Before Instruction Begins: If there is room on the wait list, sign up for the section that fits your schedule. If a seat opens up, students are automatically enrolled from the wait list. If you are still on the wait list once classes begin, you should attend for the first week and check with the instructor about open seats.
After Instruction Begins: For the first two weeks of instruction, daily attendance numbers are monitored by instructors. The daily attendance numbers show how many students from the official enrollment list are actually attending class and, therefore, how many potential openings there are. Your instructor will know if there are open seats, based on daily attendance numbers. Often the number of students attending is different from the number of students enrolled on CalCentral.
If you see a section that (1) fits into your schedule and (2) has potential openings based on attendance trends, add yourself to the CalCentral wait list for that section, and attend and stay current with the assignments. If/as the number of students attending class falls below the limit, the instructor can add students from the CalCentral wait list for that section.