Do W's in "fluff" class look bad?

[az345]

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I have 4 W's in useless GE classes and 1 english class that I took while I was at a community college. I have no W's in science/math classes though. I dropped those courses because I realize that I didnt need those classes and was taking them for no reason. I have W's in intro to kinesiology, cultural anthro, english 1a, history, and personal development. I'm doing well in my upper div science courses (transferred to UC Davis and currently have a 4.0 after 2 quarters). Do the W's hurt my app?

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

No. They could ask just to have an excuse to ask something, but nobody will reject a science 4.0 for that.

 

[Admissions to Medicine]

Hello,

One or two W's can easily be overlooked. However 4 will certainly be something that the admissions committee will take a closer look at. This is because multiple W's on a transcript, especially the transcript of a transfer student, can hint to a few concerning factors. It can mean you have a problem with commitment, a problem with following through, a problem with impending failure, or just a problem with making informed choices. When you write your SOP, you need to show that you have the resolve to follow through, no matter if things are not going as you planned. You will need to do this to allay any concerns the adcom might have about your transcript, even with a 4.0 gpa. - Admissions to Medicine

 

[Oso]

That's a lot of W's.. Not ideal, but assuming you take no more W's, do well in your classes, and have an overall solid app, I think you should be fine. Just have a legitimate explanation, should it come up in interviews. You will need to take English and some non-science classes (ex. Probably sociology), so please do well in them to alleviate any concerns. Again, do not withdraw from more classes. Good luck.

 

[Oso]

Hello,

When you write your SOP, you need to show that you have the resolve to follow through, no matter if things are not going as you planned. You will need to do this to allay any concerns the adcom might have about your transcript, even with a 4.0 gpa. - Admissions to Medicine

Not sure what you're saying here, but I would advise the OP not to talk about W's in his/her 'why I wanna be a doctor' essay. Should he/she feel the need to explain it, there's usually room on the secondary apps to discuss things like that.

 

[Admissions to Medicine]

Not sure what you're saying here, but I would advise the OP not to talk about W's in his/her 'why I wanna be a doctor' essay. Should he/she feel the need to explain it, there's usually room on the secondary apps to discuss things like that.

He or she will not talk about W's in his SOP, but rather show how he or she has conviction to stay the course using a story that is relevant to their why I want to be a doctor story. This is all about strategy. 4 withdrawals will cause a secondary look, but if this applicant can show that they have been through other difficult situations and faced those situations head on, it will allay those concerns. - Admissions to Medicine

 

[Oso]

He or she will not talk about W's in his SOP, but rather show how he or she has conviction to stay the course using a story that is relevant to their why I want to be a doctor story. This is all about strategy. 4 withdrawals will cause a secondary look, but if this applicant can show that they have been through other difficult situations and faced those situations head on, it will allay those concerns. - Admissions to Medicine

I don't really see why he/she should discuss facing/overcoming a difficult situation in the personal statement. He/she should just show their passion and commitment to medicine using any relevant situations. But that's true for any personal statement. I think the way to alleviate concerns is to not withdraw any more, and do well in English/social science classes (along with science classes, of course).

But we're getting off topic.

OP: no more W's, do well in classes, EC's, etc. and you will be ok. W's aren't ideal, but I don't think they will hurt you too much if you have an otherwise solid app.

 

[Admissions to Medicine]

I don't really see why he/she should discuss facing/overcoming a difficult situation in the personal statement. He/she should just show their passion and commitment to medicine using any relevant situations. But that's true for any personal statement. I think the way to alleviate concerns is to not withdraw any more, and do well in English/social science classes (along with science classes, of course).

But we're getting off topic.

OP: no more W's, do well in classes, EC's, etc. and you will be ok. W's aren't ideal, but I don't think they will hurt you too much if you have an otherwise solid app.

It is clear that you are not understanding what I am saying. When you write a great SOP, there should always be some element's of the applicants journey to medicine. Why do they want to become a doctor? etc......With this same story, this applicant needs to add elements of perseverance that will allay the adcom. This can be done in a million ways. Think of it as a subliminal message. Hopefully you will understand now. -Admissions to Medicine

 

[TexasSurgeon]

I have 4 W's in useless GE classes and 1 english class that I took while I was at a community college. I have no W's in science/math classes though. I dropped those courses because I realize that I didnt need those classes and was taking them for no reason. I have W's in intro to kinesiology, cultural anthro, english 1a, history, and personal development. I'm doing well in my upper div science courses (transferred to UC Davis and currently have a 4.0 after 2 quarters). Do the W's hurt my app?

