advice on undergrad withdrawals?

[spike201]

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does anyone have any advice concerning withdrawals from undergrad?
i am currently in my first semester of junior year in undergrad, following the premed courses. my gpa is a 3.37. i am facing some personal issues and consequently some bad grades that would significantly lower my gpa. i am considering withdrawing for the rest of this semester and getting my life back in order, but i don't want to ruin my chances of getting into a dental school.
has anyone been through this??

 

[OffAngleHatchet]

AADSAS and most secondaries give you a place where you can address any irregularities or disruptions in your schooling and education. Sometimes it's worded as "extraordinary circumstances you've faced and overcome" or things like that. Dental schools do take that into consideration.

I believe it's better to withdraw and take care of your issues than to stay in out of pride and toughing it out. You run the risk of having too much on your plate and not dealing with either of your academic or personal responsibilities well.

When I was in college, I took an entire year off to deal with some personal issues that had been dragging on for the past year and a half. I had tried to take a full load of classes just to try to feel normal (since everyone else around me seemed to be doing fine, and why couldn't I, dammit?), resulting in some serious burnout and a pretty poor GPA. I needed time away from school to regroup, rethink, and recharge. If I were to do it all over again, I think I would have taken time off earlier than later.

But a couple years later, I graduated, bringing my GPA up a full point, told my story in that section on AADSAS, and got into Dschool, so I ended up okay.

Keep in mind this is anecdotal evidence, not a double-blind randomized clinical trial.

 

[tinman831]

if you have any extenuating circumstances that preclude you from completing the rest of the year, then you probably should take the time off. admissions committees are well aware that we are human, and will take into account any personal issues that may come along. you will have a chance to explain this on secondary applications and during the interview (i dont think there was a spot for this on the aadsas application). bombing the semester will permanently ruin your gpa and your problems will still be there. withdrawing for a semester to get your life in order will only help you in the long run. so long as you dont withdrawl multiple times, you should be fine. i hope this helps. good luck with what ever decision you make. 🙂

 

[etan4]

I withdrew from a whole semester once; however, it was a semester full of business classes, without a single science course (I was curious at the time). This did not seem to be a detrimental factor, since I have been invited to a few interviews already, despite the entire semester drop.