As winter break draws to a close and the spring semester approaches, Princeton students are gearing up for another Add/Drop! Also known as “shopping period,” this is basically a time when students are trying out various classes and finalizing their schedules. Over the course of the first two weeks of the semester, you can literally “shop” around by sitting in on the first lecture or seminar of different courses to see which piques your interest and which you’ll ultimately pursue enrollment for. I absolutely love Add/Drop because it gives me the chance to actually feel out the vibe of a class in-person—not just from a syllabus or a Canvas page—and make my decision accordingly. If you tend to be indecisive like me, it’s comforting to have the flexibility of this trial period, rather than everything being set in stone and potentially getting stuck in a course you don’t like. Classes that I found and shopped last-minute have sometimes ended up becoming my favorite one of the semester!
But what happens when a class is full and a student can’t get a spot?
Picture this: you’re frantically refreshing the enrollment page every five seconds, hoping and praying that someone, anyone will drop the class so you can be the first one to snag their spot. You don’t want to camp out by your laptop, but you’re scared you’ll miss it if a seat opens!
Thankfully, this doesn’t have to be the case. You don’t have to guard the enrollment page 24/7 because your fellow Princeton students actually designed an app just for this purpose. In a previous blog post (which you can check out here!), I explored ReCal, one of the student-created TigerApps at Princeton. While ReCal remains my favorite, I’d like to share another TigerApp that I love: TigerSnatch!
TigerSnatch is designed for students to get real-time notifications when a spot in a class opens up during Add/Drop. As their homepage states, “With TigerSnatch, Princeton students can "subscribe" to full courses and sections and get instantly notified via email and text message when a spot frees up.” Not only that, but the site also provides helpful information, such as how many other people are waiting for a spot, if that class has reserved seats, and the last time a spot opened.
Like ReCal, this is just another great example of the innovation of our Tigers. TigerApps were made for Princeton students, by Princeton students, so they know what the community is in need of most and can create apps that truly cater to our needs. As someone who uses these apps and websites often, I’m super grateful for them and their efforts to make student lives just a little bit easier!