If you made a trend of it then it'll come up as questionable

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

If what you guys suggest is that there is an MD school that will question or make a big deal over community college GE after transferring to a top 40 with a 4.0, that school shouldn't be allowed to teach medicine because they seek robots, not humans.

 

[midnight0il]

If what you guys suggest is that there is an MD school that will question or make a big deal over community college GE after transferring to a top 40 with a 4.0, that school shouldn't be allowed to teach medicine because they seek robots, not humans.

Having community college credits is not the issue. I believe the issue is with the withdrawals, which is never a good thing.

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

Having community college credits is not the issue. I believe the issue is with the withdrawals, which is never a good thing.

I didn't suggest community college was the issue. I said W from community college courses that don't matter then subsequently a 4.0 at a top 40, should suffice to make any reasonable person ignore the W.

 

[midnight0il]

I didn't suggest community college was the issue. I said W from community college courses that don't matter then subsequently a 4.0 at a top 40, should suffice to make any reasonable person ignore the W.

Sorry, must have misinterpreted your post. My point was that it doesn't matter where the W is coming from. It's still a flag on your transcript.

I don't think adcoms will simply ignore the withdrawals. There are quite a few of them to be overlooked, which shows either academic problems or lack of follow through, the latter of which seems to be what happened with OP. Some secondaries specifically ask you to explain your Ws (i.e., Drexel and Einstein come to mind).

OP - as long as you maintain your 4.0 and do not withdraw again, and assuming the rest of your application is stellar, you'll be fine for med school admissions. Next time, make your decisions before "drop" period ends.

 

[music2doc]

A "W" in any course is going to "look bad." Many times, however, reviewers will overlook such things unless they are alerted to them. I was recently talking with one our deans who sits on the adcom and the subject of MCAT repeats came up. She had not really considered how much of an advantage it can be to have the opportunity to retake your low MCAT and get a much better score (e.g., going from a 28 to a 34) vs. just doing reasonably well the first time (e.g., 32). According to the AAMC, the 32 is the stronger score empirically (the 28 + 34 should be averaged per the AAMC to a 31). However, many schools simply take the higher score. This disadvantages the person who is actually more likely to score better on Step 1 which you cannot retake (if you pass).

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

Sorry, must have misinterpreted your post. My point was that it doesn't matter where the W is coming from. It's still a flag on your transcript.

I don't think adcoms will simply ignore the withdrawals. There are quite a few of them to be overlooked, which shows either academic problems or lack of follow through, the latter of which seems to be what happened with OP. Some secondaries specifically ask you to explain your Ws (i.e., Drexel and Einstein come to mind).

OP - as long as you maintain your 4.0 and do not withdraw again, and assuming the rest of your application is stellar, you'll be fine for med school admissions. Next time, make your decisions before "drop" period ends.

I agree it is a flag, but it's not realistically a flag that would make a school reject an applicant. You get a 4.0/40 from a guy but you reject them because they had a W in intro to cultural anthropology and a couple of more classes that don't define in any way the competence of a physician? Does this sound reasonable to you? I agree 5 W are not pretty, but they are in the past and for unimportant courses. I'd be much more concerned about 1 "W" in Organic Chemistry than 5 W's in Spanish Literature and the like.

 

[GypsyHummus]

I agree it is a flag, but it's not realistically a flag that would make a school reject an applicant. You get a 4.0/40 from a guy but you reject them because they had a W in intro to cultural anthropology and a couple of more classes that don't define in any way the competence of a physician? Does this sound reasonable to you? I agree 5 W are not pretty, but they are in the past and for unimportant courses. I'd be much more concerned about 1 "W" in Organic Chemistry than 5 W's in Spanish Literature and the like.

Well I hope thats not the case, because I have withdrawn from Orgo twice

 

[rain4venus]

Next time, make your decisions before "drop" period ends.

In some cases this is easier said than done. Schools all have different policies regarding the drop period. Where I did my undergrad, the drop period was like half the semester, but where I went for grad school, the drop period was like a week or less. Every semester there were some classes that never even met once before the drop period was over.

 

[Boolean]

I agree it is a flag, but it's not realistically a flag that would make a school reject an applicant. You get a 4.0/40 from a guy but you reject them because they had a W in intro to cultural anthropology and a couple of more classes that don't define in any way the competence of a physician? Does this sound reasonable to you? I agree 5 W are not pretty, but they are in the past and for unimportant courses. I'd be much more concerned about 1 "W" in Organic Chemistry than 5 W's in Spanish Literature and the like.

