What's Your Enrollment Status?
Priority Enrollment Status Released
Following instructor review, enrollment results for each quarter will be released in the IntroSems' VCA by:
- Tuesday, September 10 (Autumn Quarter)
- Last week of November (Winter Quarter)
- Last week of February (Spring Quarter)
Check your status by logging into the IntroSems' VCA at vcais.stanford.edu on these dates. If you receive priority enrollment in an IntroSem, you will be notified and enrolled so that the class automatically shows up on your study list in SimpleEnroll/Axess.
What to Do if Your Status Is
Admitted ( = Priority Enrolled)
Waitlisted
Not Admitted
Admitted into a WRITE-2 IntroSem
Admitted ( = Priority Enrolled)
Seminar Enrollment
Students "admitted" to one or more IntroSems will have the course units pre-loaded on their study list before Axess opens for the quarter (Autumn Quarter an exception - units will be loaded by September 16). This priority enrollment will occur for the student provided that doing so (1) will not exceed the 20-unit maximum load for their study list, and/or (2) there are no outstanding enrollment holds on the student's record.
As you build your study list for the quarter, you may decide to drop the IntroSem—something you can do yourself in SimpleEnroll/Axess (WRITE-2 IntroSems excluded). Please remember that there may be a waitlisted student who would like the space you are vacating, so do try to take action as soon as you can. As a courtesy, please notify the instructor if you drop.
Waitlisted
When courses receive more students applying for priority enrollment than can be enrolled, instructors are encouraged to waitlist those students they would like to accommodate if space becomes available later.
Being Waitlisted (Priority to Enroll)
For seminars in which faculty are maintaining a waitlist, you will see a status of "waitlisted" indicated in the IntroSems' VCA. The faculty will reach out to waitlisted students if space becomes available and provide a permission number to enroll in Axess. Instructors control waitlist order and position on a waitlist does not appear in the VCA.
- To enroll in a seminar with a permission number using SimpleEnroll, refer to Step 5 in the student how-to here.
- If SimpleEnroll doesn't work for you, try enrolling the alternate way in Axess. Check out this how-to.
- If you still have problems using your permission number in Axess, email introsems@stanford.edu.
Not Admitted
Some IntroSems have more students apply than there are spots in the class or on the waitlist, so if your status shows as "not admitted" for an IntroSem, try these other options.
Open for Enrollment
Check the Space Available page for IntroSems that still have space available and deserve another look. Enroll yourself through SimpleEnroll, first come, first served, no application or permission number required.
Attend the First Day of Class
Unexpected opportunities can arise. Students may have decided to drop the class, making room for new students in the class or on the waitlist. Consider attending the first class meeting of a seminar that interests you, but email the instructor first to ask if that would be okay! Emailing the instructor in advance is especially important for seminars tagged as High Demand in the catalog where there is likely to be a waitlist and the classroom is likely to already be full.
Plan Ahead
Try not to get discouraged if you strike out on your selections for priority enrollment; about a third of seminars simply have more demand than space. It is not personal! Look at the seminar listings for the next quarter; some IntroSems are offered more than once and some seminars may be competitive in one quarter but not the next. Consider changing your approach--select seminars from different disciplines and/or submit a statement of interest for any course that you rank in the IntroSems' VCA, not just your first choice.
Admitted into a WRITE-2 IntroSem
Enrollment in WRITE-2 IntroSems is managed by the IntroSems Program, not the PWR Office. To track fulfillment of the requirement, please be advised that:
- Only the IntroSems' program administrator can add or drop you to a WRITE-2.
- If your plans change and you cannot take the WRITE-2 IntroSem you were admitted to, notification to IntroSems and the instructor is required, not to the PWR Office.
- If you are on the waitlist, attend the first class meeting to demonstrate your continued interest.
Key Points about WRITE-2 IntroSems
- Completion of a WRITE-2 IntroSem will satisfy the University's second level Writing and Rhetoric requirement, Writing 2 or WRITE-2.
- If the WRITE-2 IntroSem is certified to satisfy a Way, the course may count towards fulfilling the Way in addition to the WRITE-2 requirement.
- Enrollment in Sophomore WRITE-2 IntroSems is limited to sophomore and new transfer students who have completed the first-level Writing and Rhetoric requirement (Writing 1 or approved equivalent, most commonly through a PWR1) and have not yet fulfilled Writing 2 (most commonly through a PWR2). Frosh should not apply for Sophomore WRITE-2 IntroSems.