Who Should Enter?
All students who want to take a HASS-D subject should enter the HASS-D lottery. The only exceptions are subjects that qualify for the HASS-D language option. There are a limited number of HASS-D subjects, and enrollment in each is restricted, generally to 25 students per class or section. A computerized lottery determines who gets in.
How to enter the HASS-D lottery
Continuing students must enter the lottery for Spring 2010 courses between December 1, 2009 and January 14, 2010 (lottery closes at 5 p.m.). Go to the pre-registration page on the MIT website and select the HASS-Ds you’re interested in taking. Clicking on each will bring you to instructions for submitting it as a lottery selection. The lottery will assign you only one HASS-D subject a semester, but you may submit up to six choices, in order of preference. Typically, about 85 percent of students receive their first choice.
For lottery instructions for incoming freshman, click here.
Learning the results, and keeping your spot
The Registrar’s Office will post the lottery results for Spring 2010 classes on January 20, 2010. You can view your lottery assignment, along with the rest of your class schedule, at WebSIS, or check your paper registration form. You must attend the first class meeting, or your seat may be given away.
If you did not receive your first choice
You are guaranteed a space in that subject the next time it’s offered. Contact the HASS Education Office after preregistration begins, but before the lottery runs; give us your name, ID number, and the first-choice subject you failed to receive last time, and we’ll enroll you. As long as there is no conflict with the rest of your schedule, you’re all set. Please note: You must take this step in order to exercise this option; you will not be automatically assigned.
HASS-D subjects still open after the lottery has run
These are listed on the post-lottery Open Class List. You may enroll in one of them by attending the first meeting and having the instructor sign an add/drop form. This list is not updated after classes have begun; if you want to add a HASS-D at that point, please contact the instructor.
If you want to take more than one HASS-D in a semester
You can be assigned to only one HASS-D subject a semester through the lottery. If you want to take more, check the list of post-lottery open classes and have the instructor sign an add/drop form at the first class meeting.
Timing Tip!
Timing Tip
The secret to the HASS-Ds is to take take them early—starting in your Freshman and Sophomore years.
This is the key to handling the HASS-D requirement well: take the HASS-D subjects early on, beginning in your Freshman and Sophomore years. Do not wait until your senior year to complete the HASS-D requirement.
There are two reasons to start early: First, HASS-Ds are designed to let you sample offerings in different fields; they are potential stepping-stones toward a HASS concentration, minor, or major. Second, the Lottery treats all students equally, regardless of year, major, minor, or concentration. Freshmen have exactly the same chances as seniors, so waiting until your last semester could mean missing out on a HASS-D you really want to take, or being “lotteried out” of one you need to graduate.
Inside the Lottery—The Algorithm
The lottery algorithm begins by assigning all students to their first choice. Then it randomly pulls students out of each overenrolled subject until the maximum number for each section has been reached. The remaining students are assigned to that subject.
For students who have been pulled out, the algorithm moves down their list of alternate choices, assigning them to their highest-ranked subject with remaining space. If all of a student’s alternate choices are full, that student can enroll in one of the post-lottery open classes by bringing an add/drop form to the first class meeting.
Additional Tips
Because the algorithm looks at a student’s alternate choices only after the decision to remove that student from a first-choice subject has been made, entering multiple choices will not reduce your chances of getting your first choice. It will increase your chances of getting one of your preferred HASS-Ds. And if you want to ensure taking a HASS-D that term, it’s a good idea to include among your alternate choices a HASS-D subject that is less likely to be over-enrolled. Doing so will also not reduce your chances of getting your first choice.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology