A W-drop or a C when applying competitively?

[FaulterHund]

My GPA right now is a 3.98 and my sGPA is a 4.0. I did just fine in physics I; however, in physics II, we had our first exam. The average was a 45 and I got a 50. I am a Texas resident. Would it ruin my chances of attending a school like Baylor to get a C or to drop a course? This is absolutely ridiculous.

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[FaulterHund]

I am a junior by the way, so I have had my fair share of upper division courses. I suppose this professor just feels like making the class impossible

 

[mw18]

You can get into top schools with a C or a W, or a few of them. I think I've read on here that adcoms are wary of people with GPAs as high as yours with a W or two because it makes them look like perfectionists. I would do your best and if it's a C, then take it. Do well on that part of the MCAT and put their fears at rest. I think you'll be fine with either decision, though.

 

[aalamruad]

I'd say W > C

 

[JJRousseau]

Gonnif is spot on, not to mention the fact that given your prior record, that you are one exam in, and you scored 5 points above average on the first exam, I suspect you will be capable of pulling a b- or b in the class if you rebalance your efforts and let other coursework slip to low A range or even the upper b range. In any case a c is not the end of the world. I, for one, got a c+ in my general relativity class my sophomore year (curved up from a 48, ouch, which I spent about 80% of my time to achieve) and I have been fortunate enough to have interviews at three of the top five schools (whatever top five means but it illustrates my point). My gpa was not as high as yours either. Chill out and enjoy the standard of physics your teacher is holding you too; let it push you to a deeper insight into the subject; i wish I had a deeper understanding of electromagnetism than I do now as a result of a relatively easy algebra based physics course with which I was presented. I suspect holistically you will be successful in any case, particularly if you can take a breather given how gifted and hardworking you must be to have that gpa.


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[FaulterHund]

Gonnif is spot on, not to mention the fact that given your prior record, that you are one exam in, and you scored 5 points above average on the first exam, I suspect you will be capable of pulling a b- or b in the class if you rebalance your efforts and let other coursework slip to low A range or even the upper b range. In any case a c is not the end of the world. I, for one, got a c+ in my general relativity class my sophomore year (curved up from a 48, ouch, which I spent about 80% of my time to achieve) and I have been fortunate enough to have interviews at three of the top five schools (whatever top five means but it illustrates my point). My gpa was not as high as yours either. Chill out and enjoy the standard of physics your teacher is holding you too; let it push you to a deeper insight into the subject; i wish I had a deeper understanding of electromagnetism than I do now as a result of a relatively easy algebra based physics course with which I was presented. I suspect holistically you will be successful in any case, particularly if you can take a breather given how gifted and hardworking you must be to have that gpa.


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On the other hand, I honestly really don't want to have to put an unnecessary amount of effort into a course that is not going to help me at all. The professor is holding us all to a high standard, yes, but the class is not enjoyable in the least. And even if the class were taught in an interesting way, my interests do not lie in physics; I am a biology major. Additionally, I already have a heavy workload this semester. I am wondering if it would really look much worse to withdraw from the class and then get an A in a different, much easier one than it would be to get a B- or a C+ in this one.

 

[WedgeDawg]

One C will not ruin your chances at any school, particularly since you have a near perfect GPA already. I would advise that you continue with the class and see if you can possibly pull it up to a B- or B, which, given that you're already above average, should be possible. In most scenarios, I think a single C vs a single W is a toss-up (I think I would have personally taken the W but I don't know for sure), but neither will have a substantial impact on your application by itself.

 

[kamakazi5]

With your GPA take the C and move on. Almost nobody will care.

 

[WunderMay]

Is this a serious question?

...

 

[FaulterHund]

Is this a serious question?

...

This reply doesn't help at all. I have gotten a mix of responses and I'm still not sure

 

[Welshman]

I don't know why you would automatically assume you're getting a C after doing above average on the very first exam. Even if there is only one more I still think you're in contention for a B or higher if you do well on it. The best part is that the class is curved so you only need to do as well as your peers.

I've never heard of a class being curved to lower than a C+ average

In physics II at my uni I did 15 points below average on the 2nd exam and still scraped out with a B

 

[mistafab]

Look - you have a 4.0 SGPA and almost perfect cGPA. The "C" in the course won't destroy you, or even hurt you very much. If you want to completely retake this course and blow away all the time you've invested this semester (and have the time in the future) then sure, go ahead and take a W.

A "C" won't kill you. In fact, with your GPA, it has almost no effect on your overall trend. If you have very little to do before you graduate, then sure - an extra 3-4 credits to retake the course may be fine. However, if you are picking up tougher classes, it may make sense to just pull out with a C rather than have to cram the class during a higher load during senior year (especially if you apply senior year).

Anyway, lots of things to think about. Best of luck.

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

I doubt you will end up with a C. Just keep working hard and you'll end up fine. You also need this course as a pre-req at a lot of places

 

[Spoderman]

I had a similar freak out after a bad exam grade in microbio sophomore year (similar scenario with horribly boring professor). Ended up pulling out a B- and my gpa was nowhere near as good as yours. Try your best and stick it out in my opinion!

Also, I think everyone has that one subject in undergrad that just didn't click- could be a fun/interesting talking point in an interview if it ever comes up.


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