During telebears, we block most students from enrolling so that there is plenty of room left in the class to sort through who have expressed an interest in enrolling. Jan Johnson and I work together to determine who will be enrolled. We try to accommodate department majors first but there is usually room for others as well.
This depends on a number of factors that work towards what enrollment cap I decide I can live with. Not everyone is able to enroll but the odds of being able to get in are better than how they look online.
It also depends on whether you do ALL of these things:
Come to the first two classes on time and do not leave early.
Attend all subsequent classes until the waitlist issues are resolved or, if you cannot, email your good reasons as to why.
Be flexible about section enrollment.