Hours spent scouring every possible course on Lou’s List, the disappointment of finding the perfect class just to realize the only open discussion is at 8 p.m. on a Thursday—we know the struggles of enrollment season all too well. It’s something everyone dreads each semester; there aren’t enough hours in the day to add yet another time-consuming and stressful thing to our plates. On top of the anxiety that comes with simply trying to decide on courses, it doesn’t help that the whole situation is a real-life version of "The Hunger Games." Here’s why we would give Suzanne Collins a run for her money when it comes to class enrollment here at UVA:
1. It immediately becomes every man for himself.
Those with early enrollment times? Instant hatred. The friend you made in your lecture becomes a mortal enemy once you realize you both want a spot in that unfortunately popular 30 person politics class. You have to channel your inner Katniss and fend only for yourself. If deaths have to occur for you to get into that criminology class, well, some sacrifices are necessary for the greater good.
2. Intense worry and stress as our time draws near.
The competitors anxiously awaiting to be released is basically the same as counting down the minutes until your enrollment time. Both are about to set loose into uncontrolled chaos and anarchy, and you can’t help but intensely dread the moment when you’re finally able to pick your classes when the frantic adding and dropping begins.
3. Wait lists become cutthroat competitions.
Just like tributes getting killed off, people dropping off wait lists brings you closer to the ultimate goal: enrolling in that impossible-to-get class you desperately need for your major. If you can low-key convince your friend that Social Psych actually sucks and isn’t worth the wait, that’s one less person that you have to fight for to get a spot.
4. Watching class enrollment numbers go up like death counts.
Similar to how closely the Capitol watches the growing death tolls, we intensely keep track of the climbing numbers of spaces in classes we want, constantly refreshing on that criminology course. Once classes get down to three or four open spaces, you know you’re done. It’s all over.
5. The upperclassmen are like rich Districts.
Districts 1 and 2 have the unfair advantage of being well-prepared for the Games, and so do the third and fourth years. They know what they’re doing and get to enroll days before the poor first years, taking up those precious spots with the best teachers and most interesting classes. And yes, I suppose it makes sense, since they have to graduate soon, but don’t forget how much it sucked to be the underdog in this battle.
6. SIS is the Cornucopia.
You love it and you hate it. It’s the center of everyone’s focus. It has all the tools that you need to survive the next semester, but such rare luxuries like open classes with good professors and good times are fought over and gone before you know it.
7. Advisors are like mentors—useless.
Most advisors for first years aren’t professors in our major, and their advice tends to be general and unhelpful. There are some exceptions, like how Haymitch was eventually effective in guiding Katniss to her victory, but most of us only ever meet with our advisors just to get our enrollment hold released. Back to every man for himself.
8. Picking classes is a literal bloodbath.
Fighting to add that bio lab before your roommate, attempting to swap a discussion for another one at a better time in hopes that SIS doesn’t decide to hate you and kick you out of the class altogether—it’s just insane. Eventually you reach that point where you just want to drop every class and live the rest of your life watching Netflix and ignoring responsibility.
Enrollment really is life and death. If you get the classes you need, without any Friday 8 a.m. classes or late discussions, you’ll survive the next semester a thousand times easier than someone who got stuck with the professors notorious for grading harshly and assigning hundreds of pages of reading. As class enrollment draws closer, you can’t help but think that your entire future mental wellbeing and happiness depends on this horrible competition we've been forced into. Good luck, Hoos, and may SIS be ever in your favor.
