On August 9th, 2016, over 7,000 first year Ryerson students were selected to compete in T̶h̶e̶ ̶H̶u̶n̶g̶e̶r̶ ̶G̶a̶m̶e̶s̶ first year course selection. Battle lines were drawn, and the result made for the messiest, most frustrating, and uniting experience my fellow first-year students and I have ever endured.
Prior to the event, we were told that course selection was to open up at exactly 6AM that morning. For some of us, waking up that early was not a problem (I personally woke up at 5 to make breakfast and get myself settled) while for others, waking up at such an ungodly hour was possibly the hardest thing they have done all summer. Regardless, we all knew how important it was to be awake, and sucked it up for one horrible morning.
We wished our friends, future peers, and ourselves good luck, mentally (and even physically) preparing ourselves for what was to come.The countdown was edging closer, the anticipation becoming too much to handle.
At exactly 6AM, all bets were off, and it was time for us to begin. We clicked with such ferocity our fingers hurt, eyes stinging with focus to make sure we got the slots we were aiming for. We virtually fought with hundreds of others for the chance to have the schedules we wanted so badly.
Some students came out as victors. The entire process was smooth sailing for them as they secured both the electives and the time slots they wanted, and they were free to exit RAMSS after mere few minutes.
Others (like myself) were not as lucky. Some of us clicked on ‘enroll’ at exactly 6:00 AM, only to be told that the class was already full (how?!) Others had their screens freeze or crash, and became frustrated at Ryerson’s servers (6fest déjà vu anyone?). When RAMSS eventually started to work again, our carefully planned schedule dreams were shattered, and we were doomed with 8AM Monday classes.
After the next hour or so of freaking out, we realized that while the main competition was over, we still had until September to switch around courses, and that everything was not completely over and done with. In the end, we all got our first real taste of university, and we able to bond with our fellow students who also underwent the same ordeal. We have now a memory to look back on (albeit with shudders), and can now take on course selection in the future as veterans. I also think we will learn to cope with the schedules we ended up getting- even if they aren’t completely perfect, they will allow us to have a more varied and realistic university experience. I am personally excited for my classes, and am satisfied with how things ended up turning out.
…But if anyone wants to give away their Thurs-Fri SOC 202 spot to someone:
Make to share your course selection story, or anything about your upcoming Ryerson experience with the hashtag #RoadtoRyerson! And if you are still trying to change your schedule- may the odds be ever in your favour.
See ya next time…
Follow @RUStudentLife
Follow me at @maryanhaye4 (Twitter)
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