Intro to Waitlisty

The Waitlisty system builds on the Permission Request (PR) functionality built into Path@Penn. Sometimes a waitlist course may have open slots, but you must wait until your PR is approved.

Being on the waitlist means that there is no guarantee that you will be able to enroll in that course. Because of this, you must have a fallback plan in the event that you cannot take the waitlisted course. For instance, you could tentatively enroll in a different class that will satisfy another degree requirement, and plan to take the waitlisted class in a future semester.

Using Waitlisty

The first step is submitting a PR via Path for a waitlist course (see instructions below or official ones from SRFS). You can submit PRs just before and during Advance Registration, and we encourage you to do so.

A PR is always created for a specific course and section. If you created a PR for a recitation but actually need to get into the lecture (or the undergrad version of a cross-listed course but you want the grad version instead), you will have to create a new PR. PRs cannot be edited after the fact.

Find the course in Path and click Add to Cart. Then, click Request permission for this course:

It doesn’t matter which cart you use. Type something brief in the Permission Request field; we’ll follow-up with course-specific questions later. For now, just hit Ok…

…and finally, Save Changes. 

After Advance Registration results are announced, we’ll follow up via email to direct you to the Waitlisty site where you may need to complete course-specific information like explaining how you satisfy the pre-reqs, why you want to take the course, etc. You must submit a PR via Path to gain access to this site.

Timeline for Decisions

PRs are processed periodically from when Advance Registration results are announced until the end of the Add/Drop/Swap period. You could receive permission during the first few weeks of the semester.

We are unfortunately not able to notify you that you will not be receiving permission, since course enrollment fluctuates right up until the Add/Drop/Swap deadline.

Please do not email the instructor of your requested course!

Approved Permission Requests

If your PR is approved, you’ll receive a notice from Path. You then have a chance to register for the course in Path.

If your PR is approved but the class is full, you cannot register.

Due to an inability to revoke approved PRs and, as a result, students sitting on approved-but-unused PRs, waitlist courses are often mildly oversubscribed. Thus, an approved PR is no guarantee that you’ll be able to register for a course. So always use an approved PR right away!

Once you’ve registered for a waitlist class, please be careful not to accidentally drop it. If you do this, we cannot guarantee that you will be able to register again!

Leaving the Waitlist

If you are no longer interested in registering for a waitlist course, you should withdraw your request. You can do so via the Waitlisty site.