15 withdrawals- how bad is it?

[Hagu]

I had to withdraw from one semester entirely, and the rest withdraws are all from the first 2 years. But besides that I have been doing really well.

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[ChymeofPassion]

Pretty bad. Why take you when there are thousands of applicants without withdrawals?

 

[Pagan FutureDoc]

The one semester won't hurt that much. Life sometimes happens and withdrawing to focus on getting that straightened out shows maturity.
However several Ws over the first two years. That looks worse and to me it would look like someone trying to game the system.

 

[ScottTenorman54]

Some things you'll wanna flesh out so people can help you better:

- why, dude? why?
- what classes
- have you retaken them since, and what'd you get
- what's your GPA

 

[Hagu]

Its actually 12 withdrawals. My GPA right now is 3.6.
Family and medical reasons.
I did retake the classes and I mostly got A's

 

[Turkishking]

Apply and tell me how your chances will be. I'm curious.

 

[AnotherLawyer]

I had to withdraw from one semester entirely, and the rest withdraws are all from the first 2 years. But besides that I have been doing really well.

I think it's case dependent. If it's clear you came into college as a premed and it looks like you've been trying to game the system, that looks pretty bad. On the other hand, if you came into college and it appears you had no idea what you were doing, got some bad grades, took a bunch of W's, etc., only to come back and rock it for 2+ solid years, that is just another flavor of the beloved upward trend and it does not suggest any gamesmanship on your part.

 

[Turkishking]

I think it's case dependent. If it's clear you came into college as a premed and it looks like you've been trying to game the system, that looks pretty bad. On the other hand, if you came into college and it appears you had no idea what you were doing, got some bad grades, took a bunch of W's, etc., only to come back and rock it for 2+ solid years, that is just another flavor of the beloved upward trend and it does not suggest any gamesmanship on your part.

So are you talking like a mess up of the sophomore year like 5W or 4W's then for the next 2 years pulling 4.0's with 16+ credits

 

[AnotherLawyer]

Again, it depends why. For example: Mom developed a terminal illness so you had to take care of her, realized you were going to fail all your classes, so you made the right choice and withdrew? That's okay. Strategically dropped multiple pre-med pre-reqs for no good reason? Not so good. But in either case, your two subsequent years of 4.0 will likely allay any concerns.

 

[vellez]

Maybe I'm completely off base, but if you can do well in the years preceding your app cycle, some W's won't matter. Like, even if you were failing the courses, people change...mature. If they can see that you take school seriously now and take your application seriously, I don't think any amount of W's is bad. That's just my opinion though.

 

[Goro]

I agree. In SDN lately there seems to have arisen this allergy toward Ws, to the extent that they're treated like Fs.

The OPs' case are exactly why W's exist. In fact s/he did the prudent thing and withdrew rather than display poor judgement and try to bulldoze thier way through coursework when not at thier best.

OP's track record of consistent success since SO year shows they s/he is worth taking a risk on.

Now to clarify, it's a scattered collection of Ws all the way through one's UG career that give off the stench that one is trying to protect GPA. One or two here and there won't kill you.

I think it's case dependent. If it's clear you came into college as a premed and it looks like you've been trying to game the system, that looks pretty bad. On the other hand, if you came into college and it appears you had no idea what you were doing, got some bad grades, took a bunch of W's, etc., only to come back and rock it for 2+ solid years, that is just another flavor of the beloved upward trend and it does not suggest any gamesmanship on your part.

 

[jordansnfootbal]

Adcoms questioned me about one W and you talking about 12? But who knows its already on your transcript so you might as well make the best of your situation.

 

[Hagu]

I think it's case dependent. If it's clear you came into college as a premed and it looks like you've been trying to game the system, that looks pretty bad. On the other hand, if you came into college and it appears you had no idea what you were doing, got some bad grades, took a bunch of W's, etc., only to come back and rock it for 2+ solid years, that is just another flavor of the beloved upward trend and it does not suggest any gamesmanship on your part.

I was planning on going into engineering and then changed my mind and decided to go into medicine. But after the switch my grades has been pretty good.

 

[MareNostrummm]

I have two W's when some serious personal issues came up so I understand what it means to have life get in the way, even then I didn't withdraw all my classes (still got an A in the one I kept that quarter and I couldn't even attend half the lectures). I tried my hardest not to get the W's but in the end there was nothing I could do but withdraw (ended up missing midterms). That being said 12 is way too many and I would see it as a red flag. I could see someone getting a quarter/semester of all 4-5 W's, learning their lesson, and getting it back together for the rest of their undergraduate career. But to have 12 is just gaming the system to protect your GPA (we ALL have family problems, personal issues, etc that we have to deal with on top of our other responsibilities it shouldn't be so debilitating that you have to drop everything repeatedly).

 

[Turkishking]

I have two W's when some serious personal issues came up so I understand what it means to have life get in the way, even then I didn't withdraw all my classes (still got an A in the one I kept that quarter and I couldn't even attend half the lectures). I tried my hardest not to get the W's but in the end there was nothing I could do but withdraw (ended up missing midterms). That being said 12 is way too many and I would see it as a red flag. I could see someone getting a quarter/semester of all 4-5 W's, learning their lesson, and getting it back together for the rest of their undergraduate career. But to have 12 is just gaming the system to protect your GPA (we ALL have family problems, personal issues, etc that we have to deal with on top of our other responsibilities it shouldn't be so debilitating that you have to drop everything repeatedly).

This makes me feel better. I have a few W's but not 15. Indeed that is an absurd amount.

 

[Welshman]

There was an old thread on here that described over twice your number of Ws.. People thought they still had a chance.. Anything can be explained with earnestness, time and reflection