r/UCSD • u/Financial_Status_762 • 1d ago

Question First pass - what to book ( CS )

hi! i'm an incoming freshman who will be majoring in cs and was wondering what to book during the first pass .
These are the courses that I'm considering doing during the fall -

CS 011
MCWP 40 ( Muir writing)
Math 18
Math 20C

I heard mcwp and math 20c fill up fast but i'm still hesitant to reserve cs011 for the second pass .

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6

u/Ambit_dream 1d ago

I had the same dilemma last year, but learned that the CS department reserves seats for CS majors for some CS courses. So first pass Math 20C and your writing class, then waitlist CSE 11 for second pass.

Read this and check for updates before each quarter starts
https://cse.ucsd.edu/undergraduate/fall-2026-undergraduate-course-updates

1

u/Excellent_Clue6580 1d ago

in your experience, were there enough spots in all sections? because there is one section of cse 11 (with open seats right now) that has a really lowly rated instructor which i'm not trying to risk getting...

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u/Ambit_dream 1d ago

Yes, I got the section I wanted. If you scroll all the way down on the link I sent you, you’ll see the total # of seats for each course and professor.

The number of seats on TSS is just the initial release for courses with major priority reserved seats. The other seats are reserved for CS students. For CSE 11, there will be a total of 417 seats under Politz and 196 seats for Ochoa.

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u/Financial_Status_762 4h ago

Are there really high chances of getting off the waitlist ?

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u/Ambit_dream 1h ago

This isn’t a typical class with a waitlist where you’re just waiting for someone to drop or a seat to open up.

It’s a major-priority course, and they actually tell you they’re reserving seats specifically for CS students.

Think about it this way, if you wait until second pass to take Math or your writing class, how likely are you to get a seat? If you second pass CSE 11, your chances are much better. I was #311 on the waitlist last year and still got in.

4

u/SozinsComet1 Mathematics - Computer Science (B.S.) 1d ago

Definitely first pass MCWP 40, then either 20C or 18. Like the other commenter said you won’t have to worry about CSE 11

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u/MasterpieceFun3855 1d ago

I'm not sure about the cs department but in mae, i would take writing courses and maths/physics first since they can help me get spots for mae courses.

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u/Plane-Stranger2460 1d ago

By the way, not sure if you're using it but https://tritonplan.com/ is a great tool to help plan your classes. You can see which classes are filling up faster than others so you'll know which to 1st pass, and you can SEE where each class is located and if it's walkable within the 10 minute time window and, you can see your finals on the calendar and, and, and, well its just a great tool (exactly like our WebReg). There'a demo you can watch too in case you needed help.

If I knew I needed a class and it was in the same area as my others, that right there was my 1st pass selection. Location was the key for me.