Early Discontent: How Can I Make the Most of the Add/Drop Process?

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No matter how excited or unhappy you are about some of the classes on your schedule, your feelings won't be confirmed until after the class starts. You might immediately get good vibes from a professor teaching a class you were dreading"and even consider making the subject area your minor or concentration. Likewise, the person teaching the first class in the sequence for your major"a class you couldn't wait to take"could turn out to be a complete dud.

Nothing is guaranteed, but these truths tend to expose themselves early in the semester.

Fortunately, by adding and dropping classes, you can tweak your schedule so that it's just right for you. As simple as it sounds, adding and dropping can be complicated. While the process varies from school to school, here are some general aspects of it that many schools have in common:

• Adding a class is more difficult than dropping one. To add a class, you will likely need the approval of the course's professor or department, as well as your adviser's signature"and you'll have to make sure there's room in the class (perhaps the toughest part). To drop, you may need only one signature"or none at all.
• The add/drop process lasts only the first few weeks of the semester, after which point enrollment is sealed. If you fail the midterm and don't expect to do much better on the final, you can't drop the course, but you can withdraw. (For additional information on withdrawing, see the "Dropping/Withdrawing" chart on page 79.)
• The process can be a hassle because most other students are going through the same process at the same time. For example, the slot you'd like in that poetry class may not be available only because another student hasn't yet completed the paperwork to drop it.

Students recommend registering for more classes than you'll likely stick with. This way, you can easily drop one and not have to worry about adding another.

"Add before you drop," suggests Vinda Rao of Tufts University, where the "add" deadline precedes the "drop" deadline. "So don't go on a dropping spree too early, or you'll end up not having enough classes for the semester." 

Anisa Mohanty wishes she followed that advice at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: "One of my biggest mistakes was not signing up for enough extra hours to drop the most miserable class ever"I would've fallen under the undergraduate ­minimum-hour requirement. Don't try to be a trouper and tough out a difficult class. If it's giving you grief for the first week or two, it's likely not going to get better. Get out; save your GPA."

Anisa also suggests that students considering dropping classes continue going to them until they're certain they have a replacement lined up. This way, if they're unsuccessful at getting into another class, and they need to stick with the class they wanted to drop, they haven't lost further ground.

Persistence can pay off when trying to get into a class that you especially want or need. Simply trying to enroll through the usual means may not work. Check every day to see if there's an opening"skipping a day may mean another student gets your slot. It may help to try to meet with or at least e-mail the professor and see if she can pull any strings to get you in. Even if you're not on the list, show up at the class before it starts and explain your situation. "If you're lucky, and the professor is kind, a professor may keep a waiting list and open more seats for interested students," says Jessica Smith-Kaprosy (University of Wisconsin"Madison).