps I had the privilege of time since I was recovering from surgery the day before course registration began. At the time, there was nothing else I could do but sit around all day anyway!
Still, you get the point. The idea that there is nothing I can do freaks me out. If there is something I desire, I do everything within my means to get it. I am curious to know your preference in the comments section on Substack! Alternatively, hit reply and let me know your opinion.
Even on Zoom, classes at McGill FEEL different
Back home, most students are mindful about slowing down the pace of lectures. Of course, some of us shy away from making dumb comments—if there ever was one—too. With online classes, the idea that every class is recorded also lulls us into a sense of complacency that we could always review the recording whenever we miss an important point. I belong to the group of people who wait until the end to ask questions when people who have lives to lead can hop off Zoom if they are uninterested.
The first thing I observed is that McGill students are always politely interrupting the lecturer to ask questions. And lecturers are likewise always more than happy to pause and address concerns. As a result, classes feel more dynamic and refreshing because we hear more voices and opinions.
In the two breakout rooms that I have been in so far, I love how candid students are with one another. Most people do not turn on their cameras in the main room, but they do in breakout rooms. We discuss the questions posed by the lecturer, but we also leave time to introduce ourselves and make small talk. Perhaps, a little too much time.
I can’t wait to meet some of these people in real life next week, and I hope they are just as friendly as they are on Zoom. The provincial government announced plans to proceed with in-person classes, and it seems unlikely that they will deviate from the current plan. Fingers crossed!
Alright, I have got to dash to the grocer’s to stock up the fridge for the next few days. Grocery shopping is always one of my favorite activities of the week when nothing else is open due to heightened restrictions. I am aware of how tragic the previous sentence sounds, but it is what it is.
Let’s talk soon!
Sincerely,
Ming
PS: I received some questions about what modules I am reading at McGill - Economics of Climate Change, Political Economy of Trade, Urban Economics, Cities in the Modern World, History of the United States since 1965
PPS: I wrote this newsletter this morning before heading out for my grocery run. It was lovely, if you were wondering.
Ah, college life. A distant memory. Enjoy these years!