Prior to RSVP the system was even more convoluted.
The Form and the Computer
You filled out a form with the classes and sections you wanted. Sometimes you added other classes as backups just in case. This was put into a computer program designed to intentionally make your life miserable. Your first choice class would be full, so it enrolled you in a different section, which would of course conflict with another course you wanted, so you didn't get that, and all of a sudden your schedule consists of a 7:30 am section of the first class you wanted, plus 3 underwater basket weaving classes you put on the form just to have additional backups. And you wouldn't find this out until a few weeks before the quarter started and several weeks after you submitted it. So then you had to fret until Open Registration
Open Registration
The university published an open course listing (this was pre-internet so you couldn't just look it up online). On the appointed day of Open Registration, usually a few days before classes began, the departments would take names for open slots, waitlists, or drops if you really didn't want those 3 underwater basketweaving courses after all. Most of the large departments were in the Rec Hall with a few of the smaller ones offering the same service in their own offices. People were let in at staggered times depending on the amount of units they already had enrolled in. So the people with 0 units went first, all the way up to people already fully enrolled, such as the poor soul who did get all of his/her backup classes on the History of the Mite. People usally camped out to ensure they would get a better chance at a more coveted class. Once inside, you stood in the line for the department you wanted to take a class in, and gave them an add/drop form. You would either get into the class or be waitlisted.
Waitlist Fun
Now another fun feature of this was the fact that the drop deadline was 4 or 5 weeks into class, so you could be waitlisted until almost halfway throught the quarter. The most commen drop period was right after people got their first midterm back. They would drop to preserve their GPA, and allow a slew of unsuspecting students to be added. As a result you could get into a class you were still waitlisted for even after you gave up any hope of getting in. It was always fun to get your grades for a quarter and find out you were enrolled in classes you forgot about.
RSVP
In the Spring of 1993 RSVP was instituted, making life a little bit easier.
