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Waitlist Information

Most courses at Montgomery College have a waitlist. If a class you want to take is full, and there is a waitlist option available, you will be prompted to add yourself to the waitlist. A waitlist means that you are waiting in line for a space to open up in a course so that you can officially register. 

  • When you try to register for a class, you may receive an error message, showing that the class is closed and how many students are currently on the waitlist.
  • To be added to the waitlist, select "Waitlist” from the dropdown box for this class.  Scroll down and click on “Submit Changes." Make sure that under “Current Status” your schedule now indicates “Waitlist.” 
  • Check your Montgomery College email frequently (at least once a day). If a space becomes available, you will be notified via your MC email address. Register by logging in to MyMC and changing your registration status for the course from “Waitlist” to “Registered Web.” You have a limited time frame to do so:
    • Up until the week before the semester starts, you have 48 hours from the time of the email to register.
    • The week before the semester begins, you have only 24 hours from the time of the email to register.
    •  If you miss the time frame, you will be dropped from the waitlist for that particular section.
  • You may add yourself to a waitlist up to three days before the class's start date.
  • Waitlists are purged two days before the start of the class. 
  • A waitlist means that you are waiting in line for a seat to become available in a particular course. If you are on the waitlist for a class, you are not officially registered and thus not charged for the course until you officially register.

Waitlist FAQs

If you attempt to register for a course that is full, you will get an error message stating the class is closed and indicating the number of students currently on the waitlist.

To be added to the waitlist, select "Waitlist” from the dropdown box for this class. Scroll down and click on “Submit Changes." Verify that under “Current Status” your schedule now indicates “Waitlist.” You may add yourself to the waitlist up to three days before the class' start date. 

Check your MC email daily. If a space becomes available, you will be notified via your MC email address to register for the course and will have a limited time frame to do so.

  • Up until the week before the semester starts, you have 48 hours from the time of the email to change your registration status from “Waitlist” to “Registered Web.”
  • The week before the semester begins, you have only 24 hours from the time of the email to register. If you miss the allotted time frame, you will be dropped from the waitlist for that particular section.

No, a waitlist means that you are waiting in line for a space to become available in a particular course. If you are on the waitlist for a class, you are not officially registered and thus not billed for the course when you are waitlisted.

You may return to your registration in MyMC at any time and change your status from "Waitlist" to "Drop." Scroll down and click “Submit Changes.” This action will remove your name from the waitlist for that class.

A maximum of 40 students can be on each waitlist. To determine your position on the waitlist, log into My MC. Under Student Quick Links, click on "My Class Schedule" and choose the appropriate term. Waitlisted courses will appear, including your "Waitlist Position." If your position is 1, you will be the next student to receive a notification to register if a space opens up.

Most, but not all, MC classes have a waitlist.

When the course is full and qualified to have a waitlist, the first student who encounters the full class may create the waitlist by choosing to waitlist themselves.

You must have completed all prerequisites for the course in order to be placed on a waitlist. You may also waitlist if you have received a prerequisite override for the course. If a course requires department permission, etc., permission must be given by the instructor or the department before you can waitlist the course.
You will receive a standard error message on My MC if you attempt to waitlist and do not have all required permissions; check the course description in the College Catalog for more information.
A waitlist status does NOT mean you are officially registered for the course.

When you attempt to register for a class that is full, you may click the drop-down arrow next to the course and choose the “Waitlist” option, if available. Though most classes have a waitlist option, not all classes do. You may also encounter a waitlist that is full. If the waitlist is full, you will need to look for another section. 

No, you are required to waitlist yourself. You are also required to register yourself if you have been notified via MC email that a space is available. 

Yes, if you choose to be added to the waitlist, the course will be reflected on your schedule with a registration status description of "Waitlist." You are able to see your waitlist priority in My MC; however, you will not be charged for the course until you are officially registered.  

No, My MC will not automatically register you. You must log into My MC and change your status from "Waitlist" to "Registered Web" within the designated time frame. Once you register, be sure to pay or make payment arrangements immediately.

The process to notify students runs each hour; however, you will receive only one email if a space becomes available. If there is an available space, and you are the first student on the waitlist, you will receive an email at your MC email address to register for the course. Up until the week before the semester starts, you have 48 hours from the time of the email to register. The week before the semester begins, you have 24 hours from the time of the email to register.

Up until the week before the semester starts, you have 48 hours from the time of the email to claim the space by registering. The week before the semester begins, you have 24 hours to register. If you do not register within the allotted time frame, you will be dropped from the waitlist and the next student in line will be notified of the opening.

If you are on a waitlist at the time of a scheduled delete for non-payment process, you will not lose your place on the waitlist, because you are not yet officially registered for the course. If you are able to eventually officially register for a class, be sure to pay or make payment arrangements immediately.

 Yes, within the hour, the first seven students will be notified of the available seats. If there are only six students on the waitlist, all six are notified and seats are reserved for them. The seventh student will not encounter a waitlist and will be able to immediately register if the course has not yet begun.

 You may add yourself to a waitlist up until 11:59 p.m. three calendar days before the class’ start date. Start dates are determined by the part of term in which the course is being offered. Waitlists are purged, meaning students are dropped from the waitlist, two days prior to the start of the class.

Yes, you can register and be waitlisted for different sections of the same course. However, you need to drop yourself from all waitlists once you have finalized your schedule.

Yes, you may add yourself to waitlists that have a time conflict with courses for which you are currently registered. However, if a space becomes available and you choose to officially register for the applicable class, you will need to drop courses that have a time conflict with the new class or forego the available seat.

Yes, you can add yourself to multiple waitlists even if the class meeting times overlap. However, if a space becomes available and you choose to officially register for the course, you’ll need to make sure that it doesn’t conflict with the meeting times of the rest of the classes for which you are registered.

No, you may only add yourself to the waitlist for individual sections via a CRN, not a course number.

If you do not successfully make it off a waitlist, you should look for sections that have not started and that have available spots.  You can also search for Late Starting Classes  for additional options. Note that you must be registered for a class before it first meets/begins.