Help! CS 473 is full!

CS 473 reached its registration capacity of 200 students only a few weeks after registration opened in the spring. This is the second-largest enrollment and the largest undergraduate enrollment in the history of the course. (In Fall 2002, at the height of the dot-com bubble, the course had a total of 180 undergraduates and 140 graduate students. It was a train wreck. The following semester, we started a separate algorithms class for graduate students, now called CS 573.)

In past semesters, we maintained a waiting list for anyone who wanted to take CS 473 but who couldn't register before the semester began. Unfortunately, this semester's sharply higher enrollment and limited teaching resources make an open waiting list impossible. Registration has been closed so that as students drop, people who need CS 473 to graduate can register without competing for space with others.

If you were unable to register, please come to class and add your name to the waiting list. As students drop, students on the waiting list will be added with the following priorities:

1. Students whose are graduating in December and need CS 473 to satisfy a degree requirement. Please see Jeff as soon as possible; we will get you in somehow.

2. Other students who need CS 473 to satisfy a degree requirement. These students will be added in decreasing order of their Homework 0 score. In particular, if you do not submit Homework 0, we will assume that you are no longer interested in registering.

3. Everyone else, if there's room. Again, students will be added in decreasing order of their grade on Homework 0. It is very unlikely that everyone on the waiting list will get in.

Fortunately, CS 473 is offered every semester. Given the huge cohort this semester, it's unlikely that the class will be quite so full in the spring. (Still, register early!)

If you are a graduate student, especially in computer science, ECE, CSE, or math, you really should be taking CS 573 instead. Unfortunately, CS 573 is also full! (If there is enough demand, Sariel might be convinced to move CS 573 to a larger room; send him email if you are interested.)

Proficiency Exams

Students who are already comfortable with the course material are invited take the regularly scheduled final exam at the regular time (December 18 at 8am) for proficiency credit. If you plan to take the final exam for proficiency credit, please contact Jeff at least one week in advance.

To pass the proficiency exam, your score must be consistent with the scores of registered students who receive a C- or better in the course; as a rough estimate, your score must be at most one standard deviation below the mean. If you pass, your transcript will show a grade of "Pass" for CS 473, you will receive 3 credit hours, and any degree requirements satisfied by CS 473 will be satisfied, but your GPA will not be affected. Otherwise, nothing will appear on your transcript. See the university's proficiency exam policies for more details.

Do not take the proficiency exam unless you are sure you know the material! Several students have waited until their very last semester to take the CS 473 proficiency exam, and then failed. Those students did not graduate; some even lost pending job offers and visas. Do not do this! As a safety net, we strongly recommend also taking both midterms; these will be averaged in with your final.