W in O-Chem to protect GPA?

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PreDent1008

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Hey guys,
I'm a sophomore pre-dent at a well-respected school and am considering dropping organic chemistry I. The deadline for dropping with a W is the beginning of March, so I still have some time to make up my mind, but I would just like to hear some opinions. We've had a test and a few quizzes so far, and at the moment, I'm convinced it's going to be a struggle to get a C. Although I hate to blame it on the prof, I feel like that really is the problem. I've been reading the textbook and working problems from it to try to learn, but he doesn't go by the book very much and doesn't provide his own problem sets, either. Anyways, I'm thinking about dropping the class to protect my GPA but am worried about how bad it would look to dental schools, especially because o-chem is seen as a major weed out course.
Here are my stats:
Overall GPA: 3.925
Science/math courses:
Intro to Bio: A-
Genetics: A
Gen Chem I: A+
Gen Chem II: A
Calculus: A

I obviously work very hard in school (it's not that I'm being lazy) and am going to see how the next few weeks go in o-chem, but any advice or comments would be great! Thanks! 🙂
 
Most dental schools consider a W as a C-. You should do your best to not withdraw. See if you can get a C at least. Of course a higher grade would be better, but if you can somehow get into the B range, then you won't have to retake it. If you withdraw, it looks like you quit, and you'll still have to retake it, the same outcome as getting a C (except a C won't look like you quit).
 
WITHDRAW FROM IT!!!. i have a few W's on my transcript . i truly believe a W looks better than a C or below because it really effects your gpa. I have 2 W's in non pre-reqs, and one W from a intro bio course. I was in the exact situation that you were in, i wasnt sure if i should take a W in a pre-req. but after i did it, it was great, and i retook that bio course at a local 4-year university and got an A. that was a huge swing, from most likely getting a C, and hurting my gpa, to getting an A. so i highly suggest you withdraw, as long as you dont do it very frequently on pre-reqs, then you will be fine
 
Thanks for the input so far. 👍 I just wanted to add that at my school you aren't allowed to retake a class unless you failed.
 
Osity,

most schools will consider W as a C-? where did you heard that from?? I've never heard this before.
 
In my experience a W is fine (as in, the best option after an A or a B) as long as you kill the class the second time around. (Assuming that you don't have a lot of W's)
 
Osity said:
It's from NYU's website.
Click to expand...

Can you please point this out? I looked on the NYU site, and I didn't see that anywhere. Never have I heard anyone say that a single W looks like a C-, that just seems silly. Everyone understands that things happen in people's lives, and having a W or two doesn't mean a thing.

To the OP, a single C wouldn't kill you (I had a number, haha), but it might be a good idea to drop and retake so that you have a better understanding for Ochem II, and thus a better grasp of the material on the DAT as well.
 
Honestly, I'd just say in it and work hard and try to pull out a decent grade. Even if it's a C/B, you're grades are still fine and one grade like that isn't going to destroy your chances. Fact is, you're gonna have to take it at some point, and it's not going to be any easier this summer or junior year. Now if you are going to fail, then get out, but since you have to March, really give it 100% from now until then to see if you can make a good run at a better grade.

Try picking up Organic Chem as a second language, that book helped me a ton.
 
Take the W, it is so much better than even getting a "B" and retaking. I took a W in a chemistry class and am glad I did. One or two here and there wont look bad if they even notice it at all. You have to remember most schools don't have time to look at your grades from every semester all through college, they just want to see the bottom line... your final GPA.

I too would like to see where NYU says its the same as a C-. Either way NYU isn't a school you really want to shoot for. Do yourself a favor and take the W and gear up and blow the class out of the water the second time without your gpa having to pay for it.
 
I thought I saw that on NYU'S website, but I can't find it again either, so I can't back up my earlier statement. I would still finish the class and shoot for a B or C, because withdrawing is still quitting.

This is what I got off of BYU's pre-dental website about withdrawing.

"Withdrawing and Incompletes: Incompletes and unofficial withdrawals on a transcript are detrimental. Withdrawals are detrimental only when your transcript contains numerous W’s and it is apparent that you are withdrawing from difficult classes to keep from receiving undesirable grades."

In the end it's your choice, but just buckle down and get through it because that mentality will help you a lot more than just getting out of a class if it gets hard and you can't get an A.
 
The option to withdraw exists to be used, so withdraw if you need to, especially if it appears a "C" is going to be a struggle, that's yucky! 😉

Personally, I withdrew from physics 2 to protect my GPA.
 
