Do schools care about a "W" in a pre-req course? Advice?

[pt1819]

I applied this past cycle and so far I have only gotten 2 interviews out of 9 programs I applied to. One school waitlisted me and the other I haven't heard back from yet. I am taking my final pre-req course at a community college and it isn't going well; at this point I will be lucky to get a C. There was only 1 professor available who teaches this class so even though they have absolutely terrible ratemyprofessor reviews and a less than half pass rate, I was stuck taking the class with this professor. My pre-req GPA isn't great to begin with (~3.1), so I really can't afford to do poorly in this course. If I end up doing as bad as I'm expecting, my pGPA will dip below a 3.0 so I will be very limited in applying next cycle.
I'm considering withdrawing and taking it at another school in the summer term but I'm worried that at the last minute I will be pulled off the waitlist or get accepted to another school and not be able to attend because I won't have time to finish this course in the summer (class would end either 6/26 or 8/15 - my potential start dates are 7/29 and 8/19). I'm doubting that I'll get accepted anywhere this round, so I'm leaning towards withdrawing and taking it elsewhere so that my GPA is spared, but I don't know if schools perceive a "W" as a negative thing or not. Any advice is appreciated as I really don't know what to do

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[kayhoho]

I think if you were to get an interview with a W on your transcript, you would have to explain it to admissions. Unless you have a legitimate reason, some might not be able to overlook it. If anything, admissions would want applicants who are willing to try and complete the course rather than back out and get a W. A W would probably be worse than getting a C in the course because it may show that you're not "trying" hard enough. Even worse, some schools would count a W as a 0 gpa.

 

[Studentptms]

If there is no way you would get higher than a C I would drop the class and re-take it. Try talking to your professor and explaining your situation. Also I had to drop a class before and I got a W but when I re took it I got an A. I got accepted to 3 programs and I didn’t have any issues with the W however I did have an issue with a C (had to re take the class)

 

[Zimbabwe9]

I completely understand what you’re going through! I took chemistry 2 at a local community college and the professor was horrible! I applied to schools with 2 W’s on my transcript (later re-took those courses at my current 4 year school and got an A). Schools are not going to drill you for it. I was never even asked about the W’s because they saw that I achieved an A in those two courses. If you drop the course and then later take it a different institution you should be okay. I got accepted into 4 schools and waitlisted at 2 and I was never asked to explain the W’s on my transcript. Good luck to you!! If you have any questions please feel free to ask!

 

[FutureDPT_MN2015]

I decided not to take a W and instead completed the class and lab with a D in both (Anatomy). When I retook it at a different school, I received an A and got accepted into my number one/only choice. Lol I think no matter what you decide, a bad mark whether is be a low grade or a W isn’t the end all. Good luck in your applications and with whatever you decide!

 

[Dnguyen124]

I had three W's and was asked to interview for 7 out of the 10 schools i applied to. Had a 3.5 GPA. If you retake and get an A or a B , I think it is worth the W, but don't go over 2 W's in my opinion, hope this helps!

 

[pt1819]

thanks everyone! Glad to hear people were in similar situations and still got accepted.