Ws in consecutive semesters.

[hopeless03]

Hey all,

I got a question, more like an issue. I am psychology major. I am taking 16 credits at the moment. My first withdrawal was for a science class two years ago. I got a W last semester for a science prereq. I also have two Cs on my transcript. So, I currently have two Cs and two Ws.
It looks like I might have to withdraw from a psychology class I am taking now. I got a C- on my first exam. We only have two exams. I thought the exam would mostly consist of material from lecture/textbook but I was wrong. It was mostly from journal articles. I know I screwed up. FWIW, I had four exams on that day.
How bad does this look for me?

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[GrapesofRath]

It's obviously not great but the bigger thing to figure out is why this is happening and more importantly how to prevent it. If you still have a fair amount of time left in college and can solve those issues and show considerable improvement, all is hardly lost. People have done worse and turned things around. But showing that improvement and preventing this from continuing to happening is the much bigger thing here and the challenge that many in your situation are unable to overcome to the level they need.

My best advice is its probably a good idea to withdraw not necessarily to avoid the hit another C will do to your GPA but because you need to be able to focus on your other classes and ace them and withdrawing will allow alot more time to do so. For next semester, go a little lighter in the coureseload. Start to build yourself back up and the way to do that is to have success, regardless of how many credits you can handle. Once you start having success, even if its with a relatively soft schedule next semester, you can start building up a more difficult and normal schedule and have a much better chance of success with that.

I'll also add that keep in mind that grade replacement exists for DO schools for a reason. Obviously, you can't rely on it to carry you alone but several C's can be retaken and it can do wonders to a GPA, provided you do well in new courses from here on out.

 

[Catalystik]

I am psychology major. I am taking 16 credits at the moment. My first withdrawal was for a science class two years ago. I got a W last semester for a science prereq. I also have two Cs on my transcript. So, I currently have two Cs and two Ws.
It looks like I might have to withdraw from a psychology class I am taking now. I got a C- on my first exam. We only have two exams. I thought the exam would mostly consist of material from lecture/textbook but I was wrong. It was mostly from journal articles. I know I screwed up. FWIW, I had four exams on that day.

How bad does this look for me?

This is not a reassuring pattern. But it is not impossible for you to correct course and ultimately become successful, provided you have insight into the causes of your academic difficulties and act to correct them.

 

[TBV]

Gotta get it right. If you can't fix what you're doing wrong with 16 credits, the volume of medical school will eat you alive.

 

[dentopix]

Gotta get it right. If you can't fix what you're doing wrong with 16 credits, the volume of medical school will eat you alive.

Cool with the haterade.
I think put more friendly, TBV is warning you that professional school is a huge volume of coursework - and you need to pull up your socks if you want to not only show you'll be a good student as a doctor, but actually succeed. I wouldn't give up though if this is what you actually want

 

[TBV]

Cool with the haterade.
I think put more friendly, TBV is warning you that professional school is a huge volume of coursework - and you need to pull up your socks if you want to not only show you'll be a good student as a doctor, but actually succeed. I wouldn't give up though if this is what you actually want

"Haterade" or not, it's the truth. I'd kill for the luxury I had in college even the semester I took 18 credits with 3 labs. I still found a way to go out every thursday night and day drank sat & sun playing dizzy bat. Now ... not so much.

 

[moisne]

Ouch - sorry.

But you aren't out of luck. I had a semester for 2.0; 2-3 F's, and 2 W's or so. I ended up at a top 20*.

 

[hopeless03]

Thanks for the responses.
Would a C be favored over the W? I know a C will hurt my GPA.

 

[ConfusedChemist]

Thanks for the responses.
Would a C be favored over the W? I know a C will hurt my GPA.

honestly, neither are good. Given the semester isn' over, I recommend studying your butt off and getting a B

 

[jqueb29]

It obviously doesn't help, but it certainly doesn't break you; it just all depends on how well you've performed prior to this stretch and how well you perform after. I had 4 straight semesters with a W, in addition to 3 C's over that period of time. Still got into med school and am doing great. You just need to figure out a way to make sure you do well going forward. It sounds like you're probably is similar to what mine was: going into tests not knowing fully what the test would be like. This is easily corrected, and you should be just fine if you do so.