Spend less time worrying about whether or not to withdrawl from a class when you are holding a 3.9 and more time learning about who you are, and experience new things with your time as an undergrad. I got in to dental school with a 2.6 in an ochem course and a 2.5 in a biochem course. Also, don't lay the blame on your prof's. If you were asked at an interview to speak about a course that you got a C in and you say that you just didn't click well with the prof then that shows that you are immature and can't take responsibility for your own actions. Instead, you can say that you used it as a learning opportunity and saw that if you were struggling to find correlations between your prof's teachings and what you read in the book that you should spend more time going to office hours etc, and then using that experience you gained were able to do much better in your next o-chem course.
 
What organic chemistry is it? 1 or 2.
If you decide not to W from it I can help you with Organic Chem 1. Ill be a TA for it in the Fall Semester.
Unforunately I am currently taking Ochem2 so I cant help you with that yet.
Also, dont withdraw from a course until you find out how other students have done in relation to you. You never know how the curve will be. One of my friends took Ochem at a school (not naming the school). And he received 30's on the exams and withdrew fromt he course. Little did he know, a 30 was a C or better he said.
 
Take the w, a C or lower will wreck ur gpa and 1 or 2 W's is no big deal
 
i would rather have an admissions guy look at my W and suspect it was a C but it doesn't factor into my gpa, than have him actually see a C and it does factor into my gpa.
 
I would withdraw the minute I thought I was going to get a C. Play with GPA calculator, the results wont be pretty.


And to the guy and people in general who are always saying stop worrying about your GPA, chill out, take the C, I got into dental school with a -9.875 GPA.... Shut up, please. I'm not interested in having a .001% chance to get into my first choice and I am sure this guy isn't either.
 
Seahawk said:
I would withdraw the minute I thought I was going to get a C. Play with GPA calculator, the results wont be pretty.


And to the guy and people in general who are always saying stop worrying about your GPA, chill out, take the C, I got into dental school with a -9.875 GPA.... Shut up, please. I'm not interested in having a .001% chance to get into my first choice and I am sure this guy isn't either.
Click to expand...

How do you get a 9.875 GPA? That would be amazing.
 
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Osity said:
How do you get a 9.875 GPA? That would be amazing.
Click to expand...

Make sure you note the negative sign in front of it....it was a number simply used to exaggerate people "bragging" how low their GPA was when they got accepted.

But yes, a +9.875 GPA would be epic.
 
Seahawk said:
I would withdraw the minute I thought I was going to get a C. Play with GPA calculator, the results wont be pretty.


And to the guy and people in general who are always saying stop worrying about your GPA, chill out, take the C, I got into dental school with a -9.875 GPA.... Shut up, please. I'm not interested in having a .001% chance to get into my first choice and I am sure this guy isn't either.
Click to expand...

Edit: Withdrawling previous statement. Do what you thinks best OP, but just remember you will likely have to take summer classes or a really stacked semester/quarter if you withdrawl now, and will need to push back the whole series, potentially delaying your graduation.
 
Last edited:
Spit said:
I also have zero interest in having some type A d-bag with zero people skills being my dental care provider. I wasn't saying to not worry about your GPA, just that one low grade on your transcript will not kill you.
Click to expand...

One low grade can make a sizable difference.

Granted it might not kill him....

But I don't see how a type A d-bag with zero people skills factors into caring about each and every class you take?
 
Seahawk said:
I would withdraw the minute I thought I was going to get a C. Play with GPA calculator, the results wont be pretty.


And to the guy and people in general who are always saying stop worrying about your GPA, chill out, take the C, I got into dental school with a -9.875 GPA.... Shut up, please. I'm not interested in having a .001% chance to get into my first choice and I am sure this guy isn't either.
Click to expand...

Spit said:
I also have zero interest in having some type A d-bag with zero people skills being my dental care provider. I wasn't saying to not worry about your GPA, just that one low grade on your transcript will not kill you.
Click to expand...

Seriously guys? Can this not slip into the typical morass of insults over a few simple opinions. Everyone has the right to their opinion, and the OP is asking for opinions, I'm sure he/she wants both sides of the coin (without the "shut-ups" and "d-bags" of course, 😉). *takes a sip of his coffee*
 
Kahr said:
Seriously guys? Can this not slip into the typical morass of insults over a few simple opinions. Everyone has the right to their opinion, and the OP is asking for opinions, I'm sure he/she wants both sides of the coin (without the "shut-ups" and "d-bags" of course, 😉). *takes a sip of his coffee*
Click to expand...

You are correct. My bad. *goes and makes some coffee*
 
3-4 W's on your transcript won't look bad. Any more than that, you might send the message that you tend to start things you can't finish and might not be able to handle dental school. You have a good GPA and you are a hard worker, take a W in the class and then try your best to not have to drop any more classes in the future. Best of luck to you!!😀
 
How bad does it look to dental schools if I have 3 Pass/Fail classes (non pre-reqs) and 1 W (also non pre req)?
 
My advise would be..

If you can't get a B or B-, then WITHDRAW. Then, you prob. need to take that course again and do well.
 
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