Which is better, a letter grade of C/D or a "W"?

[bio]

Well, first off I want to say that I enjoy reading your threads and thorough responses. I've been visiting the site on and off over the past few years. Now, I'd like to share my scenario with you all:

I have a BFA from 2002 with a 3.4 GPA. Over the last 3 years I've been taking the premed. prereqs. For the first two years I attended a CC, and finished all prereqs. with a 3.8 GPA. I thought that the CC would be looked down upon or not considered as rigid of a science background for Ad Coms given that I was coming from a BFA undergrad. background.

As of last Spring semester, I've been taking some upper sciences, enrolled as a biochem major working towards a second bachelor's (a BS) at a university. This means, that I've started with a fresh new GPA since the CC grades don't transfer over with the credits. I've taken anatomy & physiology in which I received an A, cell bio. in which I received a B, and am now taking phys. chem., microbio., and biochem. along with their labs. Of these classes, it's looking like I'll be getting an A in both micro. and p. chem. The biochem. however, may leave me with a C/D, after having completed two exams so far, with 2 more to go.

Therein lies my dilemma...First of all, I'm very frustrated b/c a B is like an F to me, let alone a C/D. Second of all, my whole reasoning for taking more classes beyond the required were to further my knowledge before taking the MCAT and applying to med. school and to prove I could get high marks in university science courses. So, do I keep the class and have it be the one C/D on my record, or do I drop the course for now and get a "W"? Or do I keep the course, get a C/D and later retake it and go for an A?

Some of you may be wondering, if I can handle the course.-- Yes... Then why am I doing poorly?-- Good question. No, but seriously even though this is just an excuse, this semester has been a down one for me. I'm 26, and as much as I'm trying to stay in the present moment while keeping my eyes on the prize, I can't help but be frustrated at times. There are the undergrad. loans and their lovely accruing interest rates, the not so fulfilling part-time work that I can squeeze into my schedule, my otherwise very supportive parents being antsy about me hurrying up and finishing this 2nd degree and taking the MCAT, the hardship with coming up with money for each semester's worth of classes, putting relationships aside (though this doesn't bother me too much but since i'm rolling away here I might as well add it to the list), putting desires to live elsewhere and attend out-of-state schools aside for the sake of budgeting, and the thought of time ticking away and no career or supposed "life path" quite secured yet. I'm sure many of you have experienced these hurdles as well, (as I've read in many posts), but I guess I'm looking for responses and shared experiences with a glimmer of hope and guestimation towards what sort of time and goal outline I'm looking at.

I had planned on finishing this 2nd degree within the next couple of years, taking a Kaplan prep, and then the MCAT in 2008/2009. As far as extracurriculars, I've had plenty of wonderful and varied experiences, I worked as an art therapist for half a year at the behavioral unit of a hospital, I've worked at a homeless shelter, volunteered at senior centers, at various hospital units, and for the Red Cross, among other organizations. I've also been a science and math tutor for college students. Actually, all of those past experiences lead to the desire to be on the premed. path.

I have until this Friday to decide if I'm going to withdraw from the class. Aside from feedback as to that decision and how a "W" compares to a low letter grade, I'd love to hear any similar stories, or shared frustrations, and what you all have done or plan to do to overcome or get past the other hurdles... The ones that I'm sure contribute to our personalities and strengths in the end. Thank you all in advance for your time and responses.

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[Jasmine26]

Speaking from experience, there are a lot of courses I wish I had withdrawn from and retaken then gotten a C, that kills your GPA and looks a lot worse then a W. Also there is no guarantee you'll get an A the second time around. And even if you get an A, it will average your GPA to something around the B range. I say drop it and retake the class. A C/D looks real bad on a transcript.

 

[sunmoon6689]

What if you have no intention of retaking the course? I am going to switch universities at the end of the semester, and the course is not offered at the school I will be attending. It is not a pre-req, but it is a graduate-level science course. I have been putting a great deal of time into studying, but the exams and quizzes have been kicking my behind anyway! I would appreciate any feedback. Thanks.

 

[MJB]

I'd take the W.

Wish I had thought about this before taking some of the grades I did.

 

[bio]

Thanks for your responses guys, please keep'em coming!

For some reason I thought that there's negative bias towards a "W", and that one bad letter grade wouldn't be so bad (especially a C), as long as it was the only one.

 

[Jasmine26]

I agree with MJB, I was in your situation with a first year computer engineering course and I wasnt doing so great in the course and thought I would end up with a C, well the final was a killer and I ended up with an F, and had to retake the class, I ended up graduating with distinction, but that F has always come back to haunt me whenever I apply for scholarships/awards even though it was first yr. Unless you can GUARANTEE your going to get a C, I wouldnt risk it.
An F never fades, and I think a D looks just as bad, with a W it doesnt affect your GPA, and if anyone asks why you withdrew, you can always give a reason like you got sick or something like that, but no one cares why you got an F, they just see an F.

