I really like hearing about people's first days. My first day isn't until next Wednesday--we start very late here. I spoke last week with an advisor in the psych department about whether I would ever be able to get into the class I am trying to. (This is the 4th quarter that I have had my eye on it, and it is always filled before it is my turn to register.) She was really knowledgeable and told me I would probably never get into this class. At least I know now to just quit trying. This course is a prerequisite for a couple of more advanced courses in the department that I would like to take, so it seems like a big barrier for me to not be able to take it. But the advisor told me that perhaps taking a related course from another department would be a sufficient prerequisite if I spoke with the professors of the advanced psych courses when it came time to take them. No guarantees, but it sounded hopeful. So she helped me find what might be a transferable course in another department. She was very helpful. (I wanted to ask her why the heck the department doesn't offer this course I need in a bigger room, or more sections, or do something to match student demand, but I refrained. )

Grayness, those classes all sound really interesting. What will you be doing in the clinical neuroscience course? Does it have a component where you get to spend time in the clinic?

Googley, can you speak directly with the professor you are interested in working with? Maybe if he knows how interested you are, he will let you in his group. Or maybe he will have a good alternative suggestion about someone to work with whose research interests overlap with his own.