Does this make any sense?

[FutureToothFairy_12]

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I was told that dental schools would rather you fail a class and retake it rather than withdraw because it shows that you didn’t give up? I didn’t know how to think about it and wanted to know peoples opinions.

 

[dent_wannabe]

I was told that dental schools would rather you fail a class and retake it rather than withdraw because it shows that you didn’t give up? I didn’t know how to think about it and wanted to know peoples opinions.

I disagree. Failing a class will lower your GPA, and as much as dental schools won't admit this, there are GPA and DAT cutoffs for those who do not otherwise have extenuating circumstances. AADSAS factors in all attempts at a course when calculating GPA, regardless of your school's policy on how repeated courses are handled in their GPA calculation. A W will not affect your GPA, a letter grade (A through F) will. Either way, you are going to have to retake the course and do very well the second time (anything less than an A will not be looked at favorably) in order to compensate.

One or two instances is not going to be the end of the world, but you may be asked to explain what happened.

 

[Kjohns143]

I disagree. Failing a class will lower your GPA, and as much as dental schools won't admit this, there are GPA and DAT cutoffs for those who do not otherwise have extenuating circumstances. AADSAS factors in all attempts at a course when calculating GPA, regardless of your school's policy on how repeated courses are handled in their GPA calculation. A W will not affect your GPA, a letter grade (A through F) will. Either way, you are going to have to retake the course and do very well the second time (anything less than an A will not be looked at favorably) in order to compensate.

One or two instances is not going to be the end of the world, but you may be asked to explain what happened.

That’s what I was thinking too. It wouldn’t make sense to take a failing grade but others that I asked said other wise. I totally agree with what you said.

 

[BatedPenguin]

I have heard just the opposite from just about every dentist I have talked to. They always say take a W even over a C.

 

[dent_wannabe]

That’s what I was thinking too. It wouldn’t make sense to take a failing grade but others that I asked said other wise. I totally agree with what you said.

I have only heard that taking a failing grade is better than a W for two (non pre dental related) cases: (1) an international student on a F-1 visa who may face deportation if they fall below full time enrollment, and (2) a students whose financial aid is contingent on them maintaining full time enrollment. In those cases, the student has a lot to lose if taking a W means they will end up no longer being full time.