It shows a lack of devotion. If you're going to take a class, take it meaningfully. Don't take a class with the intention of halfassing it or simply dropping it. Every course you take is important, even if you do not believe it to be so. If you have a patient you find uninteresting, are you merely going to drop them? A couple of courses certainly defines the competence of a physician. 5 W's demonstrates a repeated history of being unable to handle what is put in front of them, or not being able to properly schedule what they are doing. I would certainly say it demonstrates incompetence.

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

It shows a lack of devotion. If you're going to take a class, take it meaningfully. Don't take a class with the intention of halfassing it or simply dropping it. Every course you take is important, even if you do not believe it to be so. If you have a patient you find uninteresting, are you merely going to drop them? A couple of courses certainly defines the competence of a physician. 5 W's demonstrates a repeated history of being unable to handle what is put in front of them, or not being able to properly schedule what they are doing. I would certainly say it demonstrates incompetence.

Dude. This is school. How you make a leap from dropping a class to meaning you can predict a person will drop a patient is simply ludicrous and a non-sequitur. Sometimes I think you guys want to argue just for the sake of arguing.

 

[Boolean]

Dude. This is school. How you make a leap from dropping a class to meaning you can predict a person will drop a patient is simply ludicrous and a non-sequitur. Sometimes I think you guys want to argue just for the sake of arguing.

And school doesn't relate to life? I'm just saying, repeated W's show a lack of preparation and forethought. Now, if one is in a situation in which they require to take on quite a few W's (death of a close family member or car accident or something of the sort), that is understandable. But merely dropping them because one wasn't willing to put in the work? Not too good...

 

[gettheleadout]

It shows a lack of devotion. If you're going to take a class, take it meaningfully. Don't take a class with the intention of halfassing it or simply dropping it. Every course you take is important, even if you do not believe it to be so. If you have a patient you find uninteresting, are you merely going to drop them? A couple of courses certainly defines the competence of a physician. 5 W's demonstrates a repeated history of being unable to handle what is put in front of them, or not being able to properly schedule what they are doing. I would certainly say it demonstrates incompetence.

According to whom, exactly?

 

[Boolean]

According to whom, exactly?

A decent number of Adcoms I've spoken with. Repeatedly getting W's is apparently quite a bad idea. Mind you, 4-5 isn't terrible, as they were referring to a few more (6-8), but the same point applies.

 

[gettheleadout]

A decent number of Adcoms I've spoken with. Repeatedly getting W's is apparently quite a bad idea. Mind you, 4-5 isn't terrible, as they were referring to a few more (6-8), but the same point applies.

My bad, I should have only bolded the last sentence in the segment. I agree about repeat W's; I'm questioning the "every course is important" bit.

 

[Boolean]

My bad, I should have only bolded the last sentence in the segment. I agree about repeat W's; I'm questioning the "every course is important" bit.

Oh. That's more of a personal conviction in regards to academia. I figure every minute you can learn something new. Even if the class is terrible, one can still turn it into a learning experience. Knowledge is power! (But I agree, underwater basket weaving is unlikely to have a profound impact on your medical career or how you live your life)

 

[az345]

Hey guys sorry if I sort of went ghost on this thread lol. Been sort of busy. Anyhow, I'd like to clarify some things. First off, I transferred to UC Davis having completed 2 semesters of english and a considerable amount of humanities classes (philosophy, sociology, psychology, macroecon to name a few). I transferred with a 3.55 overall CC gpa and a 3.46 bcpm. All 5 W's we earned during my time at CC. The excess W's and the shaky gpa were all due to the fact that I was working full time during those years. I then went on to Davis and currently have a 4.0 after completing 5 quarters. I've taken cell biology, pchem (2 quarters), genetics, biochemistry, physiology, enzyme kinetics, microbiolgy, Statistics, and macromolecular structure/funtion. I plan on taking the MCAT this upcoming fall and am hoping for a score in the mid 30's. So far I have been doing research on campus for 2 quarters and hope to continue.

Now I know that that the W's do put a dent on my app. However, will this really affect my app if I have good EC's and a good mcat? My goal is to attend a cali med school, however I'm content with going OOS. I'm a first-gen URM, so my main concern is just getting into an MD school lol...

 

[Derpz]

No...you transferred to Davis and are pulling a 4.0...zero to worry about. If they inquire just say you were working full time to pay for school as a 1st-gen URM

 

[Nihsel101]

I lost count of how many W's i gotten.

as long you get a B or higher in the class you have withdrawn, it shouldn't be that much of an issue.