 

[MJB]

I agree with MJB, I was in your situation with a first year computer engineering course and I wasnt doing so great in the course and thought I would end up with a C, well the final was a killer and I ended up with an F, and had to retake the class, I ended up graduating with distinction, but that F has always come back to haunt me whenever I apply for scholarships/awards even though it was first yr. Unless you can GUARANTEE your going to get a C, I wouldnt risk it.
An F never fades, and I think a D looks just as bad, with a W it doesnt affect your GPA, and if anyone asks why you withdrew, you can always give a reason like you got sick or something like that, but no one cares why you got an F, they just see an F.

Exactly what happened to me....and mine WAS in a pre-req...Chem. II my sophomore year of undergrad....I had a prof. that gets his jollies off of making the mean score on his tests right around 50%....I thought I could pull out a C, then around Finals week, I had some bad stuff go down personally, and I bombed the Final...he came up to me on campus a few days later and just smiled and said "you know you didn't make it, right?" and chuckled...

I still hate that man, and that F has haunted me...

Amazingly, I missed a grand total of about 15 points in Chem. II last fall when I re-took it at another U.

Lots of C's on my transcript, but those are a direct result of not studying at all in undergrad....I don't recall reading a single science book.

 

[Orthodoc40]

In biochem? I'd take a W.
Some schools have it as a pre-req.

 

[njbmd]

This means, that I've started with a fresh new GPA since the CC grades don't transfer over with the credits. The biochem. however, may leave me with a C/D, after having completed two exams so far, with 2 more to go.

First of all, I'm very frustrated b/c a B is like an F to me, let alone a C/D. Second of all, my whole reasoning for taking more classes beyond the required were to further my knowledge before taking the MCAT and applying to med. school and to prove I could get high marks in university science courses. So, do I keep the class and have it be the one C/D on my record, or do I drop the course for now and get a "W"? Or do I keep the course, get a C/D and later retake it and go for an A? .[/B]

In the scheme of medical school applications, your community college credits will be on your AMCAS application and your second bachelors degree grades will be averaged with your previous coursework. In that sense, you are NOT starting with a fresh GPA, you are averaging your new GPA with your old one.

It doesn't matter what you think of a grade of B, C, D or F, it looks like you are not mastering this Biochemistry course. If you withdraw, your transcript is going to show a W for Withdrawal and a retake which, is not going to help you in your quest to "prove" that you can master "university-level upper division" science classes. A withdrawal and a retake are going to look like you couldn't handle the course, you dropped the course to preserve your GPA and then retook the course. Nothing proven except that you know how to minimize damage to your GPA.

That being said, staying in the course and getting a C, D or F is going to lower your GPA. Depending on the credit hours for the course, you are going to significantly lower your GPA. Consider changing this course to an audit, which will provide you with the knowledge from the course (may be useful for medical school) and not doing a retake which looks kind of lame after you have withdrawn. If you need this course for graduation, then you have to stay with it, take whatever grade you earn and take something else to offset the damage or change majors.

The whole notion of attempting to "prove" anything to a medical school admissions committee by taking extra coursework is a flawed one. Your best means of indicating that you are ready for the rigors of a medical school curriculum is to do well in your pre-medical courses, do well in your major (any major) and do well on the MCAT. Withdrawing from a class and retaking it later especially since you are supposed to BE a biochemistry major is counterproductive.

 

[Jasmine26]

I dont think a W is THAT bad, there are a lot of reasons people choose to discontinue a course, I still think its better then failing and again have to redo the course. I say if you can GUARANTEE a C or better dont drop, otherwise you have to ace maybe 4 classes to balance an F.
I talk from experience, but engineering courses are different then pre-reqs. Fortunately for me it was only that one course I did bad in, I have a weakness in programming.

Also considering everyone is saying GPA and MCAT scores are used heavily in the cut-off stage, wouldnt you focus on NOT lowering your GPA

 

[beetlerum]

A W is clearly clearly better than a really low grade. A W has no effect on your GPA. A low grade will hurt your GPA, which is an extremely important admissions criterion and one of the first things med schools will notice. And realize they don't know immediately whether it's from one low grade or just generally lower performance. In contrast, they may not even notice one W and even if they do, so what?

It's easy to look at the situation as the applicant, to whom both the W and hurt GPA seem equally prominent and equivalent (as alternative descriptions of the same performance). But this is not how it is likely to look to med schools.

 

[snowkhat]

Yeah, don't take a C or D...no way! If you must, drop and take it later (with a better instructor if possible!). I had quite a few drops and NO-ONE has asked out of 8 interviews. I also had two C's one of which I re-took and got a B. No questions about those either.