Complete retroactive withdrawal from a past semester

[DeBasquiat]

I'm sorry if this is a dumb post asking a really obvious question; I've never been active on sdn and now wish I had dedicated more time to it so perhaps I wouldn't be at such an awkward cross-road.

A couple years back some chronic medical conditions flared up and peaked during a very busy semester, which combined with some mental health issues that peaked at the time due to some pretty specific circumstances, I ended up getting an incomplete in one course, a splattering of B's/A's, and 1 C in a repeated lower-division pre-med STEM class.

If I retroactively withdraw from that entire semester (during which I only took random courses unrelated to my major), my cGPA would go from 3.66 to 3.75-ish. Similarly my sGPA would increase (to ~3.62).

Either way I would have to retroactively withdraw from the course in which I received an incomplete if I want to graduate; I'm wondering if the wiser decision would be to withdraw from that entire semester or to just stick with turning that incomplete into a withdrawal.

Context, I did somewhat haphazardly use 4 withdrawals early on in college due to a lack of awareness on how it might look bad. Also, I realize my grades don't make me a very competitive ORM applicant in TX, and I'm hoping to compensate for that with my MCAT and clinical experience. I'd like to be a family practitioner so MD/DO are both appealing. Now a senior set to graduate fairly soon.

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[viralhiker]

Well, I'm confused. Your institution allows you to retroactively withdraw? Is that a common option people have?

 

[DeBasquiat]

Well, I'm confused. Your institution allows you to retroactively withdraw? Is that a common option people have?

Yes, from a quick google search, it seems that many institutions offer it; normally it is only done for those with extenuating circumstances, which my institution has acknowledged I had. Now the question in my case has become: to withdraw from the entire semester or to withdraw from the one class I received an incomplete in.

 

[Goro]

I'm sorry if this is a dumb post asking a really obvious question; I've never been active on sdn and now wish I had dedicated more time to it so perhaps I wouldn't be at such an awkward cross-road.

A couple years back some chronic medical conditions flared up and peaked during a very busy semester, which combined with some mental health issues that peaked at the time due to some pretty specific circumstances, I ended up getting an incomplete in one course, a splattering of B's/A's, and 1 C in a repeated lower-division pre-med STEM class.

If I retroactively withdraw from that entire semester (during which I only took random courses unrelated to my major), my cGPA would go from 3.66 to 3.75-ish. Similarly my sGPA would increase (to ~3.62).

Either way I would have to retroactively withdraw from the course in which I received an incomplete if I want to graduate; I'm wondering if the wiser decision would be to withdraw from that entire semester or to just stick with turning that incomplete into a withdrawal.

Context, I did somewhat haphazardly use 4 withdrawals early on in college due to a lack of awareness on how it might look bad. Also, I realize my grades don't make me a very competitive ORM applicant in TX, and I'm hoping to compensate for that with my MCAT and clinical experience. I'd like to be a family practitioner so MD/DO are both appealing. Now a senior set to graduate fairly soon.

Go for it.

 

[EdgeTrimmer]

Go for full semester withdrawal.

 

[DeBasquiat]

Go for full semester withdrawal.

Go for it.

Thank you, I am just a tad bit nervous since the faculty member in charge of deciding the outcome of my petition told me that, ultimately, the decision was up to me but that he "strongly discouraged" my pursuit of full semester withdrawal since he thought my grades weren't bad enough to warrant it even though the extenuating circumstances certainly exist.

 

[zorcandpals]

Thank you, I am just a tad bit nervous since the faculty member in charge of deciding the outcome of my petition told me that, ultimately, the decision was up to me but that he "strongly discouraged" my pursuit of full semester withdrawal since he thought my grades weren't bad enough to warrant it even though the extenuating circumstances certainly exist.

If you have the money/time to spend on retaking the courses, you can go for it. He's right in that your grades weren't that bad to warrent it but at the same time the bump to your gpa and assuming you retake the courses and do well in it is somewhat significant.

 

[DeBasquiat]

If you have the money/time to spend on retaking the courses, you can go for it. He's right in that your grades weren't that bad to warrent it but at the same time the bump to your gpa and assuming you retake the courses and do well in it is somewhat significant.

Thank you, luckily, I likely only have to re-take one class over the summer or something if I do go through with it.