PhD/PsyD Will this look bad when I apply to PH.D programs?

[acslater99]

Hello all,

I am currently a junior at a public University. I'm currently going through some problems with my family members which sadly has put so much stress on me, I never expected these problems coming in this semester. I'm taking 6 classes which include 2 labs.

To get to the point, I'm looking to withdraw from 4 classes (2 classes 2 labs) because I cannot continue to deal with them due to the situation I'm in. The classes I'm withdrawing from are not related to Psychology, but from the Science department. This would be the first time I will be withdrawing from a class in undergrad.

I want to know how bad does it look having 4 W's in 1 semester? Will they question my decision? Will this be viewed as a red flag? Will this hurt my application?

By the way, I do have a good cGPA. Thank you.

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[lifesanillusion]

It's far better to withdraw from courses than to struggle to complete them and receive grades that are below your usual performance level. Taking care of yourself is key to working in the field of psychology. I'd advise that you withdraw and retake courses when your home life is more stable. Best wishes...

 

[irish80122]

I agree with lifesanillusion. So long as you have letters of recommendation that explain what happened I think you should be fine. Without it mentioned in the letters it would be a red flag, but we understand that life happens. In fact, I know some psych faculty who look for those who have gone through something challenging and have overcome it as a sign that they will be able to handle the trials of graduate school.

 

[deleted343839]

I doubt this alone will really hurt your chances, especially if you re-take those courses later and do well in them. I agree it's better to withdraw than to continue and take a hit on your GPA. Do take advantage of any resources on campus that can help you during this stressful time.

 

[Introspect]

Hello all,

I am currently a junior at a public University. I'm currently going through some problems with my family members which sadly has put so much stress on me, I never expected these problems coming in this semester. I'm taking 6 classes which include 2 labs.

To get to the point, I'm looking to withdraw from 4 classes (2 classes 2 labs) because I cannot continue to deal with them due to the situation I'm in. The classes I'm withdrawing from are not related to Psychology, but from the Science department. This would be the first time I will be withdrawing from a class in undergrad.

I want to know how bad does it look having 4 W's in 1 semester? Will they question my decision? Will this be viewed as a red flag? Will this hurt my application?

By the way, I do have a good cGPA. Thank you.

I can tell you from personal experience not unlike what you are proposing, that it will not be detrimental in the long run. I had a series of personal losses in college that resulted in my taking a number of Ws and time off for a year or so. I thought it would be disastrous to my future, and while it did take some work to come back from (I also had a mediocre GPA), I ended up in a competitive doctoral problem and feel very happy with the outcome in all regards. Do what you need to do to take care of yourself through this.

 

[psych844]

Agreed with everyone else. One semester, or even a whole year, of dropped courses won't impact you. What will impact you a lot more (and cost you more money) is if you damage your good cGPA.

 

[WisNeuro]

As long as it isn't a string of things, one isolated event is not a kiss of death, and easily defensible. If it's a pattern over years of poor grades, withdraws, etc, then yeah, it will be noticed.

 

[clinpsyc87]

I wouldn't call it "stress" but rather family emergency

 

[WisNeuro]

The emergency is the situation, the stress is the subsequent response to the situation. These are not mutually exclusive concepts.

 

[clinpsyc87]

The emergency is the situation, the stress is the subsequent response to the situation. These are not mutually exclusive concepts.

Great.. lots of things aren't mutually exclusive. I wouldn't call the withdraw a product of stress [in letters while applying for grad school] which is the domain for which he is seeking advice. I couldn't possibly care less what he calls it here

 

[WisNeuro]

If you're writing his SOP, sure, go nuts. But, I still doubt using the term stress, would hurt them in any meaningful way in their explanation of the situation, as long as the application was strong. Start playing with BS semantics and I can see that hurting someone's application. When someone gets cagey when explaining holes in their application, or legal troubles, instantly raises red flags. Keep it simple.

 

[clinpsyc87]

I agree, come up with a simple explanation for why you HAD to withdraw, not just say you were stressed because... grad school is also stressful. If you tell a lie, that lie has to become the truth for you.

 

[acslater99]

Thank you all for your feedback. I have came to the conclusion that I will just be withdrawing just 2 classes and keeping the other 2. My advisor and I came up with a plan that would help me become successful in those classes.

Again thank you.

 

[smalltownpsych]

If you only have those two W's on your transcript and your GPA is high and all your other stats are good, I don't think I would even offer an explanation about them when applying. Maybe the academic psychologists on here who actually review applications might disagree, but I am thinking having a couple of those would not carry much weight and might not even be seen especially if they were not fairly recent such as the last semester or two or in key psych classes such as stats or research methods. I would just assume that you had good reasons to drop those two if everything else is solid, but then I am a clinician not an academic so take it for what it's worth.

 

[EmotRegulation]

For what it's worth, I don't pay any attention to Ws on a transcript. There are ALL kinds of reasons why someone might need to withdraw from a course or multiple courses that have nothing to do with the ability of the person to be successful. I see it as "this person knew enough to get out of those classes to prioritize some other aspect of life." If there are Ws *every* semester, that might raise a flag for me, but for one or even two semesters? Family and health stuff can happen.

Personally I wouldn't even mention it. If you are getting a letter from someone who knows you well and can talk about what happened in an appropriate way, that's often better than you trying to address it yourself.