Add/Drops Galore

As the deadline to add or drop courses approaches this afternoon, many students are frantically making sure they chose their courses wisely.

According to the registrar's office, many people have already used the add/drop option. Associate Registrar Stephen M. Kane said 367 students have submitted add/drop petitions so far.

The juniors are leading with 111 add/drop petitions, he said.

They are followed closely by the seniors who are up to 109, Kane said.

Though students drop classes for various reasons, the main one tends to be the distressing discovery that a class is not quite what it seemed, many students said.

Evan M. Schwartzfarb '96, an economics concentrator, said he dropped a course on East Asia because he found it very similar to another course he was taking.

Schwartzfarb said more time is necessary to shop classes before deciding in which ones to enroll.

"It was hard to understand the true nature of the course in just two lectures," Schwartzfarb said.

Kanya Mahitivanicha '96 said she had to drop a course because it ended up conflicting with other courses she is taking.

"I planned to take a course in the spring but discovered--like an hour before study cards were due--that the class was being offered in the fall," Mahitivanicha said. "I registered for it anyway and later realized I had too many conflicts so I dropped it."

She said she dropped Psychology 168 "Human Development" because she missed a week of lectures and did not find the subject matter especially stimulating.

Other upperclass students said they decide to drop a class when they realize that their schedules are tighter than previous years.

Donyne Y. Choo '98 said she was planning on taking five classes before discovering that in addition to her concentration requirements and her core classes, she did not have room for a language elective.

She said she found the process of dropping a class overly complicated.

Choo said she was required to get several signatures and ended up having to fill out another form and pay higher fees because she had a signature in the wrong box.

"I didn't know where to sign, and the professor didn't know either," she said. "So now I have to pay $10 instead of $5.

She said she dropped Psychology 168 "Human Development" because she missed a week of lectures and did not find the subject matter especially stimulating.

Other upperclass students said they decide to drop a class when they realize that their schedules are tighter than previous years.

Donyne Y. Choo '98 said she was planning on taking five classes before discovering that in addition to her concentration requirements and her core classes, she did not have room for a language elective.

She said she found the process of dropping a class overly complicated.

Choo said she was required to get several signatures and ended up having to fill out another form and pay higher fees because she had a signature in the wrong box.

"I didn't know where to sign, and the professor didn't know either," she said. "So now I have to pay $10 instead of $5.