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How Wait Lists Work

Benefits and Opportunities
  • Wait Lists provide a way for you to get your preferred class time in a full section. Historically, more than 50% of the wait list requests are eventually filled.
  • Wait Lists let us know when we need to open a new section to create more open seats in a course. We do not open a new section until we have a full Wait List.
  • Students on the Wait List are notified first if a new section opens in the same course, so they have first opportunity to get into the new section.
  • There is no charge to be on a Wait List, and you may drop a Wait List seat at any time from your family account.
Commitments and Considerations
  • Your wait list enrollment is a commitment and agreement to be enrolled if the seat becomes available.
  • If a seat opens for you in the class section where you are on a Wait List, we will immediately place you in that seat and you will be charged for it.
  • The non-refundable portion of tuition will apply immediately.
  • We will drop any seats held in other class sections of the same course or enrollments you have identified as contingent (see below).
  • If you join a Wait List and later decide you no longer want that seat if it opens, you should leave the Wait List to avoid unwanted non-refundable charges.
Is there a fee for a Wait List enrollment?

There is no fee for a Wait List. However, your wait list enrollment is a commitment and agreement to be enrolled if the seat becomes available. If a seat opens for you in the class section where you are on a Wait List, we will immediately place you in that seat and you will be assessed standard fees (including standard non-refundable portions) for that Held Seat for it.

How many Wait List seats may a student enroll in a course?

A student may hold one reserved (Held) seat and as many Wait List seats as he prefers in a particular course. In general, for any course we recommend holding one reserved (Held) seat that you can make work, and as many Wait List seats as you prefer over the Held Seat. If a Wait List seat opens for a student in a course section, we will give the student that seat and drop any previously held seat in the same course. There is no fee for this switch. Fees for the new seat are assessed immediately, and fees and payments for the prior seat in the same course are transferred to the new seat. We assume that any Wait List seat is preferred over the currently reserved (Held) seat, so you should take care to drop any Wait List seats you don’t want. When a switch is made to a Wait List seat, there is notification but not confirmation, and it may not be possible to switch back or switch again later.

May I hold a reserved Held Seat in a different course in case I don’t get a Wait List seat in my preferred course?

In most situations we can support this, provided that you have prior written agreement from TPS Support. This agreement is necessary because we must manually track the agreement and account for it in our enrollment and wait lists management. When there is no prior written agreement, then you may be charged the non-refundable portion of tuition for the reserved (Held) seat you drop. Note that this applies to any two courses, including “standard” and “honors” courses of the same subject, “one-day” and “two-day” courses of the same subject, different courses with the same level (e.g., different English 2 courses), or any other instance where there is a different course name and ID number held as a contingency seat.

What are the chances of getting a Held Seat from a Wait List?

Your chances of getting a wait list seat increase when:

  • There are no other open sections that can work in your time zone.
  • You are on multiple wait lists for that course in your time zone (i.e., you are are providing us maximum flexibility within your time zone).
  • Student is taking multiple TPS courses.

Your chances of getting a wait list seat decrease when:

  • There are other open sections that can work in your time zone.
  • You are not on multiple wait lists though there are multiple wait list options for that course in your time zone.
  • Student is not taking multiple TPS courses.

We do not provide information about how many openings are in a class, how many students are on a Wait List, or what Wait List “position” a student holds, because this information is not helpful and is likely misleading. Chances of getting a seat from wait lists in a course depend primarily on how many wait lists you are on in that course:

  • Three (3) wait lists: 90+% chance. Please notify us if you don’t yet have a confirmed seat.
  • Two (2) wait lists: 50-80% chance. Please try to find an open seat you can make work if you don’t get a preferred seat.
  • One (1) wait list: Unable to estimate. We strongly recommend enrolling in an open seat you can make work if you don’t get the preferred seat. Please also notify us with an explanation of specific extenuating circumstances that limit your options.
How am I notified when I receive a Held Seat from a Wait List?

When a Held Seat opens for a student on a Wait List, we enroll the student in that seat and notify you immediately by email. No confirmation is required because your Wait List enrollment was already your authorization and confirmation for the enrollment in the Held Seat when it became available.

How long might I have to wait for a seat from a Wait List?

We work to resolve wait lists throughout the enrollment period, switching seats as they come open and also dropping each Wait List seat as soon as it becomes certain that it won’t come open before the start of class. As we approach the time for the start of classes, we resolve any remaining Wait List seats associated with that class by helping students without seats to find seats in open classes and removing all students from the wait list for that class. We are unable to commit to a particular timeline or guarantee that a seat will open to every student on a Wait List.

How long am I allowed to remain on a Wait List?

There is no predetermined expiration on a Wait List seat. However, it is not in anyone’s best interests to have a student indefinitely on a Wait List where there is essentially no chance of the seat being offered. When we determine that a Wait List seat is not viable, we will notify the family of recommended alternative options (other sections in the course or other similar courses), and then drop the Wait